Cullowhee, N.C. - After an extended hiatus due to the impact of Hurricane Helene on the surrounding areas, the Western Carolina women's soccer team is set to sally out to Lexington, Va. to take on the VMI Keydets on Thursday afternoon. Match time is 4 p.m. at Patchin Field.
Both teams took conference wins their last time out with VMI downing military academy rival The Citadel in a 2-1 road bout. The Catamounts most recently earned their seventh-consecutive shutout, blanking the Mercer Bears at home for their second straight SoCon victory to open the league slate.
Thursday's Match-up:
Western Carolina (7-2-2, 2-0-0 SoCon) at VMI (5-5-1, 1-2-0 SoCon)
Lexington, Va. | 4:00 P.M. | Patchin Field
Live Stats: https://tinyurl.com/337kxdwv
Watch (ESPN+): https://tinyurl.com/2e54rxhk
2023 Records:
Western Carolina (13-5-3, 7-2-0 SoCon)
VMI (2-17-0, 1-8 SoCon)
Around the Conference:
#1 UNCG at #4 Furman | POSTPONED
#2 Western Carolina at #7 VMI | 10/3/24 | 4 p.m.
#3 Samford at #10 The Citadel | 10/3/24 | 1 p.m.
#5 Mercer vs #9 Chattanooga | 10/3/24 | 7 p.m.
#6 ETSU at #7 Wofford | 10/3/24 | 6 p.m.
Quick Cuts:
WCU and VMI meet on the pitch for the 12th time since Keydets women's soccer joined the Southern Conference in 2014 when the nation's oldest state-supported military college and founding member of the league rejoined the conference. The Catamounts have held serve in the series, going 11-0-0 against VMI in the 11 previous meetings, and have outscored the Keydets 25-1 in the series. The current shutout streak the Catamounts have strung together is a program record, going 6-0-1 in that span and are on the hunt for their 11th shutout over the Keydets all-time.
The two teams have shared three nonconference opponents this season as both SoCon teams saw action against plenty of Big South competition to begin the year. The two teams both faced UNC Asheville, Winthrop, and Gardner-Webb. VMI posted a 1-1-1 record against those three teams, battling to a 1-1 draw with UNCA, falling to Winthrop in a 2-0 road loss before bouncing back with a 2-1 home win over Gardner-Webb. The Catamounts ran through that same competition with an unblemished 3-0-0 record, opening the home slate with a 6-1 win over UNC Asheville before posting 4-0 shutout victories over Gardner-Webb and Winthrop.
Players to Watch:
Western Carolina's
Milla Syska,
Isabella DeMarco, and
Naya Marcil remain the must-watch players for the Catamounts in the conference slate. Syska posted both game-winning goals for the Catamounts against Samford and Mercer, continuing to build upon her explosive performances this season. Marcil added a goal off a penalty kick to her total against the Bulldogs to help secure the 2-0 win. While DeMarco hasn't rocked the cage just yet in conference play, the dynamic speedster is a threat to do so at a moment's notice, as she has taken 43 shots this season, putting 22 on goal (6 shots and 1 on goal through two conference matches).
Coming off one of the most dominant defensive performances in the nation during September, the Catamount defense – captained by senior
Becca Campbell and anchored by GK
Leanne Trudel – looks to carry that success into October. Thanks to the combined efforts of Trudel, Campbell,
Abbie Wise,
Mary Mueth, and
Samantha Whitaker, the Catamounts were one of only two teams in the nation to not allow a goal for the entire month of September, joining the fifth-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs as the only teams to do so.
The Keydets are led by a relatively top-heavy offensive roster with Riley Boucher and Barrett Calejo exploding for five and four goals, respectively. The duo has combined for nine of VMI's 14 goals this season. The Keydets have been greatly assisted by Cadee Hegarty, who has four assists entering the week. No other Keydet has more than one goal or one assist so far this season.
Defensively, the Keydets have parked senior goalkeeper Whitney Tracy between the pipes. Tracy leads the SoCon with 60 saves on the season. Despite being barraged by an average of 18 shots per game, the senior has posted admirable numbers with a .741 save percentage, the fourth highest in the conference among keepers who have played in at least ten of their team's matches this season.
Familiar Face:
Western Carolina assistant coach
Andrew Green returns to Lexington having spent the previous three years on staff at VMI – two years as an assistant coach and one as the associate head coach. Green returned to Cullowhee ahead of this season after spending 2015 on the Cullowhee sidelines as a volunteer coach under Miller.
Up Next for the Catamounts:
Western Carolina is currently scheduled to host The Citadel on Sunday, October 6 for the annual "Kick Cancer!" game. Pink will be the predominant color for the 2 p.m. kick. After some schedule shuffling due to the impact of Hurricane Helene, the Catamounts will have the week off before hitting the road to take on the Wofford Terriers on Sunday, October 13.
