After securing a share of the Southern Conference regular-season title, the Samford women’s soccer team is turning its attention to postseason play as the Bulldogs prepare to defend their conference tournament championship.
Samford enters the 2026 SoCon Women’s Soccer Championship as the No. 1 seed after finishing the regular season with an 11-2-5 overall record and an undefeated 8-0-2 record in conference play.
The Bulldogs share the regular-season title with Furman, which finished with an identical conference record. However, Samford earned the top seed through the conference tiebreaker, securing a first-round bye and home-field advantage heading into the quarterfinals.
Samford secured its share of the title with a dominant 6-0 victory over VMI on Nov. 1, marking the program’s 12th regular-season conference championship since joining the SoCon in 2008.
The Bulldogs wasted little time establishing control against VMI, scoring three goals in the opening 20 minutes. Caroline Smith opened the scoring in the sixth minute, followed by goals from Langston Lilly and Sam De Luca.
Samford continued its offensive dominance in the second half, with Mary-Ainsley Alack, Martha Bishop and Ella Raider each finding the net. Ella Raider’s goal marked the first of her collegiate career.
The victory capped off an impressive regular season finish for the Bulldogs, who enter the tournament on a five game winning streak. Samford also recorded shutout victories against Chattanooga, Tennessee Tech, The Citadel and UNC Greensboro during that stretch.
The Bulldogs carried that regular season momentum into the SoCon Tournament, defeating No. 9 seed Western Carolina 5-1 in Sunday’s quarterfinal matchup at Shauna Yelton Field.
Samford quickly established dominance and control, with Sam De Luca scoring her team-leading eighth goal of the season immediately in the second minute of the game off an assist from Brinley Murphy.
The Bulldogs continued their offensive dominance in the second half, with Annie McBride, Murphy, Bishop and Brooklyn Miller each finding the net. The five-goal accomplishment marked another impressive offensive performance for Samford, improving their overall record to 12-2-5.
“For us to have the performance we had against a team and a coach that I respect, I think that tells you that we were clicking pretty well today,” head coach Todd Yelton said. “It’s one down and at this point in time it’s survive and advance, so that’s what we’ve got to keep doing.”
With another regular-season title secured and a dominant quarterfinal performance behind them, Samford now has their sights set on securing this semifinal in hopes to achieve a much larger reward: a third consecutive conference championship and the SoCon’s automatic bid to the NCAA Women’s Soccer Championship.
As the competition continues to get more intense, Samford will look to continue their winning momentum in front of their home crowd in the SoCon semifinals, where the Bulldogs will face Tennessee Tech on Friday, Nov. 13, at 4 p.m. at Shauna Yelton Field.
Staff Reporter
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