Cullowhee, N.C. – Two-time defending Southern Conference regular-season champion Western Carolina women's soccer and head coach Chad Miller today unveiled their 20-game 2025 schedule. The Catamounts host 11 opponents at the Catamount Athletic Complex, including two exhibitions and nine regular-season matches, with a stretch of five straight to open the season. WCU will be on the road nine times with a matching five-game road swing, including five of six matches in September.
"We are looking forward to the 2025 season. As always, we have put together a challenging slate of games that will test our group and prepare us for Southern Conference play," said Miller, who comes into the 2025 season as the two-time reigning SoCon Coach of the Year.
The 2025 Catamounts face stiff competition throughout the season, with 12 opponents finishing inside the top 200 in RPI rankings last season. Opponents representing six different NCAA conferences, including NC State in the ACC and Tennessee from the SEC, comprise the nonconference schedule with four teams from the Big South Conference providing the opposition this fall.
The Catamounts begin 2025 with a pair of exhibition matches against Big South foe Charleston Southern (Aug. 5) and the Queens Royals (Aug. 8) out of the ASUN. WCU's regular season officially gets underway in exciting fashion as archrival Appalachian State swings down to Cullowhee for the opener on Aug. 14. The Thursday night meeting is the first between the two rivals since 2013, as the 2023 match was canceled due to weather. It's the 16th meeting in series history, with the Catamounts commanding an 11-3-1 edge over the mountain foe and former conference rival.
Big South foe High Point and a second former SoCon opponent in the Georgia Southern Eagles, round out the first five home matchups for the Catamounts. The Catamounts host the Panthers on Aug. 17, meeting for the first time since 2019. Western Carolina's series with the Eagles is set to resume after a 12-year hiatus on Aug. 21. The most recent matchup in that series was a 2-1 victory for WCU in 2013.
WCU heads to Nashville for its first road match of the year, taking on the reigning ASun Tournament champions and second-highest RPI non-SoCon team (111) in Lipscomb (Aug. 24). The Bison are the winningest 2024 team on the schedule for the Catamounts after recording 14 victories last season. The road doesn't get easier as the Catamounts head to Raleigh to take on the NC State Wolfpack on Aug. 27. The matchups with the Bison and the Wolfpack are the first since the 2017 season.
The Catamounts return home for a final time in August as they host the Tennessee Lady Vols to close the month. The Aug. 31 meeting marks the first time an SEC opponent treks up the mountain since the 2008 season when the 20th-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks visited the 'Whee. WCU earned the 1-0 upset victory over the Gamecocks, thanks to a goal in the 65th minute from Arlan Whittle. WCU and Tennessee, which finished ranked 51st in the RPI rankings – the highest of any opponent on the 2025 schedule – meet for the first time since 2009, a 2-1 win for the Vols in Knoxville.
September opens with five straight road matches, beginning in Farmville, Va., as the Catamounts take on their second of three Big South foes in the regular season, visiting Longwood (Sept. 4). The Catamounts and Lancers have battled to three consecutive ties in the series, including a dramatic 2-2 draw in Cullowhee last season thanks to a goal in the final 20 seconds from Milla Syska.
WCU then travels down to South Carolina to battle the Winthrop Eagles (Sept. 7) before venturing back to North Carolina to take on the UNC Wilmington Seahawks on Sept. 12 to close out the nonconference schedule. The Catamounts haven't faced the Seahawks since claiming a 2-1 neutral site victory in 2013 and haven't made the trip to Wilmington since a 1-0 win in 2011.
"Our goal as a group remains the same this fall – to compete for a championship," Miller said. "We return a strong core of players who have won back-to-back championships, and we have made some great additions to our squad, as well. We look forward to the challenges ahead and look forward to another successful fall with these amazing student-athletes."
WCU's title defense again opens against the top four teams in last year's SoCon regular-season standings, with all battling each other in the first three matches of the conference slate. The reigning back-to-back regular season champion Catamounts hit the road to take on the Samford Bulldogs on Sept. 18 before battling the Mercer Bears on the return trip (Sept. 21).
