Emily Jones at Rice.jpg
Samford's Emily Jones (3) and the Bulldogs tallied a 3-3 draw on the road against a scrappy Rice squad Friday.
(Aaron M. Sprecher)
Box Score
Samford Stats
HOUSTON, Texas -- The Samford University soccer team received goals from All-Southern Conference performers Malcanisha Kelley, Jermaine Seoposenwe and Taylor Borman on Friday, but the homestanding Rice Owls tallied two scores in the final 31 minutes of action to prompt a 3-3 draw held at Rice's Holloway Field.
With the tie, Samford (1-2-2) recorded its second road draw of the 2016 campaign. On Aug. 19, the Bulldogs opened the season with a hard-fought 0-0 tie at No. 26-ranked South Alabama. In exhibition play, Samford traveled all the way to East Lansing, Mich., and battled to a 1-1 decision with the Michigan State Spartans.
The Bulldogs defeated Troy, 2-0, on Aug. 21, while their losses this year have come against Georgia, 3-1, and Auburn, 4-3. In its last three matches, Samford has allowed 10 goals. In all of 2015, the Bulldogs allowed a total of 15 goals in 20 outings.
Rice (1-1-1) opened the scoring Friday in the 18th minute as defender Jasmine Isokpunwu headed home a corner kick off the foot of Annie Walker. The goal was Isokpunwu's first of the season.
Following the Owls' early score, Samford answered with three goals of its own within a six-minute span to garner a 3-1 advantage.
Senior striker Kelley scored with less than two minutes remaining in the first half to even the match at 1-1, while Seoposenwe and Borman notched goals in the 46th and 50th minutes, respectively, to take a 3-1 lead. Kelley's goal proved to be her third of the season and increased her Samford record to 31 in her career.
Seoposenwe, the Bulldogs' 2016 Olympian for her home country of South Africa, helped account for all three of Samford's goals. A senior forward, Seoposenwe assisted on both Kelley and Borman's goals, while her score was the third of the season. Sophomore forward Ella Baggett assisted on Seoposenwe's goal at exactly 39 seconds into the second half.
With momentum on their side and a significant 3-1 advantage on the scoreboard, the Bulldogs seemed poised to cruise to a nice road victory at Rice, but the Owls had different thoughts.
In the 60th minute of action, Rice's Lianne Mananquil scored her first goal of the season to cut Samford's lead to 3-2 heading into the final third of regulation. Then, less than 12 minutes later, the Owls' Nia Stallings also registered her first goal of the season as she turned in the equalizer at 71:06 in the match.
Neither team was able to score in the final 18:54 of regulation, or the 20 minutes of overtime play, therefore finished in a 3-3 draw.
Rice outshot Samford, 18-16, while the Bulldogs' goalkeeper Katie Peters finished with five saves. The Owls' stopper, Samantha Colley, tallied a pair of saves, both of which occurred in the first half.
Samford's Courtney Hendrickson and Seoposenwe both ended the showdown with three shot attempts apiece to lead the team.
Samford and Rice now own identical 0-0-1 records in the all-time series between the teams.
The Samford University soccer team will next be in action Sept. 9, at 7 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs play host to the Baylor Bears in a high-profile matchup slated to be held in Birmingham, Ala., at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium.
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Box Score
Samford Stats