Cullowhee, N.C. – Goals from Naya Marcil and Milla Syska propelled the defending champion Western Carolina women's soccer team to its second straight appearance in the championship match of the Southern Conference Tournament as the Catamounts battled fifth-seeded Chattanooga to a 2-0 decision on Sunday at the Catamount Athletic Complex.
 
The win marked the 14th shutout of the season for the Catamounts, setting both the program and Southern Conference record for shutouts in a single season.
 
Both teams entered Sunday afternoon's matinee after explosive offensive showings, though it was the defenses that stood out on the pitch. The two offenses combined for 20 total shots with nine on frame in a sequel that echoed the regular-season matchup that the Catamounts won 1-0 just one week prior. The difference in the encore came in the form of an early, first-half goal scored by Naya Marcil to put WCU up 1-0 in the 17th minute.
 
Alexis DeMarco played a ball into the box from the right wing, allowing Marcil the opportunity to redirect the pass into the net with a single touch. The goal was Marcil's 10th of the season, her third of the 2024 championship tournament and, her fourth career SoCon tournament goal. DeMarco's assist was her sixth of the season.  
 
After the initial goal, the semifinal match action lulled with the two teams combining for only five shots on goal from the 22nd minute mark to the 80th. But in the 81st minute, Isabella DeMarco and Milla Syska combined for an insurance marker to put the Catamounts solidly up 2-0. Isolated on the left wing, DeMarco found an angle to play the ball back to Syska, who capitalized for her team-leading 11th goal of the season.
 
Chattanooga responded with a strong counter of its own only 15 seconds later, putting their fifth and final shot on frame as Leanne Trudel denied the goal to preserve the shutout.  
 
The Purple and Gold improved to 9-0-2 at the Catamount Athletic Complex this season and have outscored SoCon opponents 31-2 this season.
 
Catamount Notables: 

• Western Carolina has posted 14 shutouts on the season after Sunday's 2-0 win over Chattanooga, the most in both school and Southern Conference history … the Catamounts Sunday broke the five-way that previously held the single-season shutout benchmark, moving past now second-place 1997 and 2007 UNCG squads, the 2005 Catamounts, the 2007 UNCG Spartans, and the 2023 Samford Bulldogs; 
• WCU has won five consecutive Southern Conference tournament matches at the Catamount Athletic Complex ... the Catamounts are 9-0-2 on the home pitch this season and have outscored opponents 28-4 in Cullowhee;  
• The Catamounts are on a three-match win streak in the series against the Mocs, their longest since winning four straight from 2012-2015; 
• Milla Syska recorded her 11th goal of the season in the 2-0 victory while Naya Marcil lit up the net for the 10th time this season ... It's only the third time the Catamounts have had two double-digit goal scorers in program history and the first since 2001 when WCU Hall of Famer Jordan Howell Dunn and Lauren Bramlett recorded 14 and 10 apiece. Howell and Nardia Moore recorded 12 and 11 goals in the 2000 season.  

  
Up Next for The Catamounts: 
Western Carolina hosts the championship match of the Southern Conference Tournament next Sunday, Nov. 10 at 2 p.m. against the second-seeded Samford Bulldogs … It's the second season in a row that the Catamounts and Bulldogs will settle the SoCon's automatic qualifier into the NCAA women's soccer championship.
 
Samford comes Cullowhee after defeating No. 7 seed UNC Greensboro in the quarterfinals and third-seeded Furman in Sunday's semifinal, both coming at home in Birmingham, Ala. The Bulldogs scored three goals combined in their two tournament victories, all three scores coming in the 85th, 88th, and 90th minutes.