FOLEY, Ala. – Third-seeded ULM and fourth-seeded Texas State earned respective semifinal victories by knocking off the top two seeds in the 2025 Sun Belt Conference Women’s Soccer Championship on Wednesday evening at the Foley Sports Tourism Complex.
ULM advances to its first Sun Belt women’s soccer title match in program history, while Texas State will play in the finale for the second year in a row and third time overall. The teams played to a 1-1 draw in first conference match of the season on Sept. 13 in Monroe, La.
The championship match kicks off Saturday, November 8 at 7 p.m., and will be broadcast on ESPN+.
(3) ULM 3, (2) Old Dominion 2 (Box Score)
ULM built a large advantage by scoring three goals in an 11-minute span crossing the midpoint of the first half. The first came in the 18th minute when Margret Edda Bjarnadottir took a sliding shot off a touch pass that was saved by Old Dominion goalkeeper Ellie Goodrich. The rebound rolled toward the goal post where it was placed into the back of the net by 2025 Sun Belt Player of the Year Skylar Blaise.
Just four minutes later, Ava Goodman ripped a shot with her right foot from the left side just beyond the 18-yard marker that went off the crossbar. Once again, Blaise was there to collect the rebound, heading home a shot that rolled across the goal line into the right side of the net for the game’s second goal.
In the 30th minute, the Warhawks earned a free kick just two yards into the Monarchs’ side of the field where midfield and the sideline meet. Libby Holmes lofted a ball into the box that was inadvertently headed backwards by Old Dominion defender and 2025 Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year Ashlynn Kulha and over the goalkeeper’s head for an own goal to widen the margin to 3-0.
The Monarchs mounted a furious rally late in the second half when a free kick by Andrea Balcazar Algarin went down the far right sideline to Riley Mullen who sent a rolling cross into the goal box that found Hannah Morgan who touched a shot past the goalkeeper to trim the deficit to two.
With under three minutes remaining, a similar possession deep in ULM territory began with Algarin bouncing a pass ahead to Mullen into the same spot as her previous scoring cross. This time Mullen touched a pass to the top of the box where Ashley Economopoulos was waiting before hammering a shot past the goalie to pull the Monarchs within one, 3-2.
The Warhawks used the final two-plus minutes to keep possession at the opposite end of the field and run out the clock to preserve the victory.
(4) Texas State 1, (1) South Alabama 0 (Box Score)
The first half featured limited scoring chances for either side, but Texas State was able to put three shots on goal, including a pair inside the final 15 minutes of the period. South Alabama goalie and 2025 Sun Belt Goalkeeper of the Year Sierra Giorgio made an acrobatic stop with her leg on a point-blank shot by the Bobcats with just under four minutes to go to keep the affair scoreless heading into halftime.
Texas State capitalized on a corner kick by Jenny Agyemang just past the 60-minute mark. Agyemang’s cross cleared to the opposite side of the field where it was settled and then volleyed back into the box by Chloe Jones. The pass from Jones found the head of Kennley Bradley next to the far post where she redirected the ball past Giorgio at point-blank range and into the back of the net to give the Bobcats a 1-0 lead.
In the 71st minute, South Alabama’s Ava Matherne nearly tied the match when she hit a shot from the top left of the 18-yard line that hit the cross bar before being cleared by the Texas State defense. The Jaguars had multiple other chances late but were unable to find an equalizer before time ran out.
Texas State finished the night with a 12-8 advantage in total shots and a 7-3 margin in shots on goal. They also held a 4-1 edge in corner kick opportunities.