Cullowhee, NC – Seeking to preserve tempo in a decent top-half of the Southern Convention race, Western Carolina soccer completes a two-game homestand on Saturday afternoon, internet hosting the Mercer Bears in an important convention matchup at E.J. Whitmire Stadium / Bob Waters Subject because the college welcomes dwelling its alumni and mates for Homecoming 2023, introduced by Harris Regional and Swain Group Hospitals.
Western Carolina (5-2, 3-1 SoCon) is ranked tenth within the newest Stats Carry out FCS Prime 25 and sixteenth within the AFCA Coaches Ballot unveiled Monday. On Thursday, the NCAA FCS Soccer Playoff Committee listed the Catamounts at No. 9 in its first mid-season rankings coming lower than a month away from the start of the 2023 FCS postseason. Winners of three of its final 4 on the season, Mercer (5-3, 3-2 SoCon) continues to obtain votes within the AFCA FCS Coaches Ballot because the Bears come to Cullowhee for Saturday’s 2:30 p.m. kickoff.
Saturday’s recreation might be broadcast on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) with stay audio from the Catamount Sports activities Community starting with the Pepsi Tailgate Present at 1:30 p.m. Followers throughout Western North Carolina can hear the printed domestically on 5 CSN associates frequencies: in Sylva, 105.7 FM and 540 AM WRGC “The River”; 104.9 FM and 1050 AM WFSC in Franklin; Rewind 100.3 FM “Carolina’s Best Hits” in Asheville; and free by stay streaming audio on-line at CatamountSports.com.
Followers may also observe the sport with stay stats accessible on-line at CatamountSports.com and with well timed in-game updates on Twitter utilizing @Catamounts and @CatamountsFB.
Gross sales for tickets to WCU’s annual Homecoming recreation have once more been brisk with a big crowd anticipated below near-perfect taking part in circumstances in #CatamountCountry. Tickets and recreation day parking passes for Saturday’s Homecoming recreation can be found on the WCU Athletics Ticket Workplace, situated on the primary ground of the Ramsey Middle; by telephone at (828) 227-2401; or on-line at CatamountSports.com/BuyTickets.
WCU’s Homecoming weekend consists of the annual parade in downtown Sylva on Friday, Oct. 27 at 6 p.m., with a pair of Southern Convention ladies’s soccer quarterfinal matches being held on the on-campus Catamount Athletics Advanced. Prime-seeded WCU faces No. 8 seed Wofford Friday at 7 p.m., within the quarterfinal nightcap (admission is FREE). Along with Saturday’s dwelling soccer recreation (2:30 p.m. kickoff), the Catamount volleyball group returns to Ingles Court docket within the Ramsey Middle to face league-leader The Citadel with a 7 p.m. begin (admission is FREE). The weekend is capped by the semifinal spherical of the 2023 SoCon Girls’s Soccer Championship on-campus on the Catamount Athletics Advanced with a 1 p.m. begin.
For an entire itemizing of WCU’s Homecoming Week actions, go to Homecoming.WCU.edu.
The Catamounts look to bounce again from a tricky 29-17 loss to No. 3 Furman final Saturday in Cullowhee in one of many greatest dwelling video games in program historical past. WCU noticed its five-game seasonal win streak snapped whereas struggling its first loss to a NCAA FCS opponent in almost a full calendar 12 months – final falling to The Citadel on Oct. 22, 2022. Mercer outscored Wofford 21-to-10 within the fourth quarter final Saturday to drag away for the 31-17 victory over the Terriers at 5 Star Stadium in Macon, Ga.
Regardless of being restricted to its second-lowest output of the season final week at 353 complete yards together with simply 84 yards on the bottom, WCU’s high-octane offense continues to steer the NCAA FCS in output at 506.3 yards per recreation – certainly one of solely two groups within the nation to common over 500 yards (Montana State, 506.1 yds/gm). The Catamounts proceed to boast the nation’s sixth-best scoring offense (37.9 ppg), fourth in passing offense (304.0 yds/gm) and are tied for third nationally with 184 first downs.
Mercer counters with two of the highest offensive weapons within the SoCon in first-team All-SoCon vast receivers Ty James and dual-threat Devron Harper. James leads the SoCon in receiving at 99.1 yards per recreation – fifth within the NCAA FCS in common whereas main the NCAA with 793 complete receiving yards approaching 43 catches. Harper is a two-time SoCon Particular Groups Participant of the Week (Sept. 11, Oct. 2) and ranks seventh within the nation with a median of 16.3 yards per punt return with two return touchdowns.
Collectively on Saturday, the SoCon’s finest offense (WCU, 506.3 yds/gm) faces the league’s prime complete defensive squad as Mercer is limiting opponents to 322.5 yards per outing. WCU’s prime dashing assault (202.3 yds/gm) might be matched up in opposition to Mercer’s second-best rush protection because the Bears solely enable a median of 114 yards per recreation on the bottom. The Catamounts are second with a median of 37 factors per recreation whereas the Bears rank second, surrendering simply 17.2 factors per contest.
Since profitable the primary two sequence conferences in 2014 and 2015, the Catamounts have suffered seven-straight defeats within the head-to-head sequence with Mercer together with a one-sided 49-6 highway loss at then No. 12 Mercer final October. Saturday’s assembly marks the tenth all-time between WCU and Mercer with the Catamounts trailing within the sequence 2-7 together with only one win in 4 matchups in Cullowhee.
The Catamounts snapped a five-game winless drought on Homecoming Day in Cullowhee final 12 months with a come-from-behind victory 36-29 win over Wofford and search for back-to-back Homecoming victories for the primary time since profitable three-straight from 2013 to 2015. WCU and Mercer have met simply as soon as on WCU’s Homecoming, a 34-24 win by the Bears in 2021.
WCU can match its seasonal win complete from 2022 at six – probably the most below head coach Kerwin Bell in Cullowhee – with a victory over Mercer on Saturday.
Sport 8: Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023 • 2:30 pm
Location: Cullowhee, N.C. (Whitmire Stadium / Waters Subject – 13,790)
Data: Mercer (5-3, 3-2 SoCon) at #16/10 Western Carolina (5-2, 3-1 SoCon)
Stay Stats – WCU’s Sidearm Stats | Purchase Tickets Now
BROADCAST INFORMATION:
TV Stream: ESPN+ (subscription required)
PBP: Kyle Rush; Shade: Phil Cox
Radio/Audio: Catamount Sports activities Community
PBP: Gary Ayers; Producer: Jeff Bryson
CSN Associates:
Sylva – 105.7 FM / 540 AM WRGC
Franklin – 104.9 FM / 1050 AM WFSC
Asheville – Rewind 100.3 WTMT-HD2
On-line: CatamountSports.com
Hold observe of all the things associated to Catamount soccer and WCU Athletics by its social media shops on Fb (fb.com/CatamountSports) and Twitter (@Catamounts, @CatamountsFB).
