NEW ORLEANS – All 14 Sun Belt Conference women’s soccer teams return to the pitch on Thursday, September 18 with two East Division, two West Division and three cross-division matches dotting the mid-week slate. All seven matches will be broadcast on ESPN+.
 
Five teams kick off Thursday evening unbeaten in at least their last three matches, led by ULM at four in a row with three wins and one draw. Coastal Carolina, Georgia State, Old Dominion and Troy are all undefeated in three-consecutive outings with two wins and one draw, respectively.
 
ROYAL RIVALRY
In a matchup between the two programs who have won the last three Sun Belt women’s soccer tournament titles, Old Dominion (4-1-2, 0-0-1 SBC) hosts James Madison (4-2-3, 0-0-1 SBC) to renew the Royal Rivalry in Norfolk, Va. The matchup features a battle between 2025 Sun Belt Preseason Offensive Player of the Year Ginny Lackey for the Dukes and 2025 Sun Belt Preseason Defensive Player of the Year Ashlynn Kulha for the Monarchs, as both players were also named to the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List. Thursday’s clash marks the first between the teams since the Dukes defeated the Monarchs, 1-0, in the semifinals of the 2024 Sun Belt Championship in Foley, Ala. Since both schools joined the Sun Belt in 2022, James Madison holds a slight edge over Old Dominion with a 3-2-1 record.
 
POSTSEASON REMATCH
Coastal Carolina (3-3-1, 0-0-1 SBC) travels to South Alabama (5-2-0, 1-0-0 SBC) for a cross-division matchup after the Chanticleers upset the Jaguars, 2-1, in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Sun Belt Championship. The Jaguars won the West Division last season and earned the No. 2 seed in the tournament, but the seventh-seeded Chants were guided by two Julia Ziegenfuss goals in the first 23 minutes en route to the triumph.
 
FADDOUL FUEL
Georgia State junior forward and reigning Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week Aaliyah Faddoul currently ranks No. 1 among NCAA Division I players in shots on goal per game (2.78) and No. 3 in total shots per game (5.44). Additionally, her five assists are tied with two others for the Sun Belt lead and rank tied for 14th nationally.
 
ASSIST LIST
Three Sun Belt teams rank among the top 25 teams nationally in assists per game, including No. 8 Arkansas State (3.17), No. 15 Texas State (2.88) and No. 25 Marshall (2.57). Individually, five players rank among the top 50 nationally in the category, as Marshall’s Fernanda Dantas leads the conference and stands No. 12 nationally (0.71), followed by No. 21 Keelyn Peacock at Arkansas State (0.67) and No. 26 Margret Edda Bjarnadottir at ULM (0.63). South Alabama’s Sofia Ferrante and Georgia State’s Sunniyah Tucker rank tied at No. 36 overall (0.56).
 
DUKES UNBEATEN STREAK
James Madison is riding a 12-match, regular season unbeaten streak against conference opponents dating back to a 1-0 home win over Coastal Carolina on Oct. 26, 2023. The Dukes compiled an 8-0-2 regular season record last season – including a 6-0-0 mark against East Division foes. Including JMU’s 2-0-1 record in the 2024 Sun Belt tournament, the Dukes are unbeaten in 15-consecutive matches against league opponents.
 
 WHERE TO WATCH

Date	Time	Matchup	Broadcast
Thurs., Sept. 18	5:00 p.m.	James Madison at Old Dominion	ESPN+
Thurs., Sept. 18	6:00 p.m.	Texas State at Georgia Southern	ESPN+
Thurs., Sept. 18	6:00 p.m.	App State at Georgia State	ESPN+
Thurs., Sept. 18	6:00 p.m.	Coastal Carolina at South Alabama	ESPN+
Thurs., Sept. 18	7:00 p.m.	Arkansas State at Louisiana	ESPN+
Thurs., Sept. 18	7:00 p.m.	Marshall at ULM	ESPN+
Thurs., Sept. 18	7:00 p.m.	Southern Miss at Troy	ESPN+