Women’s soccer: VMI sees season conclude with 5-0 loss to Samford

The top-seeded Samford Bulldogs scored twice in the first 9:01 and went on to a 5-0 win over the eighth-seeded VMI Keydets in the quarterfinals of the 2016 SoCon Women’s Soccer Championship, contested Saturdaynight in Birmingham, Ala.

Samford (13-3-2) got off to a fortunate start, when a 40-yard service by Jermaine Seoposenwe in the first minute went awry, bounced off the crossbar and in for the game’s first goal. Seoposenwe then added in with a penalty kick in the 10th minute, and goals in the 31st, 65th and 86th minutes wrapped up the scoring for the Bulldogs, who advance to play #4 Furman on Nov. 4.

For the match, Samford finished with a 30-7 edge in shots and 6-2 advantage in corner kicks. Two Samford keepers combined for four saves, while Ceci Keppeler stopped 12 shots for VMI.

After the two goals by Seoposenwe, Sara Smeltzer added on at 30:06 with a shot from five yards out. That made it 3-0, and the Keydets were able to test SU’s back line at 41:40 with a Kristen Whitehurst shot on goal. Anna Maddox made the save, however, and the match went to halftime with the home squad up 3-0.

The Keydets had their first extended offensive threat in the 51st minute, when Katie Peters was forced to stop a pair of Taylor Callahan shots. Samford then tacked on a fourth goal at 64:10, when Taylor Borman scored off an assist from Smeltzer to make it 4-0.

Abriella Argueta wrapped up the scoring at 85:14 off a VMI turnover.

“I thought our effort was good tonight and we created chances,” said VMI head coach Chris Bergmann. “We established ourselves tonight, and this year, as being able to compete, but tonight, hats off to Samford as they came to play. Still, we played with heart in a tough place to play, and we battled throughout. The seniors left a great legacy and the rest of the squad is already ready for next season. All said, I am proud of our team and all we accomplished this year.”

VMI’s season ended at 8-12, the second-most victories in program history. The Keydets also wrapped up their season with a new school record in shutouts, and individual efforts included Emma Quirk’s five assists tying for the third-most in school history.