BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Samford Athletics is continuing the Student-Athlete Spotlight series, presented by Coca-Cola, which, this week, will highlight Alex Bice, a senior forward on the soccer team.
 
Bice came to Samford from Lee High School in Tyler, Texas. She talked about what brought her to Samford.
 
"I knew I always wanted to get out of Texas for college," Bice said. "I kind of wanted to get out of the state and go somewhere different. My older brother ended up going to the University of Alabama, so that is how I got introduced to Samford. I came to visit one day and fell in love with the campus, it's beautiful. I got to meet with the coaches and meet with some of the girls on the team. I fell in love with the soccer program as well, and I got hear what they were all about, and I think that was the biggest draw, just getting to meet with Coach (Yelton) and figuring out what Samford soccer is all about."
 
Growing up, Bice was not just a soccer player. During her early years, and even into high school, she was a multi-sport athlete.
 
"I started soccer around four years old," Bice said. "And I did gymnastics and tee ball. I kind of focused on soccer more once I got to high school, but I did play volleyball, ran track, played basketball, tried to do all of the sports growing up just to figure out what I wanted to do."
 
Samford is currently 3-1-3 overall and 3-0-2 in Southern Conference play. The Bulldogs played to a 1-1 draw at league-leading Furman last Sunday.
 
"It was a hard-fought game," Bice said. "Double overtime is never easy; everyone is dog tired by the end of the game. I think we all played really well as a team, I think we were going as hard as we possibly could till the very end. We had more chances than they did, but even when we have more shots on goal, sometime it doesn't go our way. Overall, as a team, we fought until the end; we did as much as we could. Hopefully that will give us some motivation to work even harder in these next couple of games."
 
Bice has been playing well during her senior campaign. She scored a goal in three-consecutive games against Western Carolina, ETSU and Wofford. She said scoring early goals helped her play with more confidence this season.
 
"It's my senior year, I'm trying to go out strong," Bice said. "I think it's been really fun to get a couple of goals in, and I'm hoping for more. I think when I got one into the back of the net, I had more confidence, every time I stepped on, to look for the goal and go as hard as I could. I'm hoping for a couple more by the end of this."
 
The Bulldogs will host Mercer Friday night at 6 p.m. in the Shauna's House game. The game is played annually to raise money to build homes for orphans in Ukraine. The fund is named after Shauna Yelton, the late wife of head coach Todd Yelton, who passed away of cancer in late 2015. Bice talked about how much, despite never having the chance to meet Shauna, the game means to the players.
 
"Us as seniors, we knew more about it, just because the upperclassmen when we got here were actually here when that happened," Bice said. "I know, for Coach, it's really awesome for us to support him in that. I think the Shauna's House game is a really good way to play for someone and something more than just ourselves. So, during those games, we come out stronger, just to play for her, even though we never knew her, but just hearing the story and how amazing she was, we all try to play our hardest in that game, for Coach as well."
 
Bice talked about what her plans are for after she graduates this spring.
 
"I'm hoping to stay in Birmingham," Bice said. "I'm trying to stay in my house, with the (Orman) twins and Grace (Sommi) because we're all staying in Birmingham. I'm just looking for a job right now. I haven't heard back from anyone yet, but I'm hoping to hear in April what job I'll get. I'm looking for a couple different jobs in nutrition, some marketing stuff. I'm a nutrition major with a minor in marketing. I've put myself out there at a few different places and am just waiting to hear back."
 
Following Friday night's game against Mercer, Samford will play its final regular-season home game Sunday at 1 p.m. against The Citadel.
 
FOLLOW THE BULLDOGS:
For the latest news and information on Samford soccer, visit the official website for Samford Athletics at SamfordSports.com. Fans can also follow the Bulldogs on social media at /SamfordSports (Facebook), @SamfordSoccer (Twitter), and @SamfordSoccer (Instagram).