Western Carolina predicted to win 2024 women’s soccer championship

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Defending Southern Conference regular-season and tournament champion Western Carolina is the preseason favorite to win the 2024 Southern Conference women’s soccer title in voting of the league’s 10 head coaches. The Catamounts outlasted Samford, 1-0, in the 2023 Southern Conference Championship, claiming their first tournament championship in 15 years.

The coaches also selected an 11-member preseason all-conference team. Western Carolina picked up a league-best three selections. ETSU, Mercer and Samford each placed two on the team, while Furman and Chattanooga had one apiece.

Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams or players in the balloting.

Western Carolina, which garnered eight first-place votes, finished with 80 points. Samford was second with 72 points and had the final two first-place votes. ETSU was picked third with 60 points, while Mercer was fourth with 57 points. Furman was selected fifth with 46 points and Chattanooga was behind them with 45 points to take sixth. UNCG had 39 points and Wofford finished with 22 points, placing seventh and eighth, respectively. The Citadel had 19 points to finish ninth and VMI rounded out the poll with 10 points.

Western Carolina went 13-5-3 overall last season and went 7-2 in conference play enroute to its first regular-season title. Following their tournament championship, the Catamounts fell to Alabama, 2-0, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Catamounts’ three preseason all-conference selections – Isabella DeMarco, Naya Marcil and Becca Campbell – were each first-team All-SoCon performers a season ago.

DeMarco, who was the first Western Carolina player to win SoCon Player of the Year in 2023, netted 10 goals and amassed seven assists last season, placing her in the top three in both categories in the league. Marcil finished 2023 with nine goals and nine assists, while Campbell played and started all 21 games for the Catamounts a year ago, logging three goals. DeMarco and Marcil were each named to the SoCon All-Tournament team last season as well.

Samford put midfielder Whitaker Buchanan and defender Ella Simpson on the preseason all-conference team. The Bulldogs finished the 2023 season with a 12-4-5 overall record and a 6-1-2 mark in conference games. Samford finished as the runner-up in the SoCon Tournament a season ago.

ETSU, which made an appearance in the tournament semifinals last season after finishing 11-3-5 overall and 6-1-2 in league games, put Sydney Somogyi and Ashton Blair, the reigning SoCon Defensive Player of the Year, on the preseason all-conference squad. Mercer placed forwards Jada Moorman and Larkin Thomason on the preseason all-conference team. Both were All-SoCon picks in 2023.

Furman forward Nieva Gaither and Chattanooga midfielder Clarissa Salinas round out the preseason squad. Gaither missed the conference season in 2023 but was a first-team all-conference selection in 2022, while Salinas was a second-team selection last season.

The 2024 regular season begins on Thursday, Aug. 15, as The Citadel, Furman, ETSU, Mercer, UNCG, Samford, Chattanooga, VMI and Wofford are all in action. Western Carolina begins its season the following day.

The SoCon Women’s Soccer Championship will feature all 10 schools. The first round will feature two matchups, No. 7 vs. No. 10 and No. 8 vs. No. 9, and will be held at the higher seeds on Oct. 29. The quarterfinals and semifinals, hosted by the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, will take place on Nov. 1 or Nov. 3, respectively. The SoCon Championship will be held at the highest remaining seed on Nov. 9 or Nov. 10.

2024 Women’s Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll

1. Western Carolina (8) 80

2. Samford (2)               72

3. ETSU                       60

4. Mercer                      57

5. Furman                     46

6. Chattanooga             45

7. UNCG                      39

8. Wofford                    22

9. The Citadel               19

10. VMI                        10

() denotes first-place votes

2024 Women’s Soccer Preseason All-Conference Team

F          Jada Moorman, Mercer

F          Larkin Thomason, Mercer

F          Isabella DeMarco, Western Carolina

MF       Nieva Gaither, Furman

MF       Whitaker Buchanan, Samford

MF       Clarissa Salinas, Chattanooga

MF       Naya Marcil, Western Carolina

D          Sydney Somogyi, ETSU

D          Ella Simpson, Samford

D          Becca Campbell, Western Carolina       

GK       Ashton Blair, ETSU