Samford Soccer To Host Western Carolina In SoCon Quarterfinals Sunday

GAME NOTES--SAMFORD VS. WCU (PDF)

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford soccer team will open play in the Southern Conference Tournament against Western Carolina in the quarterfinal round Sunday at 1 p.m. at Shauna Yelton Field. The game can be seen live on ESPN+.

Samford and Western Carolina are meeting for the 24th time, with Samford holding a 16-5-2 series lead. The teams met earlier this season with Samford winning, 2-1 at WCU.

Samford has an all-time record of 29-8-4 in Southern Conference Tournament games. The Bulldogs have won seven SoCon Tournament titles, including winning the last two championships.

Samford enters the tournament with a record of 11-2-5 overall and 8-0-2 in SoCon play. The Bulldogs are coming off a 6-0 win at VMI last Sunday. Samford tied with Furman for the SoCon regular-season title and Samford won the tie breaker to earn the No. 1 seed for the tournament.

Sam De Luca leads Samford in goals with seven and in points with 15. Brinley Murphy and Caroline Smith have 12 points each.

Samford goalkeeper Peyton Hull has a SoCon-best 0.40 goals against average, starting all 18 games and allowing just seven goals.

Samford head coach Todd Yelton is in his 25th season in charge of the program. He has a career record of 352-156-78, and he is Samford's all-time winningest coach with a mark of 312-124-74 in his time with the Bulldogs.

Western Carolina enters Sunday's game with a mark of 5-11-3 overall and 2-6-2 in Southern Conference play. The Catamounts advanced to the quarterfinal round with a 4-3 win over The Citadel in Friday's opening round at Shauna Yelton Field.

Western Carolina has been led so far this season by Gabriela Vatrano with six goals. Darien Vita has two goals and two assists for the Catamounts. WCU goalkeeper Amara Yetka has started 15 games and has a 2.13 goals against average.

Sunday's game is set for a 1 p.m.(CT) start from Shauna Yelton Field. The game can be seen live on ESPN+ and live stats will also be available online. For links to follow all of Samford's games this season, click on the following link: 2026 SCHEDULE.

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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 (Instagram) and @SamfordSoccer (Twitter).

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Players Mentioned

Sam De Luca

Peyton Hull

Brinley Murphy

Caroline Smith

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