Cullowhee, N.C. -- The Catamounts look to start the SoCon schedule off with a bang as they host the Samford Bulldogs Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. in a rematch of last year's conference tournament championship bout. Gates are set to open at 6 p.m., and the first 300 WCU students at the match will receive a ticket redeemable for a championship scarf. Students will then receive instructions on how to redeem said tickets, which will be distributed during the match courtesy of The Everson. To receive their scarf, the student must be present and show both their Cat Card and scarf ticket. The scarves are limited one per person.
The two teams come into the night battle-tested in the non-conference slate, though the Catamounts boast a 5-2-2 record as opposed to Samford's 3-5-1 leger. However, the Bulldogs faced two top-15 opponents, hosting both the #15 ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish (0-6 L) and a surging #13 ranked Auburn Tigers team (0-5 L), and added in two other SEC competitions hosting Ole Miss (1-2 L) and taking on the Georgia Bulldogs on the road (0-2 L). The Catamounts have tied the program record for consecutive shutouts at five and will look to break the tie Thursday night.
Thursday's Match-Up
Western Carolina (5-2-2, 0-0-0 SoCon) vs Samford (3-5-1, 0-0-0 SoCon)
Cullowhee, N.C. | 7:00 p.m. | Catamount Athletic Complex
Live Stats:
https://tinyurl.com/nvt4xhvs
Watch (ESPN+):
https://tinyurl.com/y8hfhnd5
2023 Records:
Western Carolina (13-5-3, 7-2-0 SoCon)
Samford (12-4-5, 6-1-2 SoCon)
Around the Conference:
UNCG at VMI | 9/19/24 | 4:00 p.m.
The Citadel at ETSU | 9/19/24 | 6:00 p.m.
Chattanooga at Wofford | 9/19/24 | 6:00 p.m.
Samford at Western Carolina | 9/19/24 | 7:00 p.m.
Furman at Mercer | 9/19/24 | 7:00 p.m.
Quick Cuts:
The Catamounts and Bulldogs are set to face each other for the 20th time in program history, with the Purple and Gold sitting on the wrong side of the 4-14-1 series. However, the Catamounts picked up two of their four all-time wins over the Bulldogs last season, notching a pair of 1-0 wins over Samford, including in the conference championship. The last four meetings in the series have been decided by one goal, with the Catamounts taking the last two to snap a seven-game skid to the Bulldogs.
Players to Watch:
Two-time SoCon offensive player of the week
Milla Syska headlines a Catamount attack that outscored the opposition 21-7 in the non-conference schedule, recording 4+ goals in three matches (6-1 W vs UNC Ashville, 4-0 W vs Gardner-Webb, 4-0 W vs Winthrop). Syska has posted six goals on the season, the second most in the SoCon, though the Catamounts can attack from several directions as
Kirsten Hahn (4 goals),
Naya Marcil (3 goals),
Becca Campbell (3 goals), and
Isabella DeMarco (2 goals) have all rattled the cage more than once this season. DeMarco, Syska, Marcil and Hahn have all combined for 120 of the Catamount's 177 shots and 64 of the team's 97 shots on goal this year.
Samford is led offensively by Layton Glisson, Fleming Dean, and Brooklyn Miller as the trio has posted 4 or more points so far this season. Glisson and Dean are tied for the team lead with two goals apiece, but Miller has assisted on three goals for the Bulldogs and has a goal herself.
Three different Bulldogs have recorded starts between the posts for Samford this season, with Emma Donley most recently earning the nod against Georgia Southern. The redshirt freshman leads the team with a perfect 1.00 save percentage but has only played 57:00 minutes on the season, facing five shots in that time. Peyton Hull leads Samford with 27 saves, but Mia Krusinski leads the team with seven starts.
Up Next for The Catamounts
The Purple and Gold will continue to run the early Southern Conference gauntlet as they look to close out their home stretch by hosting the Mercer Bears Sunday, September 21 for a 2:00 p.m. kick.
Keep track of everything related to Catamount women's soccer and WCU Athletics through its social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/catamountsports), Instagram (@wcu_catamounts), and Twitter (@catamounts, @Catamountsoccer).
