Unbeaten Miami Soccer Returns to the Road
LIVE STATS
Sept. 5, 2007
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The unbeaten University of Miami women’s soccer team will take on host Samford and LSU at this week’s Long’s Electronics Samford Classic in Birmingham, Ala. The Hurricanes will square off versus Samford on Thursday, Sept. 6, at 8:30 p.m. (EST) and then face LSU on Saturday, Sept. 8, at 6 p.m. (EST).
The Hurricanes (1-0-1) remain unbeaten after opening their 2007 season with a pair of matches in Oxford, Miss. On Friday, Miami played to a 1-1 double-overtime tie at Ole Miss, and then dismantled Alabama A&M, 8-0, on Sunday. After a pair of matches, the Hurricanes lead the ACC with 4.5 goals per game, rank second with 26.0 shots per game and are tied for second with 11.0 points per game.
True freshman Brittney Steinbruch (Wyckoff, N.J.) has catapulted to the top of the ACC, averaging a league-high 2.0 goals per game and is tied for the conference lead with 4.0 points per game and one game-winning goal. Steinbruch knocked in the first goal of the season for the `Canes at Ole Miss and then recorded her first collegiate hat trick in just her second start versus Alabama A&M.
Fellow freshman Lauren Singer (Mt. Sinai, N.Y.) also posted a hat trick versus the Bulldogs, and ranks second in the ACC with 1.5 goals per game and third with 3.0 points per game. Senior Lindsay Curtin (Fairfax, Va.) leads the Hurricanes and is tied for second in the conference with a pair of assists.
Miami is 1-0-0 versus both Samford and LSU. The Hurricanes defeated Samford, 2-0, in Coral Gables last season and previously downed LSU, 1-0, in regular-season tournament play in Tallahassee on Sept. 6, 2002.
Samford – who went 11-4-3 in 2006 and finished first in the Ohio Valley Conference – returns eight starters, including junior goalkeeper Cayley Winters. The Bulldogs’ leading scorer from last season returns in senior forward Rebecca Bohler, however Samford has been led early by freshman forward Lauren Cook, who has tallied three goals – including a pair in the season-opener versus Georgia Southern. Winters has eight saves so far this season and has helped the Bulldogs to a pair of shutouts at home.
LSU also enters this week’s tournament undefeated after a pair of shutouts at home. The Tigers have limited their opponents to a combined five shots and one corner kick in 180 minutes of action. LSU, who finished 9-8-3 in 2006 and placed third in the SEC West, returns all 11 starters. Four Tigers have scored this season, led by sophomore midfielder Melissa Clarke who has registered a team-high two goals.
After this week’s tournament, the Hurricanes will return to Coral Gables for their home-opener at Cobb Stadium versus in-state rival USF on Friday, Sept. 14, at 7 p.m.
