Samford 1, Mercer 0
MACON, Ga. – Less than five minutes before halftime Sunday in a Southern Conference road test at Mercer, Samford’s Taylor Borman lifted a high, perfectly placed shot from 18 yards out that landed neatly into the back of the net for the Bulldogs’ game-winning goal en route to a 1-0 league triumph held at Bear Field.
Borman’s decisive goal occurred at exactly 40:39 into the contest and helped Samford (9-4-0, 4-0-0 SoCon) extend its winning streak to five consecutive matches.
The Bulldogs have not been defeated in four weeks and have yet to allow a goal in SoCon play this season. Since beginning league play on Sept. 25, Samford has earned consecutive shutout victories against Furman, 2-0, Wofford, 1-0, The Citadel, 5-0, and Mercer (5-5-2, 2-1-0 SoCon), 1-0.
Sunday’s setback was the Bears’ first loss in conference play this season. Samford now holds an 8-2-2 all-time record in the series.
The Bears outshot the Bulldogs, 13-10, on Sunday, but it was Samford’s tally from Borman that proved to be the difference in the rematch of last season’s SoCon tournament championship final.
On her scoring play, Borman collected forwarding pass from fellow junior Olivia Cole, stopped short to allow a Mercer defender to stride by and then rifled a right-footed shot high over the outstretched arms of the Bears’ goalkeeper, Maggie Cropp. Borman’s goal was her fourth of the season, while Cole’s assist was her first of the year.
Samford sophomore goalkeeper Anna Maddox turned in a brilliant performance Sunday. Maddox, the Bulldogs’ native of nearby Warner Robins, recorded five saves and notched her second complete-game shutout victory of the season.
Offensively, Samford was paced by juniors Malcanisha Kelley and Borman, who each finished with two shots apiece. The Bulldogs concluded Sunday’s contest with five shots on goal.
Mercer’s Jamilah Tejan rattled off four shot attempts with two coming on goal, while Sarah Daane added three shots of her own, all of which were saved by Samford’s Maddox.
The Samford University soccer team will next be in action Friday at 7 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs play host to VMI in a Senior Night contest to be held at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium.
Mercer will hit the road to face ETSU on Friday, Oct. 9, at 7 p.m. in Johnson City, Tenn.
UNCG at Wofford postponed
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford women’s soccer match Sunday against UNCG has been postponed to Monday due to inclement weather conditions. Due to the inclement weather that took place through the area over the weekend, the Southern Conference match originally scheduled for Sunday afternoon has been rescheduled for a 7:30 p.m. Monday kickoff at Snyder Field.
Live video will be available on the SoCon Digital Network.
Monday’s matchup will mark the 24th meeting between the two teams in program history. UNCG is unbeaten against the Terriers, leading the all-time series 20-0-3. All three ties have come in the last five years as UNCG has gone 2-0-3 since 2011.
The Terriers are currently 2-4-3 (1-1-1 SoCon) after winning their SoCon match Friday night 1-0 at home against VMI. Mary Beth Bleekrode scored her third goal of the season on a penalty kick that won the match for the Terriers.
UNCG (3-7-3, 1-1-1 SoCon) played to a scoreless draw with Furman on Friday.
Chattanooga at The Citadel postponed
CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Citadel women's soccer game against Chattanooga scheduled for 2 p.m. on Sunday will not be played due to flooding and more rain in the forecast. The teams are discussing options to reschedule the contest.
The Bulldogs (1-11, 0-2 SoCon) will travel to Western Carolina on Friday, Oct. 9, and ETSU on Sunday, Oct. 11.
Chattanooga (2-8-2, 0-2-1 SoCon) hosts UNCG on Friday at 7 p.m. and VMI on Sunday, Oct. 11, at 2 p.m.
VMI at Furman postponed
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Sunday afternoon’s Southern Conference women’s soccer match between Furman and VMI has been postponed due to inclement weather and will be rescheduled for a later date, it was announced this morning by Paladin head coach Andrew Burr.
The Paladins and Keydets were scheduled to kickoff at 2 p.m. at Stone Stadium, but the heavy rains over the last 48 hours have left the field in poor condition.
Furman (8-4-1, 1-1-1 SoCon) will continue its homestand on Friday when it entertains the Wofford Terriers on Seagraves Field at Stone Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 8 p.m.
VMI (4-8-0, 0-3-0 SoCon) returns to action at Samford on Friday at 8 p.m.