NEW ORLEANS – The penultimate week of the 2026 Sun Belt women’s soccer regular season kicks off with seven midweek matches as teams jockey for positioning in the conference standings. All seven contests will be broadcast on ESPN+.
 
DUKES DETERMINATION
James Madison (8-5-1, 6-1-0 SBC) stands alone atop the Sun Belt standings with three games left in the regular season. The Dukes can clinch at least a share of their second regular season crown in the last three seasons with a win at Coastal Carolina on Thursday night along with a loss or draw by Old Dominion and a loss or draw by Georgia State. JMU has won four-straight matches and scored multiple goals in each contest during that span, as the Dukes prepare to square off against the Chanticleers who are 6-0-2 on their home field this season.

HERD & PANTHERS
Georgia State (9-4-2, 4-2-1 SBC) hosts Marshall (7-3-5, 3-1-3 SBC) in a key battle near the top of the league standings, as the third-place Panthers (13 points) look to build on their unblemished 7-0-0 home record against the fourth-place Thundering Herd (12 points). Georgia State is 4-1-1 in its last six outings and outscoring visiting NCAA Division I opponents, 12-2, within its friendly confines this season. Meanwhile, Marshall has just one loss to its name against Sun Belt opponents this season and ranks tied for third in the conference in total points (31) in league play.
 
SCORING THREATS
The Sun Belt possesses four of the nation’s top 50 goal scorers on a per game basis this season as JMU’s Ginny Lackey (0.93) ranks seventh, followed by Georgia State’s Aaliyah Faddoul (0.83) in 11th, Louisiana’s Miku Kurihara (0.69) at 35th, and App State’s Ellie Garrison (0.60) at 49th.
 
LACKEY LONGEVITY
James Madison fourth-year forward Ginny Lackey has scored at least one goal in eight consecutive matches - the longest such scoring streak by a Sun Belt player this season. The Dukes own a 6-1-1 record in those matches, as Lackey has 11 total goals during that span. The streak is just the second longest of her collegiate career, as she scored goals in nine-straight contests during her debut campaign in 2024. The two-time All-America honoree currently leads the Sun Belt in goals (10), points (22), shots (33) and shots on goal (17) in conference play.
 
CLIMBING THE CHARTS
Two Sun Belt forwards - James Madison’s Ginny Lackey and Georgia State’s Aaliyah Faddoul - have eclipsed the 30-goal milestone for their careers this season and continue to climb the conference’s all-time scoring lists. Lackey has now scored at least 10 goals in each of her first three seasons, while Faddoul’s 10 goals this season are a career high. Lackey currently ranks tied for 11th in Sun Belt history in points (91) and goals (36), as Faddoul is just behind with 82 points and 32 goals. Among active NCAA Division I players, Lackey currently ranks tied for seventh and Faddoul stands 12th in career goals, while Lackey’s 91-career points rank tied for sixth among active scorers and Faddoul’s 82 points rank 12th.
 
SUN BELT IN THE RPI
The Sun Belt leads all non-autonomy conference with six teams ranked in the top 100 of the latest NCAA RPI rankings, led by No. 65 Old Dominion, No. 66 James Madison, No. 67 Georgia Southern, No. 78 App State, No. 88 Louisiana and No. 100 Georgia State. The total also gives the Sun Belt the fifth-most top 100 programs among all NCAA Division I conferences, trailing only the ACC (17), Big Ten (13), SEC (13) and Big 12 (12),

WHERE TO WATCH

Date	Time	Matchup	Broadcast
Weds., Oct. 21	5:00 p.m.	Southern Miss at App State	ESPN+
Thurs., Oct. 22	4:00 p.m.	Troy at Georgia Southern	ESPN+
Thurs., Oct. 22	4:00 p.m.	South Alabama at Arkansas State	ESPN+
Thurs., Oct. 22	5:00 p.m.	James Madison at Coastal Carolina	ESPN+
Thurs., Oct. 22	6:00 p.m.	Marshall at Georgia State	ESPN+
Thurs., Oct. 22	7:00 p.m.	Louisiana at ULM	ESPN+
Thurs., Oct. 22	7:30 p.m.	Old Dominion at Louisiana Tech	ESPN+

 
FORGING TOWARD FOLEY
The 2026 Sun Belt Conference Women’s Soccer Championship will take place November 9-14 in Foley, Ala., marking the 11th-consecutive season the Foley Sports Tourism Complex hosts the event. Eight teams will compete in the tournament beginning with quarterfinal matches on Monday, Nov. 9, followed by semifinal matches on Wednesday, Nov. 11 and the championship on Saturday, Nov. 14. Visit Sunbeltsports.org more information or visit the championship central page.