It’s ring season here at Samford. Women’s Soccer clinched the SoCon Tournament title after defeating UNC Greensboro in a marathon match of two halves, one overtime and penalty kicks.
“In the first half, UNCG came out very fast,” said sophomore forward Whitaker Buchanan. “The first 15 minutes of the game were chaotic, but I think once we found our rhythm, we felt we could control the tempo over UNCG.”
The Bulldogs were very aggressive, keeping the ball in UNCG’s half for most of the 45 minutes. They were first to every ball in the air and had several shots on goal. Layton Glisson was exceptional in her drives forward, hustling to get the ball up the field in UNCG’s box. Kylie Gazza was a brick wall on defense, letting nothing get by her. The Bulldogs had great opportunities to take the ball up the field and with set pieces initiated by Buchanan, who gave Samford plenty of chances on corner kicks.
The half ended in a 0-0 tie, with UNCG having little to be proud of, with only one shot on goal. The second half began with the same intensity as the first, with the Bulldogs taking every opportunity to shut out the Spartans. The ball was again in UNCG’s half for most of the 45 minutes. Samford put UNCG’s keeper to the test with an influx of corner kicks and offensive plays.
“It was a very intense game, start to finish,” Buchanan said.
Despite Samford’s stellar play, the Spartans didn’t break, as the score was knotted 0-0 at the end of the two halves. Two 10-minute halves of overtime were played.
On the overtime periods, Buchanan said, “we gave it everything we had. You could tell everyone was excited and wanted to win.”
The fight continued into penalty kicks, where the Bulldogs claimed victory. Keeper Emma Donley nabbed the Tournament MVP award after making incredible saves and handing Samford the victory after saving a shot by UNCG’s Hannah Morton in the ninth round of penalty kicks. Caroline Donovan, Ella Simpson and Buchanan made the All-Tournament Team, and Mary Raymond was the Pinnacle Award Winner. The Pinnacle Award is given to the player with the highest GPA on the tournament-winning team, and Raymond won with a GPA of 3.98 in health sciences. Buchanan led the game in shots taken with five shots and one shot on goal.
The win marks Samford’s fifth SoCon Tournament title and the team’s seventh postseason appearance. Samford continued their run this Friday, Nov. 11 against the Georgia Bulldogs in Athens in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
NOTE: This article was written before the Samford-Georgia match on Nov. 11. Statistics and records may have changed.
Sports Editor
