Sept. 12, 2008

Box Score

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The Samford University soccer team dropped a second-straight hard-fought matchup to a Southeastern Conference opponent Friday as the Bulldogs suffered a 1-0 loss against the Alabama Crimson Tide at the UA Soccer Complex. The meeting was the first all-time between Samford and Alabama.

Last week, in the championship match of the 2008 adidas Gamecock Classic, the Bulldogs dropped a heartbreaking double-overtime contest to Arkansas, 1-0.

"This was a tough one for us, because I thought that the second half was the best that we've played all season long," said Samford head coach Todd Yelton. "It's frustrating because we looked really good at times. We won balls in the midfield, we combined really well and we created a lot of opportunities, but right now we're struggling with finishing."

In Friday's loss, Samford (1-5) led a late charge in the second half and outshot Alabama (2-2-1) in the final 45 minutes of play. The Bulldogs' offensive attack was led by junior Amber Cress and sophomores Colette Nammour, Melissa Miller and Kelly Shaffer.

All four of the aforementioned players rattled off two shot attempts apiece.

Samford and Alabama both finished the game with 13 shot attempts. Seven of the Bulldogs' 13 shots were on-goal, while four of the Crimson Tide's attempts were on target.

"I thought that in the second half, we had some players that really battled and fought hard," Yelton said. "We brought a lot of character late in the game and we fought like crazy, but it just didn't work out in the end. I feel like we're getting better as the season goes on. We just need to score some key goals."

The Crimson Tide scored the lone goal of Friday's match during the 29th minute of play as senior midfielder Jessica Deegan tallied her first goal of the season.

After the teams fought back-and-forth and traded possessions to start the game, Alabama earned a throw-in deep in Samford's territory. On the game-winning play, the Crimson Tide's Rosaly Petriello gathered the throw-in and drove to her right down the left flank of the field.

Petriello, a sophomore midfielder from Ontario, Canada, then slipped past a Samford defender and sent a pass to the center of the field for Deegan.

Petriello's pass led Deegan directly in front of Samford's goal where she one-timed the ball into the top-left corner of the net from 16 yards out. On the play, Alabama took its decisive 1-0 lead in the contest and Petriello notched her second assist of the 2008 season.

"I don't think we really played that well in the first half, but I have to give Alabama credit," Yelton said. "This was their home game and they came out and played energized soccer early on. The frustrating thing for us is that I kind of think that we might have let one slip away. In the end, Alabama was able to find the back of the net and we weren't."

The Samford University soccer team will next be in action Sunday at 4 p.m., as the Bulldogs continue their tour of in-state opponents with a non-conference matchup against the UAB Blazers at West Campus Field.