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Schedule

Full
WSOC vs. The Citadel - 10-6
Mark Haskett
0
The Citadel CIT (4-7-2, 0-5-0)
4
Winner Western Caro. WCU (9-2-2, 4-0-0)
The Citadel CIT
(4-7-2, 0-5-0)
0
Final
4
Western Caro. WCU
(9-2-2, 4-0-0)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
The Citadel CIT 0 0 0
Western Caro. WCU 3 1 4

Game Recap: Women's Soccer | | Josh Ragsdale, Director of Media Relations

Soccer Continues Scoreless Run; Blanks The Citadel 4-0

Western Carolina's 2023 SoCon regular-season and tournament championship rings were handed out post match

Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina women's soccer partnered another strong defensive effort with a dominantly balanced offensive attack on Sunday afternoon to post its ninth-consecutive shutout of the season. Eight different catamounts recorded points in the win as the team rattled off 12 total points in the 4-0 victory over The Citadel in Southern Conference play against The Citadel at the Catamount Athletics Complex.
 
WCU posted its fifth 12+ point performance of the season in improving to 4-0-0 in SoCon play this season, the only team in the conference to hit the four-win plateau. Samford, Mercer, and UNCG have all hit double-digit points, though the Catamounts took the head-to-head matchups with Samford and Mercer to open conference play. The Catamounts advanced to 9-2-2 on the season, and 7-0-1 at the Catamount Athletic Complex this season. WCU also lengthened its 10-match unbeaten streak which dates back to the 2-2 draw with Longwood on Aug. 28
 
The Citadel fell to 4-7-2 on the season and is still hunting for their first SoCon win of the year.  
 
The Catamount defense continues to post dominant performances, limiting The Citadel to just three shots through full time with the bulk of play contested in the middle and attacking third. Becca Campbell returned to the lineup on Sunday and she along with the rotation of Abbie Wise, Samantha Whitaker, Maddie Lopez, Mary Mueth, and Rylie Niemeyer kept goalkeeper Leanne Trudel clean throughout the match. It was the ninth clean sheet for the Purple and Gold this year.  
 
Offensively, Naya Marcil and Isabella DeMarco connected on what proved to be the game-winning goal for the second straight match, doing so in the early minutes of the match. Milla Syska, Sophie Burchfield, and Emma Soucy each contributed insurance goals on the day.
 
Marcil found the back of the cage in the 9' minute – the second straight game in which she has notched a goal inside the 10-minute mark – with DeMarco collecting her sixth assist of the season. Milla Syska found her third goal of conference play in the 13' minute after an expertly placed cross from Alexis DeMarco on the right wing found its way in front of the junior striker.
 
Sophie Burchfield later put the Catamounts up 3-0 in the 27' minute, recording her second goal of the season after a flurry of shots and rebounds in front of the net. In the sequence, WCU saw the first shot attempt saved without rebound control with the second shot by Burchfield blocked by her mark only to rebound back to her foot for the third offering that beat the keeper.
 
The Catamount scoring frenzy came to a close in the 81' minute, where quick passes from Becca Campbell and Kirsten Hahn gifted Emma Soucy an excellent opportunity for her first goal of the season, which she capitalized on.  
 
How it Happened: 
WCU rattled off the first seven shots of the match before Marcil recorded her sixth goal of the season in the 9'. Milla Syska then quickly added another to the Purple and Gold's total in the 12' minute, off the cross from Alexis DeMarco.  
 
The Citadel's first and only shot of the opening t half came in the 20' minute as a lofted ball from Kennedi Walker was corralled by Leanne Trudel for her first of three saves on the day. The Catamounts then rattled off six more shots to close out the half, holding a 13-1 edge in shots through the first 45 minutes.  
 
The final 45 saw the Catamounts again fire the first seven shots of the half as the Purple and Gold kept possession in the offensive third throughout the match. Leanne Trudel denied her second shot of the day in the 72' minute before the Catamounts went back on the attack, firing four more shots over the next three minutes and resulting in Emma Soucy's first goal of the season.  
 
Catamount Notables: 

  • The Catamounts are now 9-2-2 on the season and have now posted a program-record nine-straight shutouts … the Purple and Gold is 8-0-1 in that stretch;
  • WCU has shut out SoCon competition in seven straight matches, dating back to the SoCon Tournament Quarterfinals last season. They have outscored their conference foes 19-0 in those contests;
  • Eight different Catamounts recorded at least one point on the day in the win over The Citadel, with Naya Marcil, Milla Syska, Sophie Burchfield, and Emma Soucy all posting goals … Soucy recorded her first goal of the season and the second of her career;  
  • Naya Marcil recorded the game-winning goal in both Catamount matches this week, both clinchers coming before the 10-minute mark;
  • The Catamounts have taken 20+ shots in nine matches this season, going 8-1 in those matchups;
  • With her seventh shutout of the season, WCU goalkeeper Leanne Trudel now has 18 clean sheets in her WCU career to rank THIRD in the Catamount career record books, by-passing Mandi Tinsley who set the bar high with 17 shutouts from 1999 through 2022.

 
Up Next for The Catamounts: 
Western Carolina has a brief reprieve as their next match comes in a week with a Sunday, Oct. 12, matchup with Wofford in Spartanburg, S.C. The Catamounts then host ETSU on Thursday, Oct. 17, for the annual "Beat the Bucs!" blackout game. The matchup with ETSU will be the final home game of the regular season and will be streamed on ESPN+ (paid subscription required). 
 

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