Cullowhee, N.C. – The two-time defending Southern Conference women's soccer regular-season champion Western Carolina was well represented on the league's preseason all-conference team released on Monday, earning six of the 11 available spots as the Catamounts were again predicted to defend their 2023 and 2024 regular-season crowns.
Reigning SoCon Defensive Player of the Year senior Ava Robitaille headlined the six All-SoCon selections, joined by classmates Isabella DeMarco, Milla Syska, Leanne Trudel, and Abbie Wise, with junior defender Mary Mueth representing WCU's lone underclassman on the preseason honors list chosen by the league's head coaches.
The Catamounts garnered nine of the possible 10 first-place votes for a total of 81 points, thanks in large part to the expected efforts of the six standout players named to the preseason all-conference team. Samford, last year's regular-season runners-up and tournament champion, earned one first-place vote and is expected to finish second with 72 points. Furman (58) was third, followed by Mercer (51), Chattanooga (48), UNCG (45), ETSU (43), Wofford (25), The Citadel (16), and VMI (11) to fill out the remainder of the rankings, nearly in the same finish as last year's regular season standings.
Western Carolina landed preseason honorees at every level on the pitch, including a pair of forwards in Isabella DeMarco, who collected her third consecutive preseason all-conference honors, and Milla Syska, who earns her first career preseason accolade. The two combined for 19 goals and 13 assists, collecting 51 points on 133 shots, 73 of which were on goal. Syska paced the team in goals with 11 and game-winning goals with four, while DeMarco led the team in SoCon play with five goals and three game-winners. The latter also finds herself within striking distance of a handful of school records going into her senior season, as she is just 32 points, 16 goals, five assists, 42 shots, and 12 shots on goal away from the program record in each of those respective categories.
The Catamounts return the program's first SoCon Defensive Player of the Year in outstanding midfielder Ava Robitaille. The Rock Hill, S.C. product posted four assists last season, but primarily provided ball control for a stifling Catamount defense, routinely winning aerial battles at midfield and gifting the Catamount offense more opportunities to attack. Robitaille received the league's highest defensive honor last season for her efforts and was named first-team All-Southern Conference, the first plaudit of her career.
The defensive duo of Mary Mueth and Abbie Wise both earned their first career preseason Southern Conference honors as well, with the two expected to reprise their roles on a Catamount defense that severely limited opportunities for the opposition. The Catamounts only conceded an average of 8.1 shots and 3.5 shots on goal per game last year, allowing only 10 goals all season, resulting in the third-best goals against average (.476) in the nation and the sixth-best goal differential in the country at 42.
Leanne Trudel collected her first preseason honors as well following a 2024 campaign that saw a dominant effort between the posts from the Canadian Catamount. She capped a Catamount defensive effort that set a Southern Conference and program record with 14 shutouts. Trudel's best work arguably came in September, when she began a run of nine consecutive shutouts, the longest streak in program history. The Longueuil, Quebec native posted a school season record in goals against average with a 0.49 mark and a career-best save percentage, denying 86.5% of shots that came her way. Like DeMarco, Trudel is nearing rarified air in the Catamount record books as she's five shutouts and 13 wins away from school benchmarks in both those categories.
Coming off a pair of 4-0 shutout victories in a pair of home exhibition matches, the reigning SoCon regular-season champions and their six preseason all-conference honorees open the 2025 campaign as they host arch-rival Appalachian State on Thursday, Aug. 14, at 6 p.m. The Catamounts then host the High Point Panthers on Sunday, Aug. 17 at 1 p.m. before closing out the initial home slate with Georgia Southern on August 21 at 6 p.m.
Admission to each home match is free of charge, courtesy of First Bank. WCU's home matches will again be broadcast on ESPN+ (paid subscription required).
2025 SoCon Women's Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll
() denotes first-place votes
1. Western Carolina (9) – 81
2. Samford (1) – 72
3. Furman – 58
4. Mercer – 51
5. Chattanooga – 48
6. UNCG – 45
7. ETSU – 43
8. Wofford – 25
9. The Citadel – 16
10. VMI – 11
2025 Women's Soccer Preseason All-Southern Conference Team
F – Jada Moorman, Mercer
F – Isabella DeMarco, Western Carolina
F – Milla Syska, Western Carolina
MF – Rachel Poplin, UNCG
MF – Fleming Dean, Samford
MF – Ava Robitaille, Western Carolina
D – Lena Dykes, Mercer
D – Brenna Swiger, Chattanooga
D – Mary Mueth, Western Carolina
D – Abbie Wise, Western Carolina
GK – Leanne Trudel, Western Carolina
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