March Madness wasn't the only Sporting Event Today; Samford Soccer and Women's Basketball in Action
- Chris S
- Mar 19, 2021
- 4 min read
Soccer
Soccer Opens South Carolina Swing with 2-0 Win Over Wofford
The Bulldogs continued their hunt for their 7th straight regular season title on Friday night as the team traveled to Wofford College and defeated the Terriers 2-0. Samford found the back of the net once per half and allowed their stifling defense to do the rest as the Bulldogs moved into 2nd place with a record of 3-1-1 (3-0-1 SoCon).
Alex Bice scored the game winning goal after a scoreless 36 minutes, marking her 3rd goal on the season and her 3rd goal in as many games. Freshman Forward Morgan Greene facilitated the goal for her fellow Forward, putting her on the score sheet for the first time this season and for the first time in her Samford career.
Morgan Greene would find her name on the score sheet again as she put the game away under her own power after her shot sailed past the Wofford Goalkeeper with just under 15 minutes remaining in the match, all but putting the match to bed.
SoCon Defensive Player of the Week and resident Canadian Morgan McAslan turned in her 4th consecutive clean sheet, keeping Wofford's 2 Shots on Goal in front of the goal line. Credit also goes to the entire Samford defense as they allowed Wofford to get off only 4 shots for the entire game.
The Bulldogs will head almost due West for 45 minutes as the team will face stiff competition against SoCon leading Furman (5-0) for a Sunday matinee. Kickoff is currently scheduled for 1pm Central and can be streamed via ESPN+.
Women's Basketball
Solid 2nd Half isn't Enough to Power Bulldogs Past Ole Miss
Ole Miss had Samford's number in the first half, limiting the good guys to just 9 points in the first quarter and 8 points in the second. Samford finally cracked double digits in a quarter in the third as the team put up the bare minimum 10. The Bulldogs did win the 4th quarter 18-13, but it was too little too late as the Rebels downed Samford 64-45.
Stop me if you've heard this before, but Andrea Cournoyer led the way for the Bulldogs with 17 points and 8 rebounds. Natalie Armstrong pitched in the second most points for the team, contributing 8.
Samford outperformed their average turnovers, coughing up the ball only 14 times. However, Samford pulled down 10 fewer rebounds than average, coming away with only 29 rebounds and losing the battle on the glass by 19. Samford also struggled to hit shots, shooting 34.5% from the field and only 14.3% from downtown. Over the season, Samford averaged 44.47% from the field and 34.76% from 3-point land. Hopefully we can chalk this down to nerves and the team will play like they did throughout the season during tomorrow's consolation bracket game against Illinois State.
Keys to the Game
1 Rebound
I mean this in both senses of the word. Yes, we need to do better than -19 in the rebounding margin in order to give us a chance to play on Monday. But we also need to rebound from tonight and not let tonight's performance affect us on Saturday afternoon. The team needs to have short-term amnesia and play without hesitation tomorrow.
2 See Shots Go through the Net
Having watched several Samford Basketball games this year, this team needs to see shots fall early in order to stay in the game. Samford has had a great defense all season, posting an elite 0.69 Defensive Efficiency rating during Friday's loss to Ole Miss. Seeing shots fall, no matter if it's a free throw or a deep 3, soothes the nerves of everyone on the team. Samford needs to start well and posting at least 12 points in the opening 10 minutes would do wonders for the Bulldogs and their chances to move on to play on Monday.
3 Enjoy the Moment
There is a chance that Saturday's game between Samford and Illinois State will be the last game until November. While this is a sad thought, we also need to remember that a majority of teams never got the opportunity to play after their conference's tournament. Now with a maximum of 2 games left for the Bulldogs, Saturday's game carries that much more importance. I say let it all out, hold nothing back, and play for the 4 seniors. The only thing to lose is your pride.
Samford will tip off against Illinois State in the first game of the Memphis Regional Consolation bracket with Samford being the designated away team yet again. Tip off is scheduled for 2pm Central, so during Halftime of the Samford-VMI game, you can switch over and not have to listen to the halftime commentary.
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