Cullowhee, N.C. – The Western Carolina women's soccer team is back at home for the final stretch of the 2025 regular season as it hosts the in-state Southern Conference foe UNC Greensboro for a Sunday afternoon matinee scheduled for 1 p.m. at the on-campus Catamount Athletic Complex.
The Catamounts (8-4-4, SoCon 4-1-2) enter the matchup as the second seed in the SoCon, with 14 points in the standings following a hard-fought scoreless draw with ETSU last time out. The Spartans (3-9-3, SoCon 2-2-3) ride into Cullowhee after battling to a 1-1 draw with The Citadel on Thursday night. The Spartans are winless on the road, while the Catamounts look to continue a two-game home win streak.
Admission to each of WCU's regular-season home matches is free of charge, courtesy of First Bank. Sunday's matchup will be livestreamed on ESPN+ (paid subscription required), with a link and live stats available on CatamountSports.com.
Sunday's Matchup:
Western Carolina (8-4-4, 4-1-2 SoCon) vs. UNC Greensboro (3-9-3, 2-2-3 SoCon)
Cullowhee, N.C. | Catamount Athletic Complex | 1 p.m.
Watch (ESPN+): https://tinyurl.com/yzba8k7j
Live Stats: https://tinyurl.com/3zk3e32c
Quick Cuts:
The Catamounts and Spartans meet for the 36th time in series history, with the Catamounts trailing overall, 6-35-4. Three of WCU's six wins over the Spartans have come in the last five meetings, with the Catamounts riding a two-game winning streak over the fellow UNC system school.
WCU was dominant in its most recent meeting with UNCG in Cullowhee, downing the former perennial power 4-0 in the 2023 regular season. The Catamounts outshot the Spartans 18-6, putting nine shots on goal to UNCG's four.
The Catamounts are on a four-game unbeaten streak, most recently battling to a 0-0 draw with ETSU. WCU is also on a two-game winning streak at home, blasting VMI 9-0 and scratching out a 1-0 win over Wofford.
UNCG has rallied in conference play following a 1-7-0 start to the season. The Spartans are 2-2-3 in SoCon play, but have a 1-0 win over Furman under their belt. However, the Spartans are winless on the road this season and are 0-2-1 on the road in conference play.
The two teams have seen two common nonconference opponents this season in the High Point Panthers and the UNC Wilmington Seahawks. The Catamounts went 2-0 in both of those matchups, recording a 1-0 home win over High Point and taking a 2-0 victory over UNCW on the road. UNCG fell in a 3-2 bout with the Seahawks in Greensboro, but likewise took down High Point 1-0.
In conference play, the two teams have seen six common opponents, with the Catamounts going 4-1-1 against the likes of Mercer, Furman, VMI, The Citadel, Wofford, and ETSU. WCU outscored those opponents 15-2, but that goal differential drops to 6-2 when removing the dominant 9-0 win over VMI. UNCG is 2-2-2 against that bunch, outscoring the field 6-3 with a 4-0 win over VMI doing most of the heavy lifting score-wise.
Around the SoCon – Oct. 19
#1 Samford (8-2-5, 5-0-2 SoCon) vs #3 ETSU (8-2-6, 3-0-4 SoCon) | Birmingham, Ala. | 2 pm ET
#2 Western Carolina (8-4-4, 4-1-2 SoCon) vs #6 UNCG (3-9-3, 2-2-3 SoCon) | Cullowhee | 1 p.m.
#4 Furman (8-2-5, 2-1-4 SoCon) at #9 Wofford (4-8-5, 1-4-2 SoCon) | Spartanburg, S.C. | 2 p.m.
#5 Chattanooga (8-4-4, 2-2-3 SoCon) vs #10 VMI (1-14-1, 0-7-0 SoCon) | Chattanooga, Tenn. | 1 p.m.
#7 Mercer (7-6-2, 2-3-2 SoCon) at #8 The Citadel (5-6-3, 2-3-2 SoCon) | Charleston, S.C. | 2 p.m.
2025 SoCon Standings (Entering Oct. 19 / Remaining Schedule):
1 - Samford – 17 points – (5-0-2) – vs. #3 ETSU (10/19), at #6 UNCG (10/26)
2 - Western Carolina – 14 points - (4-1-2) – vs. #6 UNCG (10/19), vs. #5 UTC (10/26)
3 - ETSU – 13 points (3-0-4) – at #1 SAM (10/19), vs. #10 VMI (10/26)
4 - Furman – 10 points (2-1-4) – at #9 WOF (10/19), vs. #8 CIT (10/26)
T5 - Chattanooga – 9 points (2-2-3) – vs. #10 VMI (10/19), at #2 WCU (10/26)
T5 - UNCG – 9 points (2-2-3) – at #2 WCU (10/19), vs. #1 SAM (10/26)
7 - Mercer – 8 points (2-3-2) – at #8 CIT (10/19), vs. #9 WOF (10/26)
8 - The Citadel – 8 points (2-3-2) – vs. #8 MER (10/19), at #4 FUR (10/26)
9 - Wofford – 5 points (1-4-2) – vs. FUR (10/19), at MER (10/26)
10 - VMI – 0 points (0-7-0) – at UTC (10/19), at GAWB (10/22), at ETSU (10/26)
Players to Watch:
Catamount GK Leanne Trudel enters Sunday's matchup following one of her strongest performances of the season, recording five saves against ETSU to preserve the shutout and WCU's spot in the overall standings. The Canadian-born keeper has 31 career shutouts and is one of only four goalkeepers in SoCon history to record 30 or more clean sheets.
The Catamount offense is still fueled by Isabella DeMarco, who has scored at least one goal in her last two home matches, netting her third career hat-trick in WCU's 9-0 win over VMI and notching the game-winning goal against Wofford. Milla Syska has facilitated much of DeMarco's success this season, connecting with the Charleston, S.C. product on four of her goals.
Outside of the usual suspects, Emma Soucy had arguably WCU's strongest scoring opportunity against ETSU in the final minutes of the match. Soucy has two goals this season, with both coming against SoCon opposition as she's scored against Samford and netted the game-winner against VMI.
UNCG is led offensively by Rina Ogimoto, who leads the team with five goals and two assists. However, Ryan Ortiz leads the team in shots (27) and shots on goal (14), though she only has one goal and one assist so far this year. Defensively, senior Emma Malone has maintained her station between the posts, picking up 51 saves. She's allowed 26 goals this season, but only five of those have come in conference play.
Up Next for The Catamounts:
WCU remains at home to host the Chattanooga Mocs in the regular-season finale on Sunday, Oct. 26. Kick at the Catamount Athletic Complex is set for 2 p.m. The Catamounts then wait to see how the rest of the conference race shakes out before the SoCon tournament begins with the play-in games on Tuesday, Oct. 28. Hosted by the higher seed in the matchup, the SoCon Quarterfinals are set to begin on Friday, Oct. 31.
