Complete Bracket | Championship Central
NEW ORLEANS – Eight teams start their journey for a Sun Belt Women's Soccer Tournament Championship on Wednesday, Oct. 31, at the Foley Sports Tourism Complex in Foley, Ala. The 2018 version of the tournament will be the third consecutive women's soccer championship the FST Complex has hosted for the Sun Belt.
The action kicks off on Wednesday at 10 a.m. CT with the first of four quarterfinal matchups, followed by two semifinal matchups on Friday, Nov. 2, and the finale on Sunday, Nov. 4, at 1 p.m. CT. All matches will be broadcast on ESPN+.
The Sun Belt women's soccer championship has been won by South Alabama each of the last five years; however, in 2018 Texas State unseated the Jaguars for the regular season crown and will be the tournament's overall top seed.
The Bobcats enter the tournament on a 10-match unbeaten streak, the third longest in program history, after winning their first Sun Belt women's soccer regular season title. Texas State is 1-4 overall in the tournament and will face Troy in its opening round at 1 p.m. CT on Wednesday.
Troy, the eighth seed, is making its tenth consecutive appearance. The Trojans fell to Texas State, 3-0, earlier this year.
Wednesday's first matchup is between No. 4 Appalachian State and the fifth-seeded Jaguars. Appalachian State defeated both Little Rock and Coastal Carolina this year, most recently snapping Little Rock's six-match winning streak, 3-1, to earn the fourth seed. This will be the third time in the last five years the Mountaineers have claimed the No. 4 seed and the fourth consecutive year they will face the Jaguars in the tournament.
USA, as previously mentioned, has won five consecutive Sun Belt women's soccer tournaments. The Jaguars’ five consecutive tournament titles are a Sun Belt record. USA has not been scored on in the Sun Belt women's soccer tournament since the semifinals of the 2015 tournament (seven consecutive matches).
The Mountaineers and Jaguars will meet at 10 a.m. CT on Wednesday.
Little Rock and Arkansas State will square off in the 4 p.m. CT matchup on Wednesday. The Trojans are the No. 2 seed in the tournament and have won six of their last seven matches. They have also advanced to the semifinals in each of the past two tournaments. The seven conference wins in 2018 are the most for the program all-time.
The matchup between the Trojans and the seventh-seeded Red Wolves will be the second consecutive season the two teams have met in the tournament. Little Rock defeated A-State earlier this year, 3-0. A win by the Red Wolves would advance A-State into the semifinals for just the third time in program history.
The final match on Wednesday pits the No. 3 Chanticleers against sixth-seeded Georgia State. Coastal was the runner-up in each of the past two seasons and is 4-2 overall in tournament play since joining the Sun Belt in 2016. Georgia State blanked the Chanticleers, 4-0.
The Panthers are the second hottest team in the league behind the Bobcats as they've reeled off a six-match unbeaten streak. GSU tied Texas State, 1-1, in double-overtime for their only non-win of the six matches.
All seven matches of the 2018 Women's Soccer Championship will be broadcast live on ESPN+. Fans can also follow the action via Twitter (@SunBelt) or through live stats available on SunBeltSports.org. Four matches take place on Wednesday, Oct. 31, with the four winners from Wednesday meeting in the semifinals on Friday, Nov. 2, starting at 4 p.m. CT. The Sun Belt Women's Soccer Championship match will take place on Sunday, Nov. 4, at 1 p.m. CT.
2018 Sun Belt Conference Soccer Championship Seeds
1. Texas State - 26 pts - 8-0-2
2. Little Rock - 22 pts - 7-2-1
3. Coastal Carolina - 21 pts - 7-3
4. Appalachian State - 18 pts - 6-4
5. South Alabama - 16 pts - 5-4-1 *
6. Georgia State - 16 pts - 5-4-1
7. Arkansas State - 15 pts - 5-5
8. Troy - 12 pts - 4-6
2018 Women’s Soccer Championship Schedule
Wednesday, October 31 (First Round)
Match 1 - #5 South Alabama vs. #4 Appalachian State – 10 a.m. CT
Match 2 - #8 Troy vs. #1 Texas State – 1 p.m. CT
Match 3 - #7 Arkansas State vs. #2 Little Rock – 4 p.m. CT
Match 4 - #6 Georgia State vs. #3 Coastal Carolina – 7 p.m. CT
Friday, November 2 (Semifinals)
Match 5 - 4 p.m. CT – Match 1 Winner vs. Match 2 Winner
Match 6 - 7 p.m. CT – Match 3 Winner vs. Match 4 Winner
Sunday, November 4 (Championship Match)
Match 7 - 1 p.m. CT – Match 5 Winner vs. Match 6 Winner
All matches will be broadcast live on ESPN+
* South Alabama and Georgia State each finished tied with 16 points in the final standings; however, the Jaguars defeated the Panthers, 1-0, earlier this year and therefore earned the higher seed.