Boone, N.C. – Western Carolina women's soccer battled to a hard-fought scoreless draw against archrival Appalachian State on Thursday evening in the squad's first road contest of the season at the Appalachian Soccer Stadium at the Ted Mackorell Soccer Complex.
WCU freshman goalkeeper Elizabeth Rupert denied a penalty kick in the 50th minute, preserving the tie as fifth-year Catamounts Isabella DeMarco and Ava Robitaille made their season debuts.
Neither team produced many quality scoring opportunities despite the highly competitive possession game, as the two sides combined for only three shots on goal, all saved by the respective keepers. Appalachian State's Libby Bermingham recorded the first on-target shot in the 16th minute, with Elizabeth Rupert denying the would-be goal.
The Mountaineers applied consistent pressure throughout the first half, firing five shots without conceding an attempt to the WCU offense. The Catamounts issued a wave of subs in the 28th minute, with DeMarco and Robitaille entering the match for the first time. The home team fired two more shots in the final 10 minutes of the half, while the Catamounts did not register a shot in the opening 45 minutes.
Appalachian State opened the second half with momentum, continuing to apply pressure to a Catamount backline that lost preseason All-Southern Conference selection Mary Mueth to a first-half injury. The Mountaineer attack was awarded a penalty after a foul whistled on Alexandra Grammenopoulos inside the box. However, App State's leading goalscorer Libby Bermingham's attempt was deflected by Rupert and careened off the far post. The penalty kick was App State's final on-target shot of the match, with the Catamount offense surging to close the night.
Isabella DeMarco fired WCU's first two shots, with her first coming in the 75th minute. The fifth-year returner took a second shot in the 79th, forcing App's Hannah Skogsfors to come off her line and make a save.
Katarina Schmidler took the last shot of the match in the 84th minute, sending it just wide of the net as the two teams traded goal kicks to close out the scoreless draw.
Appalachian State registered 11 shots to WCU's three, but only put two on frame to WCU's lone on-target attempt. The Mountaineers also took 10 corner kicks as the Catamounts launched three into the box.
WCU (1-1-1) will face the 16th-ranked Tennessee Lady Vols for a Sunday afternoon matchup in Knoxville, Tenn. Appalachian State (1-1-1) will hit the road to take on the Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs on Aug. 23.
Catamount Notables:
- The scoreless draw is the first shutout of the season for the Catamounts. It is also the first time the Catamounts have been shut out this season.
- Fifth-year Catamounts Isabella DeMarco and Ava Robitaille made their season debuts. DeMarco played for 33 minutes and recorded two shots, putting one on net. Ava Robitaille played for 51 minutes in the road matchup.
- Freshman goalkeeper Elizabeth Rupert picked up her first career shutout, recording a pair of saves. She is the first Catamount goalkeeper to be credited with a save on a penalty kick since Leanne Trudel did so against Florida.
- Opposing teams are 0-2 on penalty kicks against the Catamounts this season, with both misses coming in back-to-back matches. Both penalty kicks were missed by the team's leading scorer (UNCW – Hailey Longwood; App State – Libby Bermingham);
- The last time the Catamounts held opponents scoreless on two PKs was in the 2023 SoCon championship campaign.
Up Next for The Catamounts:
WCU is back in action on Sunday at No. 16 Tennessee with kickoff in Knoxville, Tenn. at 6 p.m. The Catamounts then have a week off from competition before hosting East Carolina on Aug. 30 and NC State on Sept. 3, in Cullowhee.
