NEW ORLEANS – The final day of the 2026 Sun Belt Conference women’s soccer regular season kicks off Sunday, November 1 with the final four spots in the 2026 Sun Belt Conference Championship hanging in the balance. All seven contests will be broadcast on ESPN+.
 
ENTER THE MATRIX
With just one match remaining in league play, just four programs – James Madison, Old Dominion, App State and Georgia State - have clinched spots in the eight-team draw at the 2026 Sun Belt Championship which kicks off Monday, November 9 in Foley, Ala. Meanwhile, six other programs – Louisiana, South Alabama, Marshall, Troy, Southern Miss and Georgia Southern - are vying for the final four spots in the tournament and none of those half dozen teams will play against one another on the season’s final day. The bracket for the 2026 Sun Belt Women’s Soccer Championship will be announced following the conclusion of all games on Sunday evening.
 
DUKES’ & DESTINY
James Madison (9-5-2, 7-1-1 SBC) stands alone atop the Sun Belt standings and controls its own destiny to earning a regular season championship. The Dukes can clinch at least a share of the title with a draw and secure the outright crown with a victory at Georgia Southern (8-5-4, 3-4-2 SBC). James Madison cannot drop lower than the No. 2 seed in the Sun Belt Championship, as JMU is unbeaten in six-straight matches while outscoring opponents, 13-5, during that span. The Dukes’ only other Sun Belt regular season title came during the 2024 campaign.
 
MONARCHS MANEUVERING
Old Dominion (8-6-2, 6-1-2 SBC) stands alone in second place in the Sun Belt standings with a chance to earn at least a share of the regular season title based on James Madison’s result on Sunday. The Monarchs must win their road match against Georgia State (10-4-3, 5-2-2 SBC) and JMU would need to lose or draw against Georgia Southern to claim at least a share of the title. However, Georgia State owns a perfect 8-0-0 record on its home field this season. Old Dominion has won three straight and five of its last six matches while using its stout defensive unit to record seven shutouts in nine Sun Belt matches this season.
 
DOUBLE-DIGIT GOALS
Five Sun Belt women’s soccer players have scored at least 10 goals this season, as each individual ranks among the top 30 goal scorers in NCAA Division I this season. James Madison’s Ginny Lackey (14 goals) ranks eighth nationally, followed by Louisiana’s Miku Kurihara (12) at 18th overall. Louisiana’s Carson Glenn (11) ranks 23rd, followed by App State’s Ellie Garrison (10) and Georgia State’s Aaliyah Faddoul (10) who are tied for 30th. The Sun Belt has had five players accomplish the feat in the same season twice in the last three seasons, but just three times since the 2015 campaign.

SUN BELT IN THE RPI
The Sun Belt is tied with the Ivy league as non-autonomy conferences with five teams ranked in the top 100 of the latest NCAA RPI rankings, led by No. 59 Old Dominion, No. 63 James Madison, No. 64 App State, No. 81 Georgia State and No. 97 Georgia Southern. The total also gives the Sun Belt and Ivy League the fifth-most top 100 programs among all NCAA Division I conferences, trailing only the ACC (17), Big Ten (12), SEC (12) and Big 12 (12)

WHERE TO WATCH

Date	Time	Matchup	Broadcast
Sunday, Nov. 1	12:00 p.m.	James Madison at Georgia Southern	ESPN+
Sunday, Nov. 1	12:00 p.m.	Troy at App State	ESPN+
Sunday, Nov. 1	12:00 p.m.	Marshall at Coastal Carolina	ESPN+
Sunday, Nov. 1	1:00 p.m.	Southern Miss at ULM	ESPN+
Sunday, Nov. 1	1:00 p.m.	Louisiana at Arkansas State	ESPN+
Sunday, Nov. 1	1:00 p.m.	South Alabama at Louisiana Tech	ESPN+
Sunday, Nov. 1	4:00 p.m.	Old Dominion at Georgia State	ESPN+

 
FOLEY FORTUNE
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.