Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

Western Carolina University

Western Carolina
The Official Home of Catamount Athletics

Schedule

Full
SoCon WSOC Preview - FRONT

Women's Soccer Greg Hartlage, Director of Media Relations

Soccer Opens SoCon Tournament on Friday

CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Southern Conference regular-season champion Western Carolina begins its pursuit of the 2023 SoCon Women's Soccer Championship on Friday night when the Catamounts play host to No. 8 seed Wofford at the Catamount Athletics Complex. The first kick is set for 7 p.m. in Friday's second quarterfinal match.
 
Tournament play opens at 4 p.m. as fourth-seeded Furman battles fifth-seed UNCG in the other quarterfinal with the winner meeting the Wofford/WCU winner on Sunday afternoon in the semifinals with a spot in the SoCon Championship match on the line. Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) with free live stats available on CatamountSports.com.
 
Matchup: #8 Wofford (5-10-4, 2-5-2 SoCon) vs #1 Western Carolina (10-4-3, 7-2 SoCon)
Date: Friday, Oct. 27
Time: 7 p.m.
Site: Catamount Athletics Complex (Cullowhee, N.C.)
Live Stats: Sidearm Stats
Live Video: ESPN+
Twitter: @Catamountsoccer
 
WCU senior Becca Campbell scored her third goal of the season in the final minutes of regulation last Sunday, but Western Carolina came up short in its regular-season finale, falling 2-1 to the host ETSU at Summers-Taylor Stadium in Johnson City. With the win, the Bucs secured the No. 2 seed and the right to host the other two quarterfinal matches.
 
On Tuesday, Campbell was named the SoCon Women's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season. She is the second Catamount player to earn multiple weekly honors this season joining Naya Marcil (Offensive Player of the Week, Oct. 3 & Oct. 10). Midfielder Alexis DeMarco (Offensive Player of the Week, Oct. 17) and GK Leanne Trudel (Defensive Player of the Week, Aug. 22).
In the regular season meeting between WCU and Wofford, Catamount junior Naya Marcil scored a goal and dished out a pair of assists as five different Catamounts lit the scoreboard in a 5-0 triumph at the Catamount Athletics Complex in Cullowhee.
 
On Thursday, WCU sophomore forward Isabella Demarco was named the 2023 SoCon Women's Soccer Player of the Year, headlining seven Catamounts named to the All-SoCon team voted on by the league's head coaches. Demarco, who was also named first-team All-SoCon, is the first Catamount women's soccer player to collect the league's top player honor since the program was founded back in 1999. Demarco was joined on the top honorary squad by junior midfielder Naya Marcil and senior defender Becca Campbell. Sophomore defender Sarah Engen and second-year goalkeeper Leanne Trudel both landed on the second-team all-conference, with freshmen Sophia Goclowski and Emma Soucy both collecting SoCon All-Freshman plaudits. Additionally, head coach Chad Miller was selected as the SoCon Coach of the Year becoming just the second WCU skipper to earn the honor.
 
Wofford used two second-half goals on Tuesday night to eliminate #9 VMI from the SoCon Championship and advance to Friday's quarterfinals. The Terriers enter the weekend earning a pair of ties to close out the regular season coming against both Furman and The Citadel. Ines Obradovac leads the Terriers with five goals on the season while Megan Childress has four goals and an assist on the season for Wofford. Rylee Godbold tallied a pair of saves in Tuesday's matchup with the Keydets to earn her third win in goal.
 
Entering its 20th SoCon Championship all-time, the Catamounts hold a 10-16-3 record all-time in the tournament including twice hoisting the trophy in the end. WCU won both the 2005 and 2008 SoCon Tournament titles. The Catamounts and Terriers have met three times in the conference tournament with WCU taking two of the three matchups with the most recent occurring in 2016 when WCU won 2-1 in double overtime.
 
Friday's match is the 29th all-time meeting between Catamounts and Terriers with WCU holding a 18-7-3 record. WCU has won nine straight matchups including the 5-0 win in Cullowhee at the beginning of October.
 
Keep track of everything related to Catamount women's soccer and WCU Athletics through its social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/catamountsports), Instagram (@wcu_catamounts), and Twitter (@catamounts, @Catamountsoccer).
 
Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Alexis DeMarco

#19 Alexis DeMarco

MF
5' 7"
Senior
Bishop England HS
Sarah Engen

#14 Sarah Engen

D
5' 8"
Sophomore
Naya Marcil

#7 Naya Marcil

MF
5' 8"
Junior
Leanne Trudel

#1 Leanne Trudel

GK
5' 5"
Sophomore
Becca Campbell

#3 Becca Campbell

D
5' 10"
Senior
Emma Soucy

#13 Emma Soucy

F/MF
5' 4"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Alexis DeMarco

#19 Alexis DeMarco

5' 7"
Senior
Bishop England HS
MF
Sarah Engen

#14 Sarah Engen

5' 8"
Sophomore
D
Naya Marcil

#7 Naya Marcil

5' 8"
Junior
MF
Leanne Trudel

#1 Leanne Trudel

5' 5"
Sophomore
GK
Becca Campbell

#3 Becca Campbell

5' 10"
Senior
D
Emma Soucy

#13 Emma Soucy

5' 4"
Freshman
F/MF