WCU soccer finishes 1-1 in ETSU invitational

The Catamounts wrapped up the first leg of their current road trip in the East Tennessee State University invitational tournament. They defeated Stetson University 2-0 before losing to ETSU in the finals 1-0.The story of the first match against the Stetson University Hatters was freshman midfielder Courtney Mallon- she’s number 14 for those of you who are looking for the new player. Mallon presented an incredibly performance, scoring two goals off of two shots in just 12 minutes played. At the 70th minute mark, Mallon was able to take full advantage and score off of a mistake by the Stetson defense. Just two minutes later she had a nearly identical goal off another misplayed pass. Mallon’s two goals tie her for the overall goal lead with Bri Cunningham.The second game of the tournament was a 1-0 loss to host ETSU. ETSU freshman Kelly Brinkman tallied the lone goal off a penalty kick in the 72nd minute. This loss put the at 1-1 finishing runner up to East Tennessee State University.Goal keeper Caitlin Williams continued her outstanding play through both games of the tournament, making four saves on the first game to record her second shutout, and six in the loss to ETSU. Williams’s goal-line heroics have solidified nearly every Western Carolina soccer victory in resounding fashion. Even though she is only a freshman, Williams currently leads the Southern Conference with 33 saves. Williams earned not only the defensive Most Valuable Player award for the tournament, but she was also named Southern Conference Player of the Week. Another notable statistic from the tournament was 12 WCU players accounted for 15 shots on goal. Also, midfielder Heather Dittmer and forward Rachael Shomper were given All Tournament honors. The Catamounts remain above .500 after the weekend with an overall record of 4-3-0.