Western Carolina broke through against a defense that had yet to allow a goal in Southern Conference play, but the Catamounts could not make their first-half lead stand.
Two ETSU goals in a span of 1 minute, 49 seconds early in the second half turned a tied match into a 3-1 defeat for WCU in its annual Blackout game on Thursday, Sept.30.
Mackenzie Megill scored the Catamounts’ lone goal, while Alex Beck scored twice for the Buccaneers in front of an announced crowd of 287.
Western Carolina dropped to 3-7-2 overall and 1-2-1 in conference play. ETSU improved to 7-3-1 and 4-0-0, extending its perfect start against SoCon opponents.
The Catamounts finished with a 17-16 advantage in shots, but ETSU held an 8-4 edge in shots on goal and earned 10 corner kicks to WCU’s one. The difference in attempts on target helped the Buccaneers overcome a deficit and leave Cullowhee with their fourth consecutive victory.
Megill gave Western Carolina the lead late in the first half with an unassisted goal, her first of the season. The senior sparked early hope for the Catamounts, until ETSU came back stronger in the second half.
Her finish ended ETSU’s run of three consecutive conference shutouts. The Buccaneers entered the night having beaten Mercer 1-0, Wofford 2-0 and Tennessee Tech 3-0.
WCU’s advantage lasted only 93 seconds.
Beck answered at 40:33, scoring off an assist from Ava Flanary to bring ETSU level before halftime. Like Megill, Beck entered as a substitute, making both first-half goals contributions from the bench.
Western Carolina went into the break tied 1-1 despite outshooting the visitors 9-7. ETSU had three shots on target to WCU’s two, held 58% of first-half possession and took all six corner kicks of the opening period.
Amara Yetka helped keep the match scoreless through its early stages. The WCU goalkeeper stopped an Ava Duffey attempt at 1:41 and saved a Sadie Commerford shot at 13:30. At the other end, Alexandra Zents forced ETSU goalkeeper Addison Yelton into a save at 27:12.
The Catamounts also tested Yelton after halftime. Darien Vita put a shot on target at 49:50, and Gabriela Vatrano followed with another at 51:23. Yelton saved both, keeping the score level as the match approached its decisive stretch.
ETSU moved ahead at 57:52 when Natalie Capannelli converted a penalty kick following a foul charged to WCU defender Alexandra Grammenopoulos.
Yetka saved a Beck shot 25 seconds later, but the Buccaneers soon added another goal. Beck scored her second at 59:41, with Reagan Fitzgerald and Jada Cooper credited with assists, stretching the lead to 3-1.
Within less than two minutes, Western Carolina went from playing for the lead to needing two goals to draw even.
The Catamounts continued to generate attempts but could not score again. Vita shot at 61:27, and Katarina Schmidler added an attempt at 65:28. Later, Erika Gariepy took a shot at 76:22 before WCU earned its only corner of the night 10 seconds later.
Zents and Samantha Whitaker followed with attempts at 77:03 and 77:08, respectively, but neither was on target. Yelton’s two early second-half saves proved to be her only saves after the break.
Vita led Western Carolina with four shots, including one on goal. Vatrano finished with three attempts and one on target, while Zents had two shots and one on goal. Megill scored on her only attempt and played 35 minutes.
Yetka finished with five saves in 90 minutes, including a late stop against Fitzgerald at 83:51. Yelton recorded three saves for ETSU. Beck delivered two goals on four shots, putting three of those attempts on target in 54 minutes off the bench.
The result ended a run of two consecutive scoreless draws between the mountain rivals and gave ETSU its first victory over WCU in Cullowhee since 2018. It also left the Catamounts without a win in their last three conference matches, following a loss to Samford and a 1-1 draw at Wofford.
Western Carolina will look to respond Sunday, Oct. 4, when it travels to Chattanooga for a 2 p.m. match. The Catamounts return home Oct. 11 to host The Citadel on Senior Day.
