CLINTON, S.C. – Reaching the final destination in terms of pre-Big South contests, the Presbyterian College women's soccer team will enact their non-conference finale on Thursday evening after a two-week break from Martin Stadium. Standing in their way will be the Catamounts of Western Carolina, a university who's never faced the Blue Hose before.

First touch tomorrow night is scheduled for 7:00 PM, and will serve as Senior Night for Mackenzie Azuero, Caitlin Murphy, Mia Prieto, Reyna Coston, and Kali Zmistowski. That quintet – all of whom has been with the program since 2020 – will be honored in a pregame ceremony approximately 15 minutes before match time.

Once Thursday's meeting with WCU has passed, the Blue Hose will take another week-plus absence to prepare for the ever-important Big South slate on September 23. All told, Presbyterian will not compete for a period of nine days until the conference curtain-jerker at Radford in the second-to-last Saturday of the month.
 
GAMEDAY INFO – THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14
Presbyterian (1-5-1) vs. Western Carolina (2-2-3) – 7:00 PM | Martin Stadium
LIVE STATS - StatBroadcast
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
 
- Harboring a unique resume as a representative of the SoCon, Western Carolina will battle PC for the first time behind a first month that includes two wins, two losses, and two ties. Each time that the Catamounts have been the home side, the end result has landed in a draw, most recently on Sunday in a 1-1 decision against East Carolina.

- It was WCU who was forced to battle from behind in the aforementioned tussle with the Pirates, providing the tiebreaker in the 69^th minute courtesy of Milla Syska.

- Over the course of four road features, the Catamounts are an even 2-2, defeating Winthrop in a 5-1 smacking and UNC Asheville 1-0 while also falling to UT Martin and 11^th-ranked Clemson.

- Head coach Chad Miller (currently in the middle of year 14 in Cullowhee) guided Western Carolina to the SoCon Tournament last fall, although it was a one-and-done exit at the hands of UNC Greensboro by a 2-1 clip.
 
LAST TIME OUT
 
- Unfortunately dealt a difficult hand with various injuries to starting positions, PC was eventually undone by Davidson in their last appearance three days ago by a 3-0 margin. The affair was a scoreless one after 45 minutes, although the Wildcats controlled the second period to claim the shutout.

- Prior to Presby's visit to North Carolina, they went in the opposite direction to the Sunshine State for what amounted to a 2-2 stalemate against Jacksonville. Lina-Marie Müller and Lindsey Malyszek found the back of the net within nine minutes of each other, the latter doing so for the second bout in a row after also scoring versus Navy.

- Head coach Brian Purcell's club has mustered 28 on-target shots to this point on the calendar, only allowing three goals in their first four meetings which included a 2-0 win over Columbia International.
 
SENIOR NIGHT
 
- PC's senior core will be acknowledged at approximately 6:45, a group of five who has been instrumental in the program's development since their respective freshman campaigns.

- Azuero hails from Aurora, Colorado and has compiled nearly 800 minutes in the net. Competing in 16 bouts since her freshman season in the spring of '21, Mackenzie has started seven contests and has gathered 41 saves. A season-best 29 of those stoppages came in the 2022 campaign, where she calculated a save percentage of .725. She recorded a career-best seven saves as a junior against The Citadel, and has allowed zero goals on six different dates. Mackenzie is majoring in biochemistry, and will be escorted by her parents, James and Amy Azuero.

- Murphy has been penciled in as a starter in 31 contests while appearing in 50 overall. Playing 2,605 minutes and counting, Caitlin boasts a career shot-on-goal percentage of .529, adding three assists to her time wearing the blue and garnet. In the 2021 season, she recorded the game-clinching assist in the 100^th minute during an overtime win against Charleston Southern, going on to tally additional helpers versus UNC Asheville and Kennesaw State. Majoring in economy and business administration with concentrations in accounting and management, Caitlin is a two-time member of the Big South Presidential Honor Roll, and was named a College Sports Communicators Academic All-District performer in 2022. A native of Blythewood, South Carolina, she will be escorted by her parents, Tom and Janis Murphy.

- Prieto has influenced many Blue Hose victories over her four years with the program. Contributing to PC's highest Big South win count in 2021, Mia has logged nearly 600 minutes on the field to the tune of 24 matches. Earlier this season, she was responsible for the game-winning goal with a 39^th-minute strike against Columbia International at Martin Stadium. Hailing from Pembroke Pines, Florida, Mia is majoring in biology with a minor in psychology, and will be escorted by her parents, Anthony and Maileen Prieto, as well as her brother and sister, Anthony and Demi Prieto.

- Coston has competed in 51 matches for PC with 40 starts to her name. A Maryville, Tennessee product, Reyna enters tomorrow's contest only 11 minutes shy of hitting 3,000 for her career, gathering 12 points in total. Scoring her first collegiate goal at Campbell in 2021, she tallied her first assist the following season versus Georgia, before going on a sequence of three goals in three matches that concluded with a two-goal performance at UNC Asheville. After picking up another assists at Longwood last fall, Reyna registered her fifth PC score in what amounted to a 2-1 triumph at High Point, finishing her junior year with a selection to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District team. She is majoring in business administration with concentrations in management and accounting, and will be escorted by her parents, Jake and Leah Coston.

- Zmistowski has been a longtime leader and captain of the Presbyterian defense. Throughout her first three seasons in Clinton, Kali assumed 42 appearances and was named a starter on 32 occasions, reaching a total of 2,874 minutes on the Blue Hose back line. Over 1,300 of those minutes came during her junior campaign, where she was named the Big South Defensive Player of the Week in August 2022 following two defensive shutouts against ETSU and Alabama State. Kali is a native of Braselton, Georgia, majoring in biology with minors in chemistry and religion, and will be escorted by her parents, Jeff and Melissa Zmistowski, as well as her sisters, Maya and Tara Zmistowski.