Gainesville, Fla. -- Facing a one-goal deficit after the Gators charted a 13-2 edge in shots in the first half, Western Carolina fought back in the final 45 against Florida led by a furious second-half effort by Isabella DeMarco, but the Catamounts were unable to even the score, eventually falling 2-0 in the season opener.  

Undeterred by a raucous home crowd of over 1,100, WCU's Ava Robitaille took the first shot of the night at the two minute mark, forcing a save from veteran Gator goalkeeper Alexa Goldberg. Florida then controlled the pace of play for the next 15 minutes, firing a barrage of five shots, four of which were on goal and all turned away by Leanne Trudel, who finished with seven saves in the opener. Sophomore Sofia Goclowski broke up the Gator attack with a shot of her own in the 19th minute but was turned away by Goldberg, who denied both Catamount shots on goal in the first half.  
 
Following Trudel's fifth save of the first half in the 34th minute, Florida's attack slowed until the 39th minute, where the Gators took three more shots over a 65-second span. The trio of attempts culminated in Madison Young knocking through the eventual game-winner in the 40th minute.  
 
After a relatively quiet first half, returning Southern Conference Player of the Year Isabella DeMarco lit a fire under the Catamounts. She rattled off the first three shots of the second half for the Purple and Gold, placing each on goal and forcing Pena Paloma to make two saves while the Gator's defensive backline blocked the third attempt. The Catamounts and Gators were drawn even through the first 35 minutes of the first half with both teams taking five shots, though the Catamounts had put three on net to Florida's one.  
 
In the 80th minute, Leanne Trudel recorded her seventh save of the night, tallying her fifth career game with at least seven saves. The Gators, though, squeaked by a second goal off the right foot of Dellaney Tellex in the closing minutes to take the hard-fought 2-0 win.  
 
The Gators outshot the Catamounts 20-7 (9-5 on goal) and held a 4-0 edge in corner kicks, but did also lead in total fouls (12-10), and yellow cards (2-0), with both cards coming in the second half.  
 
Notables: 

• Leanne Trudel rejected Donovan Lauren's penalty kick attempt in the 82nd minute to record her fifth career game with at least seven saves. The PK denial was the third in Trudel's career, as she boasts a 1-4 PK/A line 
• Isabella DeMarco recorded three shots on the night, placing all three on goal. She had only two games last year with 3+ SOG (vs UNC Asheville- 3, vs Winthrop- 6). She has five career games with at least 3 SOG, including the season opener vs the Gators.  
• The Catamount starting XI fielded two newcomers, sophomore transfer Mary Mueth and freshman Rylie Niemeyer. Mueth was one of three Catamounts to go the distance in the 90-minute bout, joining Becca Campbell and Leanne Trudel.  
• A testament to how deep the 2024 Catamount roster is, the Purple and Gold cycled in 11 players during the night, with 22 Catamounts seeing the pitch in the season opener. Of those 11 substitutions, three were freshmen, as Francesca Rowen, Samantha Vibberts, and Erika Gariepy joined Niemeyer and Mueth in making their Catamount debuts.  

 
Up Next for The Catamounts 
The Purple and Gold look to scratch one in the win column on Sunday night as they host mountain-rival UNC Asheville at 7:00 p.m. at the Catamount Athletics Complex. The Bulldogs also fell in their season opener to SoCon foe The Citadel in a 2-1 decision. Following the matchup with the system rival, the Catamounts will travel to Charlotte to face the Queens Royals at 7 p.m. on Thursday night before hosting the Longwood Lancers at 1 p.m. Sunday afternoon.