Cullowhee, N.C. -- The Western Carolina women's soccer team pulls back the curtain on Southern Conference play with a familiar foe, as the Catamounts travel to Birmingham, Ala., to battle Samford on Thursday night.
The league opener is a rematch of the 2023 and 2024 conference title games and is set for a 7:00 p.m. EST/6:00 p.m. CST kick from Shauna Yelton Field at the Samford Track/Soccer Complex.
Thursday's SoCon opener will be livestreamed on ESPN+ (
paid subscription required) with live stats available on CatamountSports.com.
Thursday's Matchup:
Western Carolina (4-3-2, SoCon 0-0-0) at Samford (3-2-3, SoCon 0-0-0)
Birmingham, Ala. | Shauna Yelton Field at Samford Track/Soccer Complex | 7:00 p.m. EST/6:00 p.m. CST
Watch (ESPN+):
https://tinyurl.com/4pzjn9ay
Live Stats:
https://tinyurl.com/42wn8x3b
Quick Cuts:
The Catamounts and Bulldogs meet in a rematch of the last two conference championship matches, with the two teams splitting results in those matchups. WCU claimed the 2023 SoCon championship 1-0, advancing to the NCAA tournament before falling to Alabama 2-0. Samford won the 2024 tournament championship 1-0, but fell to Florida State 8-0 in the NCAA tournament last season.
Western Carolina trails in the overall series 5-15-1, but has won three of the last four meetings in shutout fashion. 16 of the 21 previous matches have been decided by a single goal.
WCU enters Thursday's SoCon opener with momentum as the Catamounts finished their non-conference slate 2-0-1 in their last three matches after a rocky 2-3-1 start to the season. The Catamounts haven't allowed a goal in those three undefeated matches, drawing with Longwood 0-0 before picking up 2-0 wins against Winthrop and UNC Wilmington.
Samford enters the matchup on a five-game shutout streak, going 3-0-2 in those matches. The Bulldogs haven't allowed a goal since a 3-1 loss to Alabama on August 24 and are outscoring opponents 9-6 this season.
The Catamounts and Bulldogs have only one common opponent this season, with both squads falling to Georgia Southern. Samford dropped a high-scoring 3-2 match with the former SoCon foe, with the Eagles netting the first marker only 30 seconds into the young season. The Catamounts dropped a 1-0 contest, outshooting the Eagles 23-9 in the home loss.
Around the SoCon (9/18/25):
#1 Furman (6-1-1) vs #4 Mercer (5-3-0) | Greenville, S.C. | 7:00 p.m. EST
#2 Chattanooga (6-2-1) vs #8 Wofford (3-4-3) | Chattanooga, Tenn. | 6:00 p.m. EST
#3 ETSU (5-2-2) at #7 The Citadel (3-3-1) | Charleston, S.C. | 4:00 p.m. EST
#5 Samford (3-2-3) vs #6 Western Carolina (4-3-2) | Birmingham, Ala. | 7:00 p.m. EST
#9 VMI (1-7-1) at #10 UNC Greensboro (1-7-0) | Greensboro, N.C. | 6:00 p.m. EST
Players to Watch:
Sofia Goclowski and
Ava Robitaille both netted their team-leading third goals of the season in the 2-0 win over UNC Wilmington, with Goclowski's being her third game-winning goal of the year. The sophomore from Sharon, Mass., leads the Catamounts with 10 shots on goal this season and is second on the team in total shots with 26.
Isabella DeMarco is on a two-match points streak for the Catamounts, notching her first goal of the season against Winthrop and chipping in her second assist of the year against UNC Wilmington when she connected with
Ava Robitaille off a corner kick. DeMarco is only three assists away from tying the WCU career assists record of 25.
Leanne Trudel is also nearing prestigious marks in the Catamount record books, as she is only one shutout away from tying Caitlin Williams' career shutout record of 28. Trudel denied three would-be goals in the shutout win over UNC Wilmington and is looking to build off an outstanding 2024 SoCon campaign, where the senior from Longueuil, Canada, allowed only one goal in conference play in the regular season.
Samford is led offensively by Samantha de Luca, who is the only Bulldog on the roster with more than one goal. The junior from Little Rock, Arkansas, has three goals and an assist, with Samford fielding seven players with at least one goal and eight with an assist. Five Bulldogs are tied for the team lead in shots on goal at six, with Martha Bishop atop the team charts in total shots at 15.
The Bulldogs field one of the top keepers in the Southern Conference between the posts in redshirt-sophomore Peyton Hull. She leads the conference in clean sheets with shutout efforts this season. Hull has collected 17 saves during Samford's five-match shutout streak, including a seven-save shutout win over Georgia State.
Up Next for The Catamounts:
WCU closes out its five-match road swing in Macon, Ga., taking on the Mercer Bears on Sept. 21 at 2:00 p.m. before returning home for the first time since the Tennessee match to host the Furman Paladins. Kick with Furman is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. on Sept. 26.
