Cullowhee, N.C. – Continuing a strong trend, Western Carolina women's soccer and the Catamount Athletics Complex again hosts postseason women's soccer this weekend, as four teams converge upon western North Carolina for the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds of the 2025 Southern Conference Women's Soccer Championship. It's the third consecutive season that WCU has played host to one half of the SoCon's second and third-round matchups as play opens in the quarterfinals on Friday, Oct. 31, with the SoCon Semifinals set for Sunday, Nov. 2.
Postseason play begins in Cullowhee on Friday with a quarterfinal doubleheader, as the third-seeded East Tennessee State Buccaneers face the sixth-seeded Mercer Bears with a 4 p.m. kick, followed by the second-seeded and homestanding Catamounts hosting instate league foe and No. 7 seed UNCG Spartans in the nightcap at 7 p.m. The winners from both matches advance to the semifinals at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 2, at the on-campus Catamount Athletic Complex.
The Southern Conference is ticketing all postseason soccer events, with walk up prices running $10, though WCU students, faculty, and staff can enter for free with a valid CatCard ID. Tickets can be purchased with cash or card, though card purchases are subject to transaction fees. Purchases may be made in advance as well, buying online at SoConTickets.com – Quarterfinals Tickets | Semifinals Tickets
Seventh-seeded UNCG and No. 8 seed Wofford both advanced in the tournament after Tuesday night victories in the first-round match-ups. UNCG returns to Cullowhee for the second time in as many weeks for the Friday evening match, while Wofford earned the right to face top-seeded Samford in Birmingham, Ala.
This Weekend's Tournament Matchups:
#3 ETSU (9-3-6, 4-1-4 SoCon) vs #6 Mercer (8-6-3, 3-3-3 SoCon)
Cullowhee, N.C. | Catamount Athletic Complex | 4:00 p.m. (Oct. 31)
Watch (ESPN+): https://tinyurl.com/2dc6btyd
#2 Western Carolina (9-5-4, 5-2-2 SoCon) vs #7 UNCG (4-11-3, 2-4-3 SoCon)
Cullowhee, N.C. | Catamount Athletic Complex | 7:00 p.m. (Oct. 31)
Watch (ESPN+): https://tinyurl.com/yu2hadn7
Live Results (both matches): https://tinyurl.com/3zk3e32c
Quick Cuts:
The Catamounts (9-5-4, SoCon 5-2-2) enter as the second seed in the SoCon tournament after falling to the Chattanooga Mocs in their last outing. However, WCU posted a 2-0-1 record against the three teams coming to Cullowhee, outscoring the Spartans, Bucs, and Bears by a combined 6-3. The Catamounts outshot the field 41 (24) - 34 (16) as well. Matches against each of the three opponents was physical in the regular season , with WCU collecting 22 fouls to their opponent's 25.
The Catamounts downed the Bears 2-1 in Macon, Ga., earlier this season, posting two second-half goals to rally from a 1-0 halftime deficit to finish off an unblemished five-game road swing. They never trailed nor led in their road matchup at ETSU, battling to a scoreless draw against the Bucs for a critical point in SoCon play before securing the #2 seed and hosting rights in a 4-2 home win over UNCG. The Cats led the entire time against the Spartans, scoring their earliest goal of the season to take a 1-0 lead in the fourth minute.
The second-highest seeded team in Cullowhee this weekend, the ETSU Bucs (9-3-6, SoCon 4-1-4) are enjoying a strong season, going 1-0-2 against the field in teams coming to Cullowhee. ETSU's sole win against the trio came in a 1-0 decision against UNCG, with the Bucs netting the game-winner in the 75th minute. The Catamounts were one of only three teams to hold ETSU scoreless this season, with the other two being Eastern Kentucky and the league champion Samford Bulldogs. Mercer notched an early second-half goal against the Bucs, but late-game heroics gave ETSU a match-tying goal in the 88th minute.
The sixth overall seed and one of the few teams to see their position in the standings move during the regular season finale, the Mercer Bears (8-6-3, SoCon 3-3) enter the weekend after most recently battling to a 0-0 draw with Wofford. The Bears went 1-1-1 against the field, holding second-half leads against all three teams in Cullowhee this weekend. The Catamounts rallied against the Bears with goals in the 50th and 69th minutes, with ETSU notching a tying goal in the 88th. Mercer held on to its 1-0 lead against UNCG, contributing to the Bears' 4-1-0 finish to the regular season.
The final team to join the field for the weekend are the No. 7 seeded UNCG Spartans (4-11-3, SoCon 2-4-3), who most recently saw action in the SoCon first-round match in Greensboro where they downed the #10 VMI Keydets, 2-0. The Spartans had a tough start to the season, going 1-7-0 in non-conference play before rattling off three wins against SoCon foes. UNCG did go winless against the teams in Cullowhee, falling to the Catamounts 4-2 and 1-0 to both the Bucs and Bears. UNCG was outshot 48-27 (23-11) against those three teams, but did dominate VMI their last time out. The Spartans outshot the Keydets 28-1, taking 17 on-target shots without conceding a single SOG to VMI, and will look to continue that momentum on Friday night.
Around The SoCon – Quarterfinal Matchups / Semifinals Scheduled:
Game #1 (Oct. 28) – No. 8 Wofford vs No. 9 The Citadel – Wofford 2-1
Game #2 (Oct. 28) – No. 7 UNCG vs No. 10 VMI – UNCG 2-0
Game #3 (Oct. 31) – No. 1 Samford vs No. 8 Wofford – Homewood, Ala | 4:00 p.m. | CST
Game #4 (Oct. 31) – No. 4 Chattanooga vs No. 5 Furman – Homewood, Ala. | 7:00 p.m. CST
Game #5 (Oct. 31) – No. 3 ETSU vs No. 6 Mercer – Cullowhee, N.C. | 4:00 p.m. EST
Game #6 (Oct. 31) – No. 2 Western Carolina vs No. 7 UNCG – Cullowhee, N.C. | 7:00 p.m. EST
Game #7 (Nov. 2) – Winner of Game 3 vs Winner of Game 4 – Homewood, Ala. | 1:00 p.m. CST
Game #8 (Nov. 2) – Winner of Game 5 vs Winner of Game 6 – Cullowhee, N.C. | 2:00 p.m. EST
Game #9 (Nov. 8 or Nov. 9) – Winner of Game 7 and 8 – To be held at the highest remaining seed
Players to Watch:
The Catamounts are led by standout forward Isabella DeMarco, who ranked second in the conference in scoring against SoCon opponents during the regular season. The senior from Charleston, S.C. recorded two goals and two assists against the Spartans and the Bears this season, but was held scoreless in the 0-0 draw with ETSU. Defensively, Leanne Trudel ranks near the top of the SoCon in nearly every major goalkeeping category, as she's second in GAA (.78) and save percentage (85.1%) against conference foes, picking up 40 saves in her nine outings.
ETSU has been led by Jada Cooper, who has three goals in conference play. Behind the sophomore forward, the Bucs have three players with two goals, as Cooper and Reagan Fitzgerald rank within the top ten in scoring in the conference. Addison Yelton has held firm to her position between the posts for the Bucs, allowing only six goals in conference play for a SoCon-leading .75 GAA. She's one of five goalkeepers with a save percentage over 80% in conference play, though she is the only one of the five to start eight SoCon games.
Mercer fields a strong three-headed attack with seniors Morganne Eikelbarner and Sydney Farr joining freshman Payton Nutzman for seven goals and 15 total points in the conference slate. Eikelbarner netted Mercer's goals against WCU and UNCG, while Nutzman scored in the 49th minute against ETSU. Lindsay Bell and Avery Parker have split time between the posts for the Bears this season, with the two playing a half each in Mercer's 0-0 draw with Wofford. The two keepers have conceded 12 goals this season, posting a .733 save percentage with 33 total saves.
UNCG is led by a trio of scorers in Rina Ogimoto, Ryen Ortiz, and Taylor Mentzer, who have combined for eight of the Spartans' 11 goals in conference play. Ortiz and Mentzer finished the season on a high note, with the former netting a brace against the Catamounts in a 4-2 loss while Mentzer recorded an assist against WCU and Samford to close out the season. Mentzer also recorded an assist on Ava Kiss's game-winning goal against VMI before capitalizing on a penalty kick in the 2-0 play-in win. Senior Emma Malone has earned most of the minutes in goal for the Spartans, though four of her nine goals allowed in SoCon contests have come against the field in Cullowhee. Malone allowed one goal to Mercer and ETSU before the Catamounts posted two against her in the regular season meeting. She has a .791 save percentage and has 34 saves against conference foes this season.
Up Next for The Catamounts:
Should the Catamounts advance through the quarterfinals, they would take on the winner of the #3 ETSU vs #6 Mercer matchup at 2 p.m. on Sun., Nov. 2, in the semifinals. They'd then advance to the Southern Conference Championship match for the third consecutive season, with the 2025 title match scheduled for either Nov. 8 or Nov. 9.
The highest remaining seed will host the conference championship, with the Samford Bulldogs currently holding hosting rights as the No. 1 overall seed. Should the Bulldogs be eliminated in its half of the bracket, the Catamounts would host the title matchup if still alive in the tournament.
