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August 12, 2009
Yelton Expects Samford Soccer To Top Conference
Samford Women's Soccer program opens its 2009 campaign on Aug. 15 at 2 p.m., on the road against the Memphis Tigers. The exhibition match will be held at Echles Field in Memphis, Tenn. Samford will then open its regular-season schedule at home versus Auburn on Aug. 23, before also playing host to the Alabama Crimson Tide on Aug. 28.
Samford's expectations are high for the 2009 campaign. The Bulldogs return all 11 starters from last year's team that turned in an 8-1-2 conference record and advanced to the semifinal round of the SoCon Tournament. Samford's talent-laden roster will also boast 10 additional returning players as well as six highly-touted incoming freshmen.
As they head into the 2009 season, the Bulldogs return 95 percent of their goal-scoring production and 83 percent of their assist production from a year ago.
With the beginning of the 2009 Samford soccer season only a few days away, Head Coach Todd Yelton sat for a Q&A session with Assistant Sports Information Director Zac Schrieber.
ZS–How do you think your team handled its first year in the Southern Conference?
TY–"The SoCon part of the schedule was great. It was the nonconference part of the schedule where we really kind of struggled a bit. From the outside looking in, most people would say that last year we didn't really perform up to our normal standard here at Samford, but we started out 1-7 and then our team responded. We went into our new conference with the uncertainty and pressure that lies there and that's why I really consider last year as a success."
"I was extremely proud of the way that group of players responded to adversity. When a team starts off 1-7, things can really go in a lot of different directions. They just put their head down and kept going and pushed forward. I believe that most people in the Southern Conference would tell you that we were one of the top teams in the league."
How was the team able to overcome its slow start last year?
"If you look at the year before, we lost Cassie Applegate, who was a big part of the offense for us. We lost Heather Birdsell, who scored a lot of goals, and we also lost Lauren Cook to injury, who was our leading scorer in 2007 as a true freshman. That was a lot of goals to replace and then we also lost Lindsay Matern, who we were counting on to help us offensively. She tore her ACL, so we didn't have her for the entire season."
"Last year, we played our first eight games on the road and we really struggled to score goals early on, but once we started finding the back of the net, we were able to change our luck a bit."
Talk about last season's emergence of some really good young players.
"When you look at that freshman class and then add Sarah Wilkinson, who was a redshirt freshman for us, they had a really good campaign. They scored some great goals and anytime you're starting a freshman in the center back and a freshman goalkeeper, there are going to be quite a bit of nervousness and even some sleepless nights. I thought that both Theresa (Henry) and Alyssa (Whitehead) had great freshman performances and we look for them to get even better in the years ahead to build upon what they'd accomplished as freshmen."
Talk about how you were so close to winning the conference tournament last season.
"When you look over the year last year and you look at the results, UNC Greensboro won the league and we finished 0-0 with them here at our place, and I honestly feel as if we should have won that game. Then we went to Davidson, who on that night was three goals better than we were. Then we earned a draw against Wofford, who on that day we couldn't score against. They did a great job of defending us."
"So, when you look at that, you know that if the results just go a little bit differently, we could have won the league or at least ended up tying with UNC Greensboro for the league title. At the time of the SoCon Tournament, all six teams that were there were ranked in the top-100 teams in the nation. It's definitely a quality conference and it was a quality result for us to get by College of Charleston in the first round. They had a very veteran team and then Western Carolina is always a difficult team to play against, because of the style of play that they enforce on you."
"When you look at the whole picture, we definitely could have won the league and won the SoCon Tournament, but the competition is so tight in this league that there really is no room for error."
How excited are you about having 11 returning starters on the team this season?
"Every year is a new year and it is a part of the process of building a program. We return a lot of players who were a part of things last season and we also get some key players back from injury, as well as some talented freshmen coming in that we feel can contribute right away. I think that we have a chance to be a much better squad than last year. If all things stay the same, we should have a good opportunity to achieve our goals of winning the league and becoming a top-30 team in the country. That's become the measuring stick for us."
Which incoming freshmen do you think will have a chance to contribute this year?
"I honestly think that all six freshmen have a chance to be in the mix this season. A lot of that will be determined by what they do this summer and how fit they are when they report to school. It's a huge jump from the club and high school levels to the Division I level, but if they do the right things this summer and come in fit, then all of them should contribute in some way. Six years ago, I wouldn't be surprised if we'd have five or six freshmen on the field at the same time, but that's not the case anymore. This will be the most competitive environment that they've ever been a part of."
"We started two freshmen last year for pretty much the entire season and they both handled it beautifully. I think that the types of players we are signing are at such a level that they can come in and compete for a spot right away. What that does is gives us greater competition on our squad and in my opinion competition is the building block for success."
What do you expect to see from sophomore goalkeeper Alyssa Whitehead this season?
"I think Alyssa has the tools to be the best goalkeeper that's ever played here, and that's quite a compliment when you look at the goalkeeping corps that we've had over the years. From Crystal Royall to Cayley Winters, all of those players won a number of accolades. If Alyssa keeps the same mentality and the same drive that she's displayed since she's been here, then I think she could set numerous records here and have a chance to win a number of awards. Knowing Alyssa, the most important thing to her is that we do well as a team."
"To be successful in soccer, you have to be very good throughout the spine of your team, and goalkeeper is a very important position in that regard."
Who do you see being some of the game-changers on the offensive attack this season?
"That's interesting because last year we really struggled to find some people to score goals for us, but so far this year we've had a great spring. We scored in every one of our spring matches and we played some really tough competition."
"Amber (Cress) has been an impactful player ever since she's stepped foot on this campus, so I see no reason why that would change. We'll also have Sarah (Wilkinson) back and she had a great year last year. Natalie (Fleming) also plays as an attacking player and a midfielder, so she's definitely versatile, but we'll also get Lauren (Cook) back who led our team in scoring as a freshman. Those players, as well as all of the people that have improved during the off-season, will really give us a lot of good scoring options next year."
Are you excited about having home matches against both Alabama and Auburn this season?
"Anytime we get to play at home here at Samford, it's a huge advantage. We have a very high winning percentage in matches played at home and that's one of the reasons that scheduling has become kind of a nightmare. It's hard to get teams to come here and play us, but I think that we have a good mix of home and away matches this season. It's also fantastic to get to play against two in-state rivals at home right off the bat. I'm expecting it to be an outstanding atmosphere for both of those matches."
What are your expectations in the Southern Conference this year?
"The Southern Conference is a fantastic league. The quality and depth in this league is extremely difficult to play against week in and week out. Last year, it seemed as if a majority of the matches were very close and every match either went to overtime or was a one-goal contest. On any given day, a team in this league can get a positive result."
"My expectations are that we win the league. I think that if those aren't your expectations as a coach, especially if you feel like you have a talented team, then you probably shouldn't be coaching. Those are our expectations every year here at Samford, because we recruit players to come here to win trophies. Our expectations are always to win the league and to play in the NCAA Tournament."