The five-match road trip concludes on Sept. 26 as the Furman Paladins come to Cullowhee for the first of back-to-back home matches for the Catamounts. Western Carolina secured the 2024 SoCon regular season title against the Paladins in Greenville last season, earning a 2-0 win with Isabella DeMarco notching the game-winner. The VMI Keydets make the trip down to battle the Catamounts on Oct. 2, before WCU hits the road again.
The final five matches of the regular season see the Catamounts bounce back and forth between road and home bouts before closing the season with a pair of consecutive home matches. The Catamounts open the final stretch on the road against The Citadel Bulldogs on Oct. 7 before returning home to host the Wofford Terriers on Oct. 10 for the final Friday night matchup of the year. The 2024 Catamount squad outscored those two opponents 10-1 in their regular season matchups and notched a second 6-1 win over the Terriers in the first round of the Southern Conference with three goals in the first seven minutes and five in the first 14 minutes overall.
A final road trip to Johnson City awaits the Catamounts on Oct. 16 as WCU faces the ETSU Buccaneers. Last year's physical matchup concluded in a hard-fought scoreless draw, while the Catamounts have an opportunity to earn their first road win over the Blue Ridge Border foe since a 2-1 2OT win in 2019.
The regular season closes as WCU hosts the UNCG Spartans (Oct. 19) and the Chattanooga Mocs (Oct. 26). WCU went 3-0 against the two schools last season, including a 2-0 SoCon Semifinal win over the Mocs at the Catamount Athletic Complex.
The 2025 SoCon Tournament begins on Oct. 28 with play-in games before the quarterfinals begin on Oct. 31. The semifinals are scheduled for Nov. 2 with the conference championship held the following weekend on Nov. 8. The higher seed will host the opening round before the first and second seeds host the quarter and semifinals. The highest remaining seed will host the conference championship.
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).
2025 Western Carolina Women's Soccer Schedule:
Tues., Aug. 5 | 4 p.m. | vs. Charleston Southern (Exhibition)
2024 Record: 5-7-3 (2-4-1 Big South) | 3-4-1 Home | 2-3-2 Away
2024 RPI: 299 | Series Record: 1-1-0 (W, 3-0 2001)
Fri., Aug. 8 | 6 p.m. | vs. Queens (Exhibition)
2024 Record: 5-10-4 (1-6-4 ASun) | 3-2-3 Home | 2-8-1 Away
2024 RPI: 272 | Series Record: 0-1-1 (L, 2-1 2024)
Thurs., Aug. 14 | 6 p.m. | vs. App State
2024 Record: 7-7-5 (4-3-3 Sun Belt) | 3-4-2 Home | 4-3-2 Away | 0-0-1 Neutral
2024 RPI: 167 | Series Record: 11-3-1 (W, 1-0 2013)
Sun., Aug. 17 | 1 p.m. | vs. High Point
2024 Record: 9-7-3 (5-2-1 Big South) | 6-1-1 Home | 2-5-2 Away
2024 RPI: 151 | Series Record: 3-0-2 (W, 2-1 2019)
Thurs., Aug. 21 | 6 p.m. | vs. Georgia Southern
2024 Record: 6-11-2 (3-6-1 Sun Belt) | 4-4-2 Home | 2-5 Away
2024 RPI: 185 | Series Record: 10-5-2 (W, 2-1 2013)
