NEW ORLEANS – The 22nd season of Sun Belt Conference women’s soccer is set to kick off, as each of the conference’s 11 teams will play their first league match this weekend, beginning Thursday. 

South Alabama, which has won the last two Sun Belt Tournament Championships and five of the last seven regular-season titles, was predicted to again win the conference in a preseason vote of the league’s head coaches. The Jaguars received eight first-place votes, while Arkansas State, which won the regular-season crown in 2020, garnered two votes. 

Each of the Sun Belt’s women’s soccer teams will face one another during a 10-match regular-season schedule. The 2021 Sun Belt women’s soccer season culminates at the Sun Belt Women’s Soccer Championship to be contested November 1-7 at the Foley Sports Tourism Complex in Foley, Ala. This will mark the sixth consecutive year the event will be held in Foley. 

Sun Belt Women's Soccer Championship Central | Sun Belt Women's Soccer Past Champions

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

• RECORD BREAKERS - ULM enters Sun Belt Conference play with a 6-0 record, marking the best start in program history and the first six-game winning streak in school annals. The Warhawks are one of only 12 undefeated teams remaining in the nation. ULM is led by reigning SBC Offensive Player of the Week Courtney Marten, a junior forward, who leads the league with seven goals on the year. The Warhawks have outscored opponents 26-2 this season. 
• OFFENSIVE PROWESS - South Alabama, the preseason conference favorite, commences league play with the nation’s No. 1 scoring offense at 5.67 goals per game. The Jaguars are 4-2 with three shutouts on the year, including a 15-0 win against Alcorn State last Sunday. Junior midfielder Gracie Wilson leads her team with five goals, but what is particularly impressive is that of the 34 goals South Alabama has registered this season, they have been scored by 15 different players. Ten different players have two or more goals apiece this year. 
• EAGLES SOARING - Georgia Southern is off to the program’s best start since 2014 with a 5-2-1 overall record. Three of those victories and the tie have come on the road. Midfielder Marcela Montoya ranks among the top-five players nationally with three game-winning goals on the year. Her six total goals rank in the top-20 nationally as well. 
• WINNING WAYS – Georgia State is unbeaten in its last five matches and begins conference play with a 5-2-1 overall record. The Panthers rank among the top-50 in the nation with 44 total goals. Those goals have been scored by 13 different players and five players are tied for the team lead with two goals each. Georgia State is coming off the program’s winningest season since 1998. 
• NICE SAVE – Two Sun Belt goalkeepers are among the nation’s top-40 in saves per game. App State’s Kerry Eagleston is the reigning SBC Defensive Player of the Year and leads the league with 6.57 saves per game. Her 46 total saves are 13th nationally. Her 10 career shutouts, including two this season, are fifth-best all-time in Mountaineers history. Texas State’s Beth Agee holds a 0.75 GAA, 25 saves and a .893 save percentage with two consecutive shutouts. 

HOW TO FOLLOW
 

Date	Match	Time (CT)	Links
Thursday, Sept. 16	Georgia State at Louisiana	3 p.m.	ESPN + Live Stats
Thursday, Sept. 16	App State at Georgia Southern	4 p.m.	ESPN+ Live Stats
Thursday, Sept. 16	Coastal Carolina at Texas State	7 p.m.	ESPN+ Live Stats
Friday, Sept. 17	South Alabama at Arkansas State	3 p.m.	ESPN + Live Stats
Friday, Sept. 17	Troy at Little Rock	7 p.m.	ESPN+ Live Stats
Sunday, Sept. 19	App State at Coastal Carolina	11 a.m.	ESPN+ Live Stats
Sunday, Sept. 19	Georgia State at Texas State	12 p.m.	ESPN+ Live Stats
Sunday, Sept. 19	Troy at ULM	1 p.m.	Live Stats
Sunday, Sept. 19	Georgia Southern at Ole Miss	1 p.m.	SEC Network + Live Stats
Sunday, Sept. 19	South Alabama at Little Rock	1 p.m.	ESPN+ Live Stats
Sunday, Sept. 19	Louisiana at Alcorn State	3 p.m.