BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Abbie Lainhart's first half goal gave Western Carolina all the offense it would need as the Catamount defense stood strong in a 1-0 road victory over the defending Southern Conference champion and preseason league favorite Samford on Thursday night inside the Samford Soccer and Track Complex in the conference opener for both squads.
 
WCU improves to 4-2-3 overall and 1-0 in Southern Conference play. Samford drops to 4-3-3 and 0-1. The win for the Catamounts snaps a seven-match skid against the Bulldogs and is the first win in program history in Birmingham on the 10^th try.
 
"I'm really proud of the girls. It's a massive win for our group coming on the road to a place where we'd never won before," said head coach Chad Miller.  "Getting the goal early (in the first half) was huge. I felt like if we could weather the first 15-20 minutes we'd have a chance and then that goal gave us a big boost. In the second half, our defense did a great job of clearing some balls out and weathering the storm. It was probably our most complete effort of the season. It's a big win, but at the same time we've got to back it up eight more times."
 
Lainhart, who entered the match as a substitute at the 25' mark, made an immediate impact as she netted her first goal of the season at the 25:52 mark. Isabella DeMarco contributed her team-leading fourth assist.
 
From there, the Catamount defense led by goalkeeper Leanne Trudel went to work. After a save in the first 10 minutes, Trudel made a save in the waning moments of the first half to preserve the Catamount lead heading into halftime. In the second half, Trudel added a pair of saves as she earned her fourth shutout of the season and sixth of her career.
 
Samford outshot WCU 15-4 with a 6-0 margin in the second half. Lainhart, DeMarco, Naya Marcil, and Kirsten Hahn each took one shot for the Catamounts.
 
WCU welcomes chromatic rival Furman to the Catamount Soccer Complex on Sunday at 1 p.m. for the league home opener. The match will be streamed on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) with free live stats available on catamountsports.com. Admission to all WCU home matches is free of charge.
 
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