Sun., Aug. 24 | 2 p.m. | at Lipscomb
2024 Record: 14-4-4 (7-1-3 ASun) | 6-1-2 Home | 6-3-2 Away
2024 RPI: 111 | Series Record: 1-2-1 (L, 2-1 2017)
Wed., Aug. 27 |(6 p.m.) | at NC State
2024 Record: 4-10-4 (1-6-3 ACC) | 3-5-2 Home | 1-5-2 Away
2024 RPI: 171 | Series Record: 0-3-1 (L, 1-0 2017)
Sun., Aug. 31 | 7 p.m. | vs. Tennessee
2024 Record: 9-7-4 (3-4-3 SEC) | 6-1-3 Home | 2-4-1 Away | 1-2 Neutral
2024 RPI: 51 | Series Record: 0-3 (L, 2-1 2009)
Thurs., Sept. 4 | 6 p.m. | at Longwood
2024 Record: 4-9-6 (3-2-3 Big South) | 3-2-4 Home | 1-7-2 Away
2024 RPI: 276 | Series Record: 2-0-4 (T, 2-2 2024)
Sun., Sept. 7 | 2 p.m. at Winthrop
2024 Record: 3-7-4 (0-3-4 Big South) | 2-1-2 Home | 1-6-2 Away
2024 RPI: 331| Series Record: 6-0-1 (W, 4-0)
Fri., Sept. 12 | 7 p.m. | at UNC Wilmington
2024 Record: 4-9-5 (2-5-3 CAA) | 2-3-4 Home | 2-6-1 Away
2024 RPI: 217 | Series Record: 2-0 (W, 2-1 2013)
Thurs., Sept. 18 | 6 p.m. | at Samford | #2 in 2024 Regular Season Standings (20 points)
2024 Record: 12-7-3 (6-1-2 SoCon) | 8-3-2 Home | 4-4-1 Away
2024 RPI: 78 | 5-15-1 (L, 1-0 2024)
Sun., Sept. 21 | 2 p.m. | at Mercer | #3 in 2024 Regular Season Standings (17 points)
2024 Record: 11-5-3 (5-2-2 SoCon) | 8-1-1 Home | 3-3-2 Away
2024 RPI: 142 | Series Record: 6-8-0 (W, 1-0 2024)
Fri., Sept. 26 | 7 p.m. | vs. Furman | #4 in 2024 Regular Season Standings (17 points)
2024 Record: 10-7-3 (5-2-2 SoCon) | 5-5-1 Home | 4-2-2 Away
2024 RPI: 144 | Series Record: 10-23-1 (W, 2-0 2024)
Thurs., Oct. 2 | 7 p.m. | vs. VMI | #8 in 2024 Regular Season Standings (4 points)
2024 Record: 6-11-2 (1-7-1 SoCon) | 5-5 Home | 1-5-2 Away
2024 RPI: 316 | Series Record: 12-0-0 (W, 5-0 2024)
Sun., Oct. 5 | 2 p.m. | at The Citadel | #10 in Regular Season Standings (1 point)
2024 Record: 4-11-3 (0-8-1 SoCon) | 4-5-2 Home | 0-6-1 Away
2024 RPI: 334 | Series Record: 21-1-2 (W, 4-0 2024)
Fri., Oct. 10 | 7 p.m. | vs. Wofford | #9 in 2024 Regular Season Standings (4 points)
2024 Record: 6-12-2 (1-7-1 SoCon) | 3-7-1 Home | 3-5-1 Away
2024 RPI: 239 | Series Record: 21-7-3 (W, 6-1 2024)
Thurs., Oct. 16 | 7 p.m. | at ETSU | #7 in 2024 Regular Season Standings (12 points)
2024 Record: 4-8-4 (3-3-3 SoCon) | 2-4-1 Home | 2-3-3 Away | 0-1 Neutral
2024 RPI: 183 | Series Record: 10-9-3 (T, 0-0 2024)
Sun., Oct. 19 | 1 p.m. | vs. UNCG | #6 in 2024 Regular Season Standings (12 points)
2024 Record: 5-9-5 (3-3-3 SoCon) | 3-3-3 Home | 2-5-2 Away | 0-1 Neutral
2024 RPI: 199 | Series Record: 6-25-1 (W, 2-0 2024)
Sun., Oct. 26 | 2 p.m. | vs. Chattanooga | #5 in 2024 Regular Season Standings (15 points)
2024 Record: 7-9-3 (5-4 SoCon) | 2-5-1 Home | 4-4-2 Away | 1-0 Neutral
2024 RPI: 173 | Series Record: 15-9-3 (W, 2-0 2024)
Tues., Oct. 28 | TBA | SoCon Tournament Play-In Round
Fri., Oct. 31 | TBA | SoCon Tournament Quarterfinals
Sun., Nov. 2 | TBA | SoCon Tournament Semifinals
Sat., Nov. 8 | TBA | SoCon Tournament Championship
