BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – On Monday, the Samford University soccer team learned it will face the No. 13-ranked Florida State Seminoles on Saturday at 1 p.m. (CST) in the opening round of the NCAA tournament, as the Southern Conference champion Bulldogs held their Selection Show Party in the Coca-Cola Hospitality Suite of the Pete Hanna Center.
Samford (15-3-2) and Florida State (13-3-4) will square off at the Seminole Soccer Complex. The matchup is slated for Saturday, instead of its typical Friday billing, because Florida State is hosting Boston College in football on campus that evening.
"Florida State is an outstanding program and they've been to six straight final fours and won a championship a few years ago," said Samford head coach Todd Yelton. "It's a bit daunting and it will be a big challenge for us, but I think that our players will compete. I'll think we'll have a chance in the match and I'm excited for our team for this opportunity. I know they're going to embrace the challenge work hard and get ready for Saturday."
The Bulldogs have qualified for the NCAA tournament four times in school history and have been sent to the Tallahassee Regional the last three times.
In 2007, Samford faced LSU in the opening round of play and came up short in overtime, 1-0. Following the 2011 campaign, the Bulldogs faced Florida State in the opening round and battled hard, but came up short, 2-0, to a Seminole squad that advanced to the College Cup.
Samford earned its fourth trip to the NCAA tournament on Sunday as the Bulldogs rallied from behind to defeat the ETSU Buccaneers, 2-1, in the championship match of the 2016 SoCon Championship held at Summers-Taylor Stadium on ETSU’s campus.
With the victory, Samford won its second SoCon tournament title and advanced to the NCAA field of 64 for the fourth time in 12 years, all of which have come under the direction Yelton. Yelton is the winningest coach in Bulldog history with 191 victories.
Samford is also in the midst of a 10-match winning streak. The Bulldogs' streak dates all the way back to Sept. 25, and is the team's longest since 2011, when Samford put together a similar 10-match stretch.
Florida State won its fourth straight Atlantic Coast Conference tournament championship on Sunday by outdueling North Carolina in penalty kicks, 4-3.
In a battle fitting of a conference championship match, neither No. 13 Florida State nor No. 10 North Carolina could put the ball in the back of the net over 110 minutes, forcing penalty kicks after a 0-0 draw.
In the shootout, Florida State converted all four of its attempts, while FSU goalkeeper Cassie Miller made a save on Abby Elinsky's PK in the third round and UNC's Bridgette Andrzejewski missed her attempt to open the fifth round to give FSU the 2016 ACC Championship crown.
The Seminoles are unbeaten in their last five ACC Championship Game appearances, posting a 3-0-2 record since 2011. The last time FSU lost an ACC title game was in 2009 to North Carolina.
Samford and Florida State have only met once on the pitch; in the 2011 NCAA Tournament, when the No. 6-ranked Seminoles were able to hang on for a 2-0 win.