BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Samford goalkeeper Emma Donley saved a shot by UNC Greensboro's Hannah Morton in the ninth round of penalty kicks to give the Bulldog women's soccer team a 6-5 penalty kick win for the 2022 Southern Conference Tournament title Sunday afternoon at Shuana Yelton Field.
 
"This is just a great group of kids," Samford head coach Todd Yelton said. "I told them before the game, we've already won because we get to do this together. They really love one another. Family is a buzz word in recruiting, but I think these kids demonstrate what that looks like. I'm so fortunate to get to coach them and be around them, and to get to do it at this university that we get to represent."
 
The teams played through 90 minutes of regulation and two 10-minute overtime periods, with the game ending in a 0-0 tie. Samford, however, prevailed in penalty kicks to earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The NCAA Tournament Selection Show is scheduled for Monday at 3 p.m. (CT). Samford will host a Selection Show viewing party for the team in the Coca-Cola Hospitality Suite on the third floor of the Pete Hanna Center.
 
"I don't know if I've ever seen a goalkeeper as excited for penalties as Emma was," Yelton said. "She was super pumped and she made some big saves. We wanted to make it interesting for everybody, 110 minutes and penalties on a Sunday, but it was pretty cool for the kids."
 
Samford's record moves to 11-3-7. This marks the Bulldogs' fifth Southern Conference Tournament title and earns the program its seventh trip to the NCAA Tournament. UNC Greensboro ends its season with a mark of 10-7-4.
 
In the first round of penalty kicks, both Samford and UNC Greensboro missed their opportunities. UNCG's Eliza Radoll gave the Spartans a 1-0 advantage after a Samford miss in the second round. Samford's Layton Glisson knotted the tally at 1-1, followed by a UNCG miss in the third session.
 
In the fourth PK round, Samford's Whitaker Buchanan and UNCG's Morgan Brubaker made their shots, and the score was tied at 2-2. Both teams missed in the fifth round. In the sixth round, Samford's Taylor Yount and UNCG's Dalani Stephens both netted their shots to make it 3-3.
 
Samford's Ella Simpson and UNCG's Caroline Woods both made their shots in the seventh round to bring the tally to 4-4. In the eighth round, Kylie Gazza from Samford and Taylor Mentzer from UNCG both netted shots to make it 5-5. Samford's Caroline Donovan made her kick in the ninth round, but Donley made a diving save of the shot by Morton, sending the Bulldogs to the NCAA Tournament, 6-5.
 
In regulation and the two overtime periods, Samford tallied 29 shots, to just seven for UNCG. Eight of the Bulldogs' shots were on goal, to just one for the Spartans. Samford took 16 corner kicks to three for UNCG. Spartan goalkeeper Emma Malone saved eight shots during the match to keep the score at 0-0.
 
Donley was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. She was joined on the All-Tournament team by teammates Donovan, Ella Simpson and Buchanan. Samford's Mary Raymond won the Pinnacle Award for the player with the highest grade-point average on the tournament winning team. Raymond has a 3.98 GPA in health sciences.



 
FOLLOW THE BULLDOGS:
For the latest news and information on Samford women's soccer, visit the official website for Samford Athletics at SamfordSports.com. Fans can also follow the Bulldogs on social media at /SamfordSports (Facebook), @SamfordSoccer (Instagram) and @SamfordSoccer (Twitter).