Greenville, S.C. – The Furman women's soccer team will host the Western Carolina Catamounts on Thursday evening in a match that will help determine the regular season championship and seeding for the upcoming Southern Conference Women's Soccer Championship.
 
Admission is free to Thursday's regular season home finale and the contest will be streamed live on ESPN+. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
 
The Catamounts, 11-2-3 overall and 6-0-1 in league play, come to Greenville with the lead in the SoCon standings on 19 points. The Paladins, 8-5-3 overall and 4-1-2 in the league, are tied for fourth place with 14 points. Furman and Western Carolina each have two matches remaining while the rest of the SoCon has one regular season contest to play.
 
The Paladins need victories in each of their final two matches (WCU & at The Citadel on Sunday) to have a shot at the regular season title while the Catamounts can clinch a share of the league crown and top seed in the tournament with a tie or victory on Thursday night. The top two teams in the final SoCon standings earn the right to host the league quarterfinals and semifinals with the highest remaining seed, following the semifinal round, hosting the championship match.
 
Furman bounced back from its first loss in 10 matches last Thursday by routing Wofford, 4-0, at Stone Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Graduate student Tara Katz, fifth-year senior Nieva Gaither, sophomore Norah Roller, and senior Ashlyn Goila netted goals for the Paladins while freshman goalkeeper Reese DeJong improved her record to 7-3-2 on the season.
 
Thursday's match marks the 35^th meeting between Furman and Western Carolina with the Paladins maintaining a 23-9-2 series lead. In last season's regular season meeting in Cullowhee, N.C., Furman claimed a 2-1 victory over the Catamounts. Western Carolina gained revenge with a 1-0 victory over the Paladins in the SoCon semifinals in Cullowhee.
 
The Catamounts had their perfect league record spoiled on Sunday afternoon when they played to a draw versus ETSU.