NEW ORLEANS – The 2026 Sun Belt Conference women’s soccer season reaches the halfway mark with seven midweek matches, including a battle between host Old Dominion and Marshall as two of the league’s last three unbeaten teams.
 
30 & COUNTING
Two Sun Belt forwards - James Madison’s Ginny Lackey and Georgia State’s Aaliyah Faddoul - have reached the 30-goal milestone for their careers this season. Lackey’s two goals against App State on Oct. 1 increased her career total to 31, while Faddoul’s score against Georgia Southern on Sept. 24 was No. 30. Among active