Women's Soccer Primed for SoCon Tournament

Samford women’s soccer is peaking at the right time, as the Bulldogs are playing well with the SoCon Tournament approaching in less than a week. In addition, the team is coming off two thrilling home games at Shauna Yelton Field. In the past week, the Bulldogs tied with ETSU 1-1 at the annual Shauna’s House Game and defeated Western Carolina 1-0 to gift Todd Yelton his 300th career win.

At the Shauna’s House Game, Samford scored early, with senior forward Taylor Yount netting a goal in the game’s fourth minute. After that, both teams were held scoreless for 86 minutes until ETSU’s Sinoxolo Cesane knotted the score in the 90th minute.

Ties have been an unfortunate theme of Samford’s season thus far, as the Bulldogs currently sit at 7-3-6 overall. Furthermore, five of those ties have come on home soil, as Samford, seemingly untouchable at home under Todd Yelton, has struggled to finish games in Birmingham.

However, Coach Yelton is far from the problem for the soccer program. The head coach just netted his 300th career win in his 21st season at Samford.

“I’m pretty blessed to be able to do most of those (wins) here,” Yelton said.

Taylor Yount continued to pace the Bulldogs against Western Carolina, as her goal in the 63rd minute was all the team needed to claim victory over the Catamounts.

While Samford has had a solid week on the field, renewed attention has been brought to the Shauna’s House fund. The fund raises money to build houses for orphans in Ukraine and is named for Todd Yelton’s late wife, who passed away after a battle with cancer in 2015.

The charity’s work is especially timely, considering the recent escalation in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

“Shauna’s House games are pretty emotional for Coach (Yelton),” Yount said. “It’s emotional for us too, but I couldn’t imagine having to go through that, but I think it’s something that means a lot to him, and it means a lot to us.”

Overall, the Bulldogs are coming off of an emotionally charged week. They will look to continue their winning streak when they face Furman on the road Friday, Oct. 21, at 6 p.m. Birmingham time.