Cullowhee, N.C. – Second-seeded Western Carolina women's soccer team is headed to the Southern Conference semifinals for the third consecutive season as the Catamounts rallied for a 4-3 win over the No. 7 seed UNCG Spartans on Friday night at the Catamount Athletics Complex.
 
Dubbed first-team All-Southern Conference for the fourth time in her WCU career, senior Isabella DeMarco had a hand in all four of WCU's goals, providing an assist on Gabriela Vatrano's game-tying marker in the 86th minute before notching her fourth career hat-trick with the game-winning golden goal in the 99th minute of extra time.

The Catamounts (10-5-4, SoCon 5-2-2) host the sixth-seeded Mercer Bears (9-6-3, SoCon 3-3-3) in the semifinals at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 2, after the Bears earned a 2-1 victory over No. 3 ETSU in the first quarterfinal matchup held in Cullowhee. Fans are reminded to "fall back" as daylight savings time ends this weekend.

Isabella DeMarco gave the Catamounts immediate control of Friday's quarterfinal match, opening the night with a goal in just 78 seconds. Milla Syska dished the ball to DeMarco at the top of the box, with the latter turning to find the upper 90' for her first goal of the night.  

The Catamounts kept the pressure on, firing five more shots to UNCG's single attempt in the first 30 minutes before DeMarco again struck for the first-half brace. Sofia Goclowski played a corner kick far outside the box, with DeMarco racing in from well outside the box and uncorked a drive for her second goal of the evening as WCU leapt to a 2-0 lead.  

The Spartans rallied in the 35th minute, though, as Rina Ogimoto capitalized on a penalty try to cut the deficit to 2-1. Rejuvenated by the marker, UNCG controlled the pace of play to close the opening half, taking two more shots in the final five minutes, though Catamount GK Leanne Trudel denied their only on-target attempt.  

For as quickly as the Catamounts sprung from the starting gates, the Spartans opened the second half even faster, capitalizing on a turnover deep in WCU territory with the equalizing goal to tie the match at 2-2. Merle Greulich netted the game-tying score just 17 seconds into the second stanza, with the Spartans finding new life and aggressively pushing for the lead.  

UNCG found that go-ahead goal to claim their first lead in the 68th minute, with Ava Kiss netting the third unanswered goal in 33 minutes of game action for the upset-minded Spartans to take a 3-2 lead over the Catamounts.  

Facing a one-goal deficit with under 15 minutes remaining and with the Catamounts struggling to generate strong sustained scoring opportunities, head coach Chad Miller opted to field a more aggressive scoring lineup. The veteran head coach subbed in Gabriela Vatrano as another attacker along the front line.  

With the sophomore from Denver, N.C., in the lineup, the Catamounts created several scoring chances, eventually culminating in Vatrano's third goal of the season in the 86th minute. Isabella DeMarco fired a corner kick into the box, with Milla Syska deflecting the loose ball downwards. Vatrano rifled the shot through traffic with no hesitation as the Catamounts battled back to tie the match at 3-3.

UNCG mustered two more shots in the final four minutes of regulation, though neither was put on frame as the two squads went to overtime. The Spartans generated the first three on-target attacks of the bonus period, but Trudel denied all three scoring chances.  

DeMarco and Syska ultimately called game for the Catamounts in the 99th minute, with Syska firing a cross down the far side to DeMarco, who outran her defender and forced the keeper up in the box to try and make a play before slotting it past UNCG's Emma Malone for the game-winning goal.  

The two teams combined for 44 total shots, putting nine on frame. WCU dominated the scoresheet in corner kicks, firing 13 to UNCG's one. Emma Malone and Leanne Trudel combined for 11 saves on the night, with Trudel denying six would-be goals in the 4-3 win.  

Catamount Notables:

• The Catamounts are now on a four match winning streak against the Spartans, outscoring UNCG 10-5 in those matches. WCU has posted four goals on the Spartans in three of their last four meetings.
• Four of WCU's postseason matches with UNCG have needed overtime, with the Catamounts emerging victorious in the last three of those meetings. (2001, L, 1-0; 2008, W 2-0 on PKs; 2021 W, 1-0, 2025 W 4-3)
• Isabella DeMarco has posted eight goals against the Spartans in the squad's four straight wins. She's posted eighteen total points against UNCG in her career.  
• DeMarco tied her own record for points in a game for the second time this season, recording three goals and one assist for seven total points against the Spartans.  
• With her secondary helper on Gabriela Vatrano's marker, DeMarco set the WCU career assists record in the winning effort … DeMarco is now tied for the WCU career points record at 96 and is three goals away from tying the career goals record.
• Milla Syska tied the WCU single-season assists record with her helper on Gabriela Vatrano's goal before breaking the record with her 10th assist of the season on Isabella DeMarco's game-winner in the 99th minute … Of her single-season record total of 10 assists, seven of Syska's helpers have been on Isabella DeMarco's scores. Her other three assists have been with Sofia Goclowski (vs UNCW), Malia Roberts (vs VMI), and Gabriela Vatrano (vs #7 UNCG)
• Syska is the first player with three assists in a match since Isabella DeMarco posted three against Presbyterian in 2023.  

Up Next for The Catamounts:
The second-seeded Catamounts face sixth-seeded Mercer at 2 p.m. at the Catamount Athletic Complex for the SoCon semifinals. The winner will advance to the 2025 SoCon championship and will face the winner of #1 Samford vs. #5 Furman, as the Bulldogs dispatched No. 8 seed Wofford and fifth-seeded Furman outlasted No. 4 Chattanooga in overtime in Birmingham, Ala.
 
Sunday's match will be broadcast on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) with live stats available online at CatamountSports.com.