SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The No. 8 Wofford women's soccer team will face off against No. 1 seed Western Carolina on Friday in Cullowhee, North Carolina, in the Southern Conference Tournament quarterfinals. The game is set for 7:00 pm and will be streamed on ESPN+. Last season saw the same matchup in the quarterfinals, and it was the Catamounts claiming the victory.
 
Matchup Information:
Opponent: No. 1 Western Carolina (13-2-3, 8-0-1)
Location: Catamount Athletic Complex – Cullowhee, North Carolina
Date/Time: Friday, November 1, at 7:00 pm
Broadcast: ESPN+ - https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/3b3aa0d3-2d1a-4663-943b-8599e6d02746?om-navmethod=espn%3Aglobalsearch%3Aresults
Live Stats: https://catamountsports.com/sidearmstats/wsoc/summary
Tournament Information: https://soconsports.com/wsoc/championship/
 
Terriers in the Tourney
After the 3-2 win over VMI in the opening round, the Terriers post an overall record of 11-19 in the Southern Conference Tournament. Head coach Elissa Post won her SoCon Tournament debut against VMI in 2023 and has a record of 2-1 in the tournament. This is now the second-straight year the team has defeated VMI in the opening round, and the third year in a row with an opening round victory. Last season the team suffered a loss to SoCon Tournament Champions, No. 1 Western Carolina, in the quarterfinals. The team is 1-3 all-time against Western Carolina in the SoCon Tournament as they defeated the Catamounts 1-0 in 2002. Western Carolina leads the all-time series against Wofford 20-7-3.
 
Terrier Tidbits
Leading the Wofford offensive attack is junior forward Ines Obradovac who enters Tuesday ranked third in the SoCon in goals scored (nine) and fourth in points (20). Megan Childress joins Obradovac with seven goals and 18 points, good for sixth in the conference in both categories. Keeping it steady in the goal is freshman keeper Elizabeth Navola, who is fresh off a career-high 10 saves against VMI on Tuesday. Navola leads the SoCon and ranks 22^nd in the nation with 5.73 saves per game. Kate Markey, who was just named to the SoCon All-Freshman Team, leads all freshmen in the conference with five assists as well as third amongst freshmen with 1,473 minutes of action.
 
Megan Childress scored two goals in Tuesday's matchup, marking the first brace by a Terrier in the SoCon Tournament since Hayley Younginer in 2018. The dynamic duo of Obradovac and Childress is just the fifth Wofford duo since 2003 to record 15 or more points apiece in a season and the first since Hayley Younginer (46) and Katie Beauerlein (19) in 2017. Ellie Gower recorded two assists in Tuesday's win, making her the first Terrier to record two assists in a single game since Alexis Mapplebeck in 2022.
 
Scouting the Catamounts
Wofford and Western Carolina are meeting for the second time this season after a 6-1 victory from Western Carolina on Sunday, October 13, at Snyder Field. The Catamounts boast a roster that returns seven starters from a year ago, including the reigning SoCon Player of the Year, Isabella DeMarco. WCU has only given up one goal since August 25, and it was to Sydney Soehn of the Terriers in the last meeting. Junior forward Milla Syska leads Western with 10 goals on the year, which ranks her second in the conference. Junior keeper Leanne Trudel has posted a league-best 11 clean sheets, which sits at fourth in the nation. Western Carolina has one of the more potent offenses in the nation, ranking 12^th in scoring offense (2.44), 16^th in points per game (7.06) and 12^th in shots per game (19.17). As a team, the Catamounts have a +36 goal differential this season, posting a 7-0-2 record at home.
 
The game is set for 7:00 pm in Cullowhee, North Carolina, along with No. 4 Mercer playing No. 5 Chattanooga at 4:00 pm at the same location. On the other side of the bracket, No. 2 Samford will host No. 7 UNCG, while No. 3 Furman will face off with No. 6 ETSU in Birmingham. The semifinals will be played on Sunday, November 3, at the same host locations. The SoCon Championship will be hosted by the highest remaining seed and is set for either Saturday, November 9, or Sunday, November 10.