Box Score
Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University soccer team used a pair of goals from junior Amanda Abbott and a score from true freshman Anna Allen to post a lopsided 3-0 triumph over the Davidson Wildcats Sunday in an early-season Southern Conference matchup held at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium.
 
"This was a great win for us, and to be honest with you, I thought we played great Friday night as well, but we just weren't that good in front of goal," said Samford head coach Todd Yelton. "I was happy with the way we played today. Sunday games are always tough because of the quick turnaround. We really appreciate the track and field teams for coming out and supporting us. They made a huge difference."
 
With Sunday's victory, Samford (7-2-1, 1-0-1 SoCon) extended its undefeated streak to six-consecutive matches and improved to 5-0-1 when playing at home this season. The Bulldogs also tallied their third-consecutive victory against Davidson (2-6-3, 1-1 SoCon).
 
All-time, Samford holds a 3-1-3 record versus the Wildcats, including a stellar 2-0-2 mark when playing at home in Birmingham.
 
"I think that Davidson's Greg Ashton is one of the league's best head coaches, if not in the entire Southeast," Yelton said. "I have tremendous respect for what he does and I think he is an extremely good coach. It's never easy to play Davidson, because he's really good at what he does in getting his team prepared. We're certainly happy to get the three points today."
 
The Bulldogs' first goal of Sunday's match occurred in the 39^th minute of play and came off a corner kick from the right side.
 
Samford's Jordan Johnson took the corner and sent a deep arcing pass to the far side of the box where Abbott skied high above the Davidson defenders and headed the ball back into the right corner of the net for her first goal of the match. Abbott's score gave the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead, while Johnson's assist proved to be her third of the season.
 
"In a tight conference game, if you can get a goal from a set-piece, then it can really change the match in your favor," Yelton said. "Amanda's playing with such confidence right now and she's definitely a much improved player now than she was a year ago. We're very happy to be the beneficiary of that."
 
Midway through the second half, Samford extended its lead to 2-0 as Allen scored the first goal of her young collegiate career in the 66^th minute.
 
At exactly 65:48 into Sunday's match, Allen, the Bulldogs' highly-touted freshman from Vestavia Hills, gathered a pass from Molly Pittman, turned and then dribbled past one Wildcat defender to her left. She then stepped up a few yards and rifled a left-footed shot that found the right corner of the net.
 
On Allen's goal, both Malcanisha Kelley and Pittman were credited with assists.
 
Samford goalkeeper Melissa Montgomery made her first start of the season Sunday and made four critical stops for the Bulldogs. She teamed with true freshman Dale Steinagle to record the team's sixth shutout of the 2013 season.
 
Montgomery, who started a majority of Samford's matches in goal last season, played the first 86:32 on Sunday, while Steinagle came in for the final 3:28 of the contest.
 
"At the beginning of the season, if people would have seen that we'd currently be without Brit (Brittany Hoffman), Ariane (Lukens), Alissa (Hansen) and Katie (Peters), then I don't think they'd feel that we'd be nearly as good as we are today," said Yelton. "The depth on this squad is certainly very good and Melissa knows what it's about. She's done it before and that's the thing about goalkeeping. Your No. 2 is just one play away from being the starter. Melissa wasn't called on to make too many saves today, but the ones that she did make were huge. She did a great job today."
 
Samford's final goal of the match was scored by Abbott as she notched her second of the game and her team-leading fifth of the season.
 
On the goal, senior Michelle Moll placed a perfect through-pass ahead to Abbott where she found herself one-on-one with the goalkeeper Rachel Locke. The Bulldogs' lightning-quick native of Marietta, Ga., took advantage of Moll's brilliant pass and beat Locke to the left-hand corner of the goal.
 
Samford outshot Davidson, 15-6, on Sunday and registered 10 corner kicks, as compared to four from the Wildcats. A total of eight of the Bulldogs' 15 shot attempts were on-goal. Both Montgomery and Locke finished with four saves apiece.
 
The Samford University soccer team will next be in action Thursday at 7 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs welcome the Wofford Terriers to the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium for another key home SoCon matchup.
 
For the most up-to-date information on Samford soccer please follow @Samford_Sports and @SamfordSoccer on Twitter.

Box Score