BIRMINGHAM, ALA. – No. 1 seed Samford (8-1-3, 7-0-2 SoCon) downed No. 4 seed Mercer (8-10-1, 5-3), 6-1, in the first semifinal match at the Southern Conference Women’s Soccer Championship, held in Birmingham, Alabama, on Friday evening. With the win, the Bulldogs advance to the championship final, held next weekend, and will face the winner of No. 2 Furman and No. 3 Chattanooga, who meet on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET in Greenville, South Carolina.

The six goals are the most by a team in the SoCon Women’s Soccer Championship since top-seeded Samford beat No. 9 The Citadel, 6-0, in the 2014 quarterfinals, and the most by one team in the semifinal round since No. 1 UNCG beat No. 5 Wofford, 6-0, in 1998.

Samford, which won the regular-season title, pushing their streak to seven consecutive years with at least a share of the regular-season crown, will play in its sixth championship final and seek the Bulldogs’ fourth title and second consecutive.

It was raining as the game got underway. Samford got on the board first as the recipient of an own goal by the Bears in the eighth minute. First-team all-conference midfielder Alyssa Frazier doubled the Bulldogs’ lead in the 21^st minute on a pass from Caroline Orman, a second-team all-conference forward, before Kyla Reynolds added another goal just 44 seconds later off an assist from Taylor Yount, a first-team all-conference forward, to push the lead to three. The 3-0 scored held until the half. Out of the break, the teams played seven minutes before the game, which started an hour late due to inclement weather, was halted due to lightning in the area.
 
Nearly an hour and a half later, play resumed, and five minutes into the action, Mercer forward Nicole Icen, the 2019 SoCon Player of the Year, put the Bears on the board off an assist from Jordan Lynn. However, Samford answered less than 30 seconds later when Reynolds netted her second goal of the contest off a pass from Nikki Barrio, pushing the lead back to three, 4-1.
 
Reynolds capped off the hat trick in the 68^th minute, again on an assist from Barrio, running the lead to 5-1. Freshman Morgan Greene netted her third goal of the season in the 76^th minute to extend the lead to 6-1 en route to the victory.
 
Samford goalkeeper Morgan McAslan, a first-team all-conference selection, played 86 minutes in goal and recorded one save, while Mercer’s Jordyn Ebert played the entire contest and tallied eight.   
 
 
2020-21 Women's Soccer Championship Semifinals

Friday, April 9 (Birmingham, Ala.)
Match 1: No. 1 Samford 6, No. 4 Mercer 1

Saturday, April 10 (Greenville, S.C.)
Match 2: No. 2 Furman vs. No. 3 Chattanooga, 7 p.m. ET

Friday, April 16 or Saturday, April 17
Final (Site TBD)
Match 3: No. 1 Samford vs. Winner Match 2, Time TBD