MACON, Ga. – Trailing by a goal in the middle stages of the second half, Western Carolina scored two goals in the span of 2 minutes and 31 seconds to rally for a 2-1 victory over Mercer in Southern Conference action on Sunday afternoon at Betts Stadium.
 
With the win, WCU remains atop the Southern Conference standings with a 5-1 league mark and an 8-3-3 overall record. Mercer drops to 3-2-1 and 8-3-5. Additionally, the Catamounts snap a four-game skid against Mercer in the all-time series.
 
"I felt like was a tale of two halves," explained head coach Chad Miller. "We had a tremendous rebound from the first half. I felt like we were very flat at the beginning. Give credit to Mercer, they got the early goal and were all over us and we were on our back foot. Leanne's (Trudel's) penalty kick save was huge and gave us some momentum heading into halftime."
 
"We regrouped at halftime. In the second half, I felt we dominated and dictated play. It was a huge confidence and moral boost to get the equalizer. Abbie's goal was sheer grit and determination to get us the win. We were down in the dumps in the first half and being able to respond the way we did was unbelievable. I'm very proud of the girls."
 
Mercer took an early 1-0 lead, scoring at the 1:56 mark on a goal by Ciara Whitely that was assisted by Chandler Lewis-Jenkins. In the 24th minute, Kendall Cook was awarded a penalty kick, but Trudel stopped her shot attempt to keep the score at 1-0. Trudel made an additional save on a Cook shoot attempt just over 30 seconds after the penalty kick. The Bears held a 1-0 lead at halftime and a 7-1 advantage in shots.
 
After re-entering the match as a substitute in the 68th minute, Emma Soucy made an immediate impact. Soucy scored her first collegiate goal at the 69:31 mark to tie the match at a goal apiece. Naya Marcil assisted Soucy's goal for her ninth helper of the year which ties WCU's single-season school record.
 
Abbie Lainhart's second goal of the season at the 72:02 mark gave the Catamounts a 2-1 lead. Lainhart scored her first goal of the year - also a game-winning goal - in WCU's 1-0 victory at Samford in the league opener.
 
Leanne Trudel made four saves for WCU while Lindsay Bell stopped one shot for Mercer. The Bears held a 13-7 edge in shots and a 5-3 advantage in shots on goal.
 
The Catamounts remain on the road Thursday, venturing to Charleston, S.C. for a 3 p.m. match against The Citadel. Thursday's match will be streamed on ESPN+ (paid subscription required).
 
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