2023 Southern Conference women's soccer tournament


The 2023 Southern Conference women's soccer tournament was the postseason women's soccer tournament for the Southern Conference held from October 24 through November 5, 2023. The tournament was held at campus sites, with the higher seed hosting. The ten-team single-elimination tournament consisted of four rounds based on seeding from regular season conference play. The Samford Bulldogs were the defending champions.[1] Samford was not successful in their title defense. They reached the final but fell 1–0 to Western Carolina.[2][3] This was the third Southern Conference tournament title for the Western Carolina women's soccer program and first for head coach Chad Miller. The tournament title was Western Carolina's first since 2008.[4] As tournament champions, Western Carolina earned the Southern Conference's automatic berth into the 2023 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament.

2023 Southern Conference women's soccer tournament
ClassificationDivision I
Teams10
Matches9
Attendance5,025
SiteCampus Sites (#7 & #8 seed - First Round)
Campus Sites (#1 & #2 seeds - Quarterfinals & Semifinals)
Campus Sites (#1 seed - Final)
ChampionsWestern Carolina (3rd title)
Winning coachChad Miller (1st title)
MVPPaige McAra (Western Carolina)
BroadcastESPN+
Southern Conference women's soccer tournament
«2022  2024»
2023 Southern Conference women's soccer standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T   PCT W   L   T   PCT
Western Carolina  ‍y 7 2 0   .778 13 5 3   .690
Samford  ‍‍‍ 6 1 2   .778 12 4 5   .690
East Tennessee State  ‍‍‍ 6 1 2   .778 11 3 5   .711
Furman  ‍‍‍ 3 1 5   .611 7 5 7   .553
Mercer  ‍‍‍ 4 4 1   .500 10 6 5   .595
Chattanooga  ‍‍‍ 4 4 1   .500 10 7 1   .583
UNC Greensboro  ‍‍‍ 4 4 1   .500 7 9 3   .447
Wofford  ‍‍‍ 2 5 2   .333 5 11 4   .350
VMI  ‍‍‍ 1 8 0   .111 2 17 0   .105
The Citadel  ‍‍‍ 0 7 2   .111 3 9 6   .333
† – Conference champion
‡ – 2023 SoCON Tournament champion
y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament
As of December 5, 2023
Rankings from United Soccer Coaches Poll
Source: SoCon

Seeding

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All ten teams from the regular season qualified for the 2023 Tournament. Seeding was based on regular season records of each team. A tiebreaker was required to determine the second and third seeds of the tournament after East Tennessee State and Samford tied with identical 6–1–2 regular season records. The two teams tied their regular season meeting 1–1. East Tennessee State won the second tiebreaker and was awarded the second seed. A second tiebreaker was required to determine the fifth through seventh seeds as Chattanooga, Mercer, and UNC Greensboro all finished with identical 4–4–1 conference records. The three teams records against each other was considered as the tiebreaker. UNC Greensboro came out on top as they defeated Chattanooga and tied with Mercer. Chattanooga was the sixth seed as they defeated Mercer but lost to UNC Greensboro. Mercer was the seventh seed as they lost to Chattanooga and tied UNC Greensboro.[5]

Seed School Conference Record Points
1 Western Carolina 7–2–0 21
2 East Tennessee State 6–1–2 20
3 Samford 6–1–2 20
4 Furman 3–1–5 14
5 UNC Greensboro 4–4–1 13
6 Chattanooga 4–4–1 13
7 Mercer 4–4–1 13
8 Wofford 2–5–2 8
9 VMI 1–8–0 3
10 The Citadel 0–7–2 2

Bracket

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Source:[6]

First round
Tuesday, October 24
Quarterfinals
Friday, October 27
Semifinals
Sunday, October 29
Championship
Sunday, November 5
1 Western Carolina 5
8 Wofford 2 8 Wofford 0
9 VMI 1 1 Western Carolina 1
4 Furman 0
4 Furman (pen.) 2 (3)
5 UNC Greensboro 2 (1)
1 Western Carolina 1
3 Samford 0
2 East Tennessee State 1
7 Mercer 1 7 Mercer 0
10 The Citadel 0 2 East Tennessee State 0
3 Samford 2
3 Samford (a.e.t.) 3
6 Chattanooga 2


Schedule

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First round

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October 24 #8 Wofford 2–1 #9 VMI Spartanburg, SC
6:00 p.m. ET
  • Bailey Mullen   54',   66'
  • Megan Childress   66'
Report
  •   27' Barrett Callejo
Stadium: Snyder Field
Attendance: 145
Referee: Brandon Marion
Assistant referees: Marcus Moss
Assistant referees: Josh Lampkins
Fourth official: John Rush
October 24 #7 Mercer 1–0 #10 The Citadel Macon, GA
7:30 p.m. ET
  • Lena Dykes   21'
  • Lana Whitfield   81'
Report
  •   81' Grace Duncan
Stadium: Betts Stadium
Attendance: 303
Referee: Amin Hadzic
Assistant referees: Khadime Sabara
Assistant referees: Thomas Brigman
Fourth official: Derek Ambrozaitis

Quarterfinals

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October 27 #4 Furman 2–2 (a.e.t.)
(3–1 p)
#5 UNC Greensboro Cullowhee, NC
4:00 p.m. ET
  • Maddie Massie   24'
  • Ashlyn Goila   41'
Report
  •   55', 76',   78' Taylor Mentzer
Stadium: Catamount Soccer Complex
Referee: John Rush
Assistant referees: Joshua Lampkins
Assistant referees: Tarver Pyke
Fourth official: Ben Ellis
Penalties
  • Hannah Farr  
  • Helen Gutierrez  
  • Valentina Mosquera  
  • Ashlyn Golia  
  • Shania Diaz  
  •   Taylor Mentzer
  •   Caroline Woods
  •   Dalani Stephens
  •   Natalie McCullough
October 27 #2 East Tennessee State 1–0 #7 Mercer Johnson City, TN
4:00 p.m. ET
  • Sinoxolo Cesane   7'
  • Lindsey Cook   41'
Report
  •   85' Jamie Hlebec
Stadium: Summers-Taylor Stadium
Attendance: 701
Referee: Madzid Coric
Assistant referees: Khadime Sabara
Assistant referees: Thomas Rutherford
Fourth official: Patrick Loma
October 27 #1 Western Carolina 5–0 #8 Wofford Cullowhee, NC
7:00 p.m. ET
  • Alexis DeMarco   28'
  • Kirsten Hahn   30'
  • Wofford Own Goal   35'
  • Sophie Burchfield   44'
  • Ava Robitaille   78'
Report Stadium: Catamount Soccer Complex
Attendance: 892
Referee: Matthew Bell
Assistant referees: Carmen Anthony Serbio
Assistant referees: Ben Ellis
Fourth official: John Matto
October 27 #3 Samford 3–2 (a.e.t.) #6 Chattanooga Johnson City, TN
7:00 p.m. ET
  • Layton Glisson   44'
  • Team   77'
  • Ella Simpson   81'
  • Mary Raymond   107'
Report
  •   5', 40' Birna Johannsdottir
  •   44' Team
  •   56' Caroline Richvalsky
  •   67' Team
Stadium: Summers-Taylor Stadium

Semifinals

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October 29 #1 Western Carolina 1–0 #4 Furman Cullowhee, NC
1:00 p.m. ET
  • Mackenzie Megill   78'
Report Stadium: Catamount Soccer Complex
Attendance: 693
Referee: Kevin Maurer
Assistant referees: Robert Dail
Assistant referees: Thomas Rutherford
Fourth official: Eric Usher
October 29 #2 East Tennessee State 0–2 #3 Samford Johnson City, TN
1:00 p.m. ET Report
  •   21',   63' Mia Wehby
  •   59' Kyla Reynolds
  •   89' Alyssa Conarton
Stadium: Summers-Taylor Stadium
Attendance: 902

Final

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November 5 #1 Western Carolina 1–0 #3 Samford Cullowhee, NC
2:00 p.m. ET
  • Naya Marcil   11'
Report
  •   42' Kaitlin Maynard
  •   69' Mia Wehby
  •   87' Hanna Himes
Stadium: Catamount Soccer Complex
Attendance: 1,389
Referee: Nicole Green
Assistant referees: Joshua Belk
Assistant referees: Tarver Pyke
Fourth official: Joe Kirkpatrick

Statistics

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Goalscorers

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There were 23 goals scored in 9 matches, for an average of 2.56 goals per match (as of November 5, 2023).

2 goals

  • Birna Johannsdottir – Chattanooga
  • Taylor Mentzer – UNC Greensboro

1 goal

  • Sinoxolo Cesane – East Tennessee State
  • Ashlyn Goila – Furman
  • Maddie Massie – Furman
  • Lena Dykes – Mercer
  • Layton Glisson – Samford
  • Mary Raymond – Samford
  • Kyla Reynolds – Samford
  • Ella Simpson – Samford
  • Mia Wehby – Samford
  • Barrett Callejo – VMI
  • Sophie Burchfield – Western Carolina
  • Alexis DeMarco – Western Carolina
  • Kirsten Hahn – Western Carolina
  • Naya Marcil – Western Carolina
  • Mackenzie Megill – Western Carolina
  • Ava Robitaille – Western Carolina
  • Megan Childress – Wofford
  • Bailey Mullen – Wofford

1 own goal

  • Wofford (vs Western Carolina)

All-Tournament team

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Source:[7]

Player Team
Grace Duncan The Citadel
Grace Eatz East Tennessee State
Madi Hook
Camryn Bolick Furman
Addison Corn
Jamie Hlebec Mercer
Taylor Mentzer UNC Greensboro
Lindsay Origliasso Samford
Mary Raymond
Jennifer Seward
Birna Johannsdottir Chattanooga
Barrett Callejo VMI
Alexis DeMarco Western Carolina
Naya Marcil
Paige McAra
Ava Robitaille
Meara Kelly Wofford

MVP in bold

References

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  1. ^ Southern Conference. "2022 SoCon Women's Soccer Championship". soconsports.com. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
  2. ^ Southern Conference. "2023 SoCon Women's Soccer Championship". soconsports.com. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  3. ^ "Catamount women's soccer draws Alabama in the NCAA first round". themountaineer.com. The Mountaineer. November 9, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  4. ^ "Southern Conference Women's Soccer Record Book" (PDF). soconsports.com. Southern Conference. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  5. ^ "Western Carolina wins regular-season title; earn No. 1 seed". soconsports.com. Southern Conference. October 22, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  6. ^ "2023 Women's Soccer Championship" (PDF). soconsports.com. Southern Conference. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  7. ^ "Western Carolina wins 2023 SoCon Women's Soccer Championship". soconsports.com. Southeastern Conference. November 5, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2024.