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Leah Leppert
3
Extremely fast and athletic player . . . crushes the ball with her left foot . . . has the ability to score . . . when given time and space she is a handful for any defense.
2009 (junior): Named the Southern Conference's Player of the Week on Oct. 20 after she scored a pair of key goals in critical league road wins against UNC Greensboro and Elon . . . tallied the equalizing goal against first-place UNC Greensboro on Oct. 16 and then registered the game-winning goal on the road versus third-place Elon on Oct. 18 . . . played a major role in Samford's offense that finished the campaign ranked second in the SoCon in goals per game (1.61) . . . concluded the season tied for third place in the conference in assists (6) and tied for fourth place in assists per game (0.33) . . . turned in the Bulldogs' best single-match performances in both points (5 - Georgia Southern, Oct. 23) and goals (2 - Georgia Southern, Oct. 23) . . . earned playing time in all 18 of the team's matches and started six contests . . . logged 836 minutes of game action and finished the season ranked second on the team in assists (5), points (13) and shots (34) . . . ended the year tied for first place with senior teammate Amber Cress with 17 shots on goal . . . registered her season-high total of 63 minutes played against in-state rival Alabama on Aug. 28, as the Bulldogs cruised to a 3-0 home victory . . . earned her third varsity letter.
2008 (sophomore): Played in all 21 matches of the season and started in 11 contests . . . finished the campaign ranked second on the team in assists (3), third in goals (2) and fourth in points (7) . . . logged 1,096 minutes of game action and rattled off a team-high 33 shot attempts, 15 of which were on goal . . . propelled the Bulldogs to a thrilling 1-0 victory against Southern Conference-rival College of Charleston on Oct. 17 as she scored the game-winning goal during the 77th minute of play . . . scored a goal and added an assist in Samford's one-sided 3-0 victory over Furman (Oct. 10) . . . also fired off a season-high five shot attempts against Furman . . . tied her career high with 98 minutes of playing time versus College of Charleston in the opening round of the SoCon Tournament (Nov. 2) . . . named to Samford's prestigious Dean's List for earning a 3.44 grade-point average in family studies . . . earned her second varsity letter.
2007 (freshman): Named the OVC's Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 4 after she came up from her position on the back line to record a pair of assists in the 2007 Samford Barber's Invitational . . . played a key role in the Bulldogs' defense that tallied an OVC-best 0.73 goals-against average . . . scored the game-winning goal in Samford's thrilling come-from-behind victory against conference opponent Murray State (Sept. 30) . . . the key game-winning goal occurred in overtime and was the first of her collegiate career . . . played in all 21 of Samford's games and started in 17 of the contests . . . logged 1,079 minutes and finished the season tied for second on the team in shots attempted (41) . . . scored four goals and added three assists for a total of 11 points, which ranked fifth on the team . . . tallied a multiple-goal performance against Jacksonville State on Oct. 5 as she rattled off four shots on goal and notched the game-winning score . . . also registered the game-winning goal versus Belmont on Nov. 3 as the Bulldogs earned a lopsided 4-0 victory . . . logged a career-high 98 minutes played against LSU in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament (Nov. 16) . . . earned her first varsity letter. High School: Member of Samford's record-setting 2007 recruiting class that was ranked 68th in the nation, No. 15 in the Southeast Region and the best in the OVC . . . played for the Lady Dragons 89 club team under the tutelage of head coach Chris Cook . . . a proven leader that has helped her team to be consistently one of the top-ranked squads in Tennessee . . . attended Evangelical Christian School and was named to the Tennessee Sports Writers Association All-State Soccer team from 2004-07 . . . named an NCSSA All-American in 2005-06 . . . was also a member of the Memphis Mercury club team in the Women's Premier League . . . also lettered in basketball at ECS. Personal: Born April 6, 1989 . . . daughter of Lynn and Mike Leppert . . . her brother John plays soccer at Erskine College . . . her sister Blair was a cheerleader at Mississippi State . . . majoring in nutrition and dietics. ONE-ON-ONE WITH LEPPERT SENIOR SPOTLIGHT My favorite Samford memory is: When we had over 35 people sitting around Coach Yelton's TV and seeing the name Samford University pop up on ESPN's brackets for the NCAA Tournament my freshmen year. It was an amazing experience to go into double overtime against LSU at Florida State. The thing I'll miss the most about Samford soccer is: The girls. This group of girls I have played with will forever have a special bond that most people don't get the chance to have. We do everything together. We play together, eat together, live together and pretty much go everywhere together. These memories that I have spent with these girls are experiences that I will always cherish. The most important thing I can tell incoming freshmen is: To never give up. When you push yourself to the limit you can do things that you never thought your body could do. Use the talents God has blessed you with and work on the things you struggle with . . . everything else will fall into place. Along with not giving up, these incoming freshmen need have fun and take advantage of this time they play at Samford University. You are given the opportunity to play at the highest level of college soccer, so enjoy it! You only get four years to play, so I advise for you to take advantage of this opportunity. |
