2023 Southern Conference women's soccer tournament

2023 Southern Conference women's soccer tournament
2023 Southern Conference women's soccer tournament
Classification	Division I
Teams	10
Matches	9
Attendance	5,025
Site	Campus Sites (#7 & #8 seed - First Round); Campus Sites (#1 & #2 seeds - Quarterfinals & Semifinals); Campus Sites (#1 seed - Final)
Champions	Western Carolina (3rd title)
Winning coach	Chad Miller (1st title)
MVP	Paige McAra (Western Carolina)
Broadcast	ESPN+
Southern Conference women's soccer tournament
«2022	2024»

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 standings
v t e	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

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

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

First round

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

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

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

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

Goalscorers

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

Source:^[7]

Player	Team
Grace Duncan	The Citadel
Grace Eatz	East Tennessee State
Madi Hook	East Tennessee State
Camryn Bolick	Furman
Addison Corn	Furman
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

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

[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.

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