BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford University women's soccer team will play at the Georgia Bulldogs win the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the NCAA announced Monday afternoon.
 
Samford earned the Southern Conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament by capturing the program's fifth SoCon Tournament title in penalty kicks over UNC Greensboro Sunday. This season, Samford has posted a record of 11-3-7, and this marks Samford's seventh trip to the NCAA Tournament.  
 
"This is really hard to do," Samford head coach Todd Yelton said of making the NCAA Tournament. "You look at the number of teams that didn't make it that I have great respect for. To be one of the 64 is pretty amazing. I'm just thankful that we're there and we found a way to punch our ticket on Sunday."
 
Samford and Georgia have met three previous times, with Georgia holding a 2-0-1 series lead. The last meeting came on Sept. 8, 2017, with the game ending in a 1-1 draw. This season, Georgia has posted a record of 12-5-3. Yelton said Georgia is a program he has a lot of respect for.
 
"(Georgia Head Coach) Keidane (McAlpine) is one of my best friends in the entire world," Yelton said. "I've known him forever and have a lot of admiration for what he has done this season at Georgia. Not only is he a good coach, but he is also a great human being. We're pretty familiar with them and I'm sure they're pretty familiar with us. It's obviously a very challenging game for us, they're a really good team. They're super athletic and I'm sure they'll have a great home crowd on game day."

Samford and Georgia will play Friday evening at 5 p.m. (CT). The game can be seen live on ESPN+.
 



 
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