Aug. 15, 2008

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - In its only exhibition match of the fall season, the Samford University soccer team will begin play in its 2008 schedule Saturday at 1 p.m., as the Bulldogs host the Ole Miss Rebels at Bulldog Field. Admission is free.

The match will be the first competitive action for either team this season.

"We're very excited to start the season and I think that our players are tired of facing each other every day in practice," said Samford head coach Todd Yelton. "They'll definitely be looking forward to playing against someone else and it's always fun to begin a new season. Ole Miss is a good team and it will be exciting for us to host someone of their caliber that's from a major conference."

Samford enters the 2008 campaign boasting nine returning starters and 16 letterwinners from last year's team that finished with a school-record 15-5-1 mark. In 2007, the Bulldogs also set a school record with 43 goals scored, while only allowing the opposition to score 16.

In addition, Samford earned its second NCAA Tournament berth in three years and became the first athletic team in school history to receive an at-large bid to the Field of 64. The Bulldogs met LSU in the first round of the 2007 NCAA Tournament and were upended a hard-fought 1-0 double-overtime contest held in Tallahassee, Fla.

"In this match, we expect to find out a lot about our team spirit and team character," Yelton said. "We've been having some good, tough practices over the last week or so, but you really can't find everything out about a player or a team until you face some different competition."

Ole Miss, which finished its 2007 campaign with a 7-8-5 overall record, also features nine returning starters this season. The Rebels welcome back 14 letterwinners from a year ago and look to improve from its 4-4-3 mark in Southeastern Conference play.

Last season, Ole Miss finished third in the SEC West. On Thursday, the Rebels were predicted to again end up in the same position as the conference office released its preseason coaches rankings. LSU was picked to repeat as SEC Western Division champs, while Auburn was voted to finish in the second-place position.

"Ole Miss will be a big challenge for us," Yelton said. "They're a veteran squad and (Head Coach) Steve (Holeman) does an outstanding job with them. This game will be exactly what we want in an exhibition match because it's going to show the strengths and weaknesses of our squad right away."

Samford and Ole Miss also played in a fall exhibition match last season.

At the Ole Miss Soccer Stadium in Oxford, Miss., the Rebels rallied for a 3-0 home victory behind goals from Austin Brown, Mallory Coleman and Jennifer Hance. Hance, a two-time All-SEC performer, returns to lead Ole Miss again this season.

Samford will be led this year by seniors Candace Clippard, Valerie Kikkert, Kat Sweatt and Cayley Winters, as well as redshirt juniors Jenna Sturgill and Marchele Olds. The Bulldogs' roster will also feature four talented juniors, seven sophomores and 11 freshmen.

"We have a very young team this season, but our roster is the most competitive that it's been since I've been here," said Yelton. "We have a lot of players that will be fighting for playing time, and this exhibition match will be good for us because our freshmen will get a taste of the real thing right off the bat."

Following Samford's exhibition game against Ole Miss on Saturday, the Bulldogs will begin their regular season Aug. 22 versus the Texas Longhorns in Austin, Texas. The season opener is slated to begin at 7 p.m., at the Mike A. Myers Soccer Stadium.

GameTracker - Samford vs. Ole Miss