Samford Soccer Preps For FSU In 9th NCAA Appearance Under Yelton
By Steve Irvine
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA - November 13, 2025
One of the most consistent programs in the state of Alabama faces a familiar test in the first round of the NCAA Women’s Soccer Tournament. Samford leaves on Thursday for its ninth trip to the NCAA Tournament and will travel to Florida State for a first-round game on Friday at 4 p.m. CST.
It will be the second consecutive season that Samford and Florida State play in a first round game and the fifth time overall.
“We certainly know how to find our way to Tallahassee,” said Samford head coach Todd Yelton, whose has built an incredibly successful program in his 24 seasons at the school. “I mean, nine years in and five of them have been there, right? Certainly a big mountain for our kids to climb. You know, it's not really a true tournament. It's an invitational because they don't seed it. So it is what it is. The one thing I know about our kids is they'll show up, they'll put in a great effort and give ourselves every chance to be in a positive way at the end of it.”
This will be the fourth time that Samford played the Seminoles in a first round game. Last season, top-ranked Florida State beat Samford, 8-0, in a first round game in Tallahassee. The Bulldogs also lost to Seminoles in 2011 (2-0) and 2016 (4-0).
Before looking at this year’s teams and this year’s matchup we’ll take a glance at the program that Yelton built since taking over in 2003. His first team as the head coach finished 12-4-5 and won the Ohio Valley Conference regular season title. His only team without double digit wins was in 2008 when the Bulldogs were 9-9-3 but they finished 8-1-2 in their first Southern Conference seasons.
His first NCAA Tournament team came in 2005 when they beat 19th ranked Vanderbilt in Nashville before dropping a 2-0 decision to No. 4 Pepperdine. The other NCAA Tournament victory came in 2021 when the Bulldogs beat Auburn, 2-0, before dropping a penalty kick shootout to St. John’s. His teams won nine consecutive SoCon titles from 2014-22.
“I think obviously he knows the game of soccer,” said Martin Newton, who has been at Samford’s athletic director since 2011. “He's a very good soccer coach, but I think what Todd has done over years is he is committed to his culture and built a culture that he will not wave it from. I go back to what I said earlier about knowing who you are. Todd Yelton knows exactly who he is. He knows exactly the type of program he wants. He knows exactly the type of student athlete that he wants and he doesn't waver it from that. He's had opportunities to get young ladies to come in here that maybe were better soccer players than we've had before, but they probably didn't fit into his culture. He has an unbelievable culture.”
This year’s team is 13-2-5 overall and was 7-0-2 while claiming the SoCon regular season title. The Bulldogs haven’t lost a game since dropping a 3-1 decision to Alabama on Aug. 24. Samford extended its current winning streak to seven games by sweeping three games in the SoCon Tournament, including a 3-2 double overtime win over Furman in the semifinals and a 4-1 triumph over Mercer in the championship game.
Sam De Luca was selected as the SoCon Player of the Year after scoring a conference high 14 goals and finishing with 34 points. First team all-conference selections were midfielder Sarah Holland and defender Caroline Smith while second team honorees were forward Mamie Cameron, midfielder Fleming Dean and goalkeeper Peyton Hull, who led the SoCon with 11 shutouts.
“You tell me a lot of teams that are perennially in the top 50 in the RPI, and this group continues that," Yelton said. "We're 47 in the RPI and two championships already in a situation where one publication had us picked to finish ninth in the league. It's been one of the easiest groups I've ever coached. When they really care for and love one another and really want good things for one another, it makes it quite enjoyable to show up every day and work with them."
On Friday, the Bulldogs will try to extend the season against a Florida State team that is making their 26th consecutive appearance in the tournament and hosting the first round for the 21st time overall and 16th time in the past 17 seasons. The Seminoles are 10-2-4 overall and were 6-2-2 in the ACC, which was put them in fourth place in the regular season. Florida State played three of the four No. 1 seeds in this season’s tournament and was 1-2-1 in those games.
“It's super exciting," De Luca said. "It's a great honor to even be a part of the tournament. To go in there and to be doing it with this group is super exciting so we're ready to go for sure. We know what to expect going back to Tallahassee.”