Cullowhee, N.C. -- The 2024 regular season home schedule is coming to an end as the Catamounts get set to host the ETSU Bucs Thursday night for the annual Black out/Beat the Bucs game. Kick for the rivalry matchup is set for 7:00 P.M. Thursday night.  
 
The Catamounts most recently downed the Wofford Terriers in Spartanburg in an explosive 6-1 match. The Bucs were on the receiving end of a shutout, falling to the Furman Paladins in a 1-0 decision in Johnson City.  
 
Thursday's Matchup 
Western Carolina (10-2-2, 5-0-0 SoCon) vs ETSU (3-7-2, 2-3-1 SoCon) 
 
Cullowhee, N.C. | 7:00 P.M. | Catamount Athletic Complex 
Live Stats: https://tinyurl.com/nvt4xhvs 
Watch (ESPN+): https://tinyurl.com/544eerjr 
 
Around the Conference: 
#1 Western Carolina vs #7 ETSU | 10/17/24 | 7:00 P.M. 
#2 Samford vs #4 Mercer | 10/17/24 | 7:00 P.M.  
#3 Furman vs #6 Chattanooga | 10/17/24 | 7:00 P.M. 
#5 UNCG at #10 The Citadel | 10/17/24 | 7:00 P.M. 
#8 VMI at #9 Wofford | 10/17/24 | 7:00 P.M. 
 
Quick Cuts: 
The 2024 Catamounts are chasing history in several forms this season but could finish off the second undefeated home season in program history with a win or a draw Thursday night. The seven home wins is tied with the 2005 team –who went 7-2 in the inaugural season of the Catamount Athletic Complex -- for the second most in a single season and trails only the 10-0 home record set by the 2001 team.  
 
The Purple and Gold will have to down a tough ETSU team to achieve the first ever undefeated home season at the Catamount Athletic Complex,. The two squads have shared the pitch 21 times, with the Catamounts holding a narrow 10-9-2 lead in the series. WCU has won the last two home meetings in the series, but fell in Johnson City 2-1 to close out the 2023 regular season. 
 
ETSU and WCU have only shared three conference opponents this season. Both teams took dominating wins over The Citadel (WCU 4-0, ETSU 6-0) and strong victories over Wofford in Spartanburg (WCU 6-1, ETSU 3-0), but the difference between the two team's records comes in their match up with Mercer. A top-15 national offense at the time of their meeting, the Catamounts shutdown the Bear attack in a 1-0 shutout victory, limiting Mercer to only four shots on goal throughout the match. Mercer returned to form against the Bucs, rocketing 16 shots and placing nine attacks on goal in a 2-0 win over ETSU in Johnson City.  
 
Players to Watch: 
Sofia Goclowski has continually hammered away at opposing backlines in recent weeks and had been close to scoring her first goal of the season, but finally hit paydirt in explosive fashion against the Wofford Terriers. Goclowski recorded her first-career multi-goal effort in the win, notching a brace on four shots on goal in only 39 minutes of play.  
 
Reigning Southern Conference Offensive Player of the Week, Isabella DeMarco contributed two goals of her own in the 6-1 victory, including the game-winner in the 12' minute of the match. DeMarco is on a three-game points streak, recording three goals and an assist over the course of that run.  
 
Milla Syska's breakout season continued on Sunday as the junior striker notched her tenth goal of the season, which puts her in a tie for the fifth most in a single season in program history. She has matched Isabella DeMarco's goal total from last year, when the latter was named the SoCon Player of the Year. Additionally, she added her second assist of the season on DeMarco's opening goal of the match in the 3' minute.  
 
ETSU has shared offensive responsibilities this season as four Bucs have two goals on the season and at least five points. Kyra Ranvek has led the team's offensive attack in conference play, posting two goals and an assist across the team's six conference matches this season.  
 
Goalkeeper Ashton Blair is the only Buc to set up between the pipes this season and has denied 58 goals across ETSU's twelve matches. The redshirt junior keeper has posted two shutout wins in conference play, blanking The Citadel and Wofford.  
 
Up Next for The Catamounts: 
WCU will begin a three-game road swing to close out the regular season, beginning Sunday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. as they face the UNC Greensboro Spartans. They'll then follow that match up with a trip to Greenville, S.C. to face the red-hot Furman Paladins in a rescheduled match on October 24 before closing out the regular season in Chattanooga, Tenn. on October 27.