Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina's Naya Marcil continues to build upon a legendary career as a Catamount was the senior midfielder was today named to the Top Drawer Soccer Women's Team of the Week for her performance to open the 2024 Southern Conference Women's Soccer Championship.
Marcil was electrifying to open the 2024 conference tournament, posting three goals and an assist in a three-day span to send the Catamounts to the SoCon championship for the second consecutive season.
The national weekly honor is the second of Marcil's career as she also earned the accolade in the final week of the regular season last year. She is one of just two Catamounts all time to earn a national weekly honor, joining former Catamount forward Heather Dittmer being named to the Soccer Buzz Elite Team of the Week in November of 2005. Dittmer cashed-in a short-corner assist from Natalie Turgeon in leading WCU to its first SoCon tournament championship back in 2005.
A product of Saint-Jean-Sur-Richelieu, Quebec, Marcil opened this year's tournament play with a goal over the eighth-seeded Wofford Terriers in the second minute of regulation in the quarterfinal round before assisting on Isabella DeMarco's goal in the 7th minute to put WCU up 3-0. Marcil lit up the cage for a second time in the 13th minute to put the Purple and Gold up 4-0 and firmly in control of their opening round matchup.
Just two days later, Marcil drove home the game-winning goal over the fifth-seeded Chattanooga Mocs in the 17th minute of the semifinals, redirecting an Alexis DeMarco cross with a single touch for the go-ahead score. The Catamount's offensive engine was efficient in her senior year tournament showing, posting three goals on three shots and an assist in only 104 minutes of action in the two matches.
One of the most dynamic players to have worn the Purple and Gold on the pitch, Naya Marcil is set to leave a lofty legacy in Cullowhee. The midfielder has 10 goals and five assists in 2024 – and is only the ninth player in Catamount history to record double-digit goals in a season. She and teammate Milla Syska are the first Catamount duo to post 10 or more goals in a campaign since WCU Athletics Hall of Famers Jordan Howell and Nardia Moore did so in 2000.
Marcil's assist in Friday's quarterfinal matchup with Wofford was the 21st of her career, putting her in second on the Catamount record books and only trails Bramlett's 25 assists. She's currently third on the all-time points list with 67 in her career thanks to her 23 goals and 21 assists. Additionally, she's one of only three Catamounts to post 20 or more career goals and assists, joining Nardia Moore (38g, 20a) and Lauren Atkinson (20g, 20a) in the milestone. A program record five-time SoCon Player of the Week, Marcil also owns the record for penalty kick makes in a season, going 3-for-3 this season.
Marcil and the top-seeded Catamounts take the pitch at the Catamount Athletic Complex (CAC) on Sunday, Nov. 10, to host the 2024 SoCon Women's Soccer Championship match against the No. 2 seed Samford Bulldog in a rematch of the 2023 championship. The winner of Sunday's championship bout earns the SoCon's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Admission is free and kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. with all fans invited to wear white as the Catamounts look to "White Out" the CAC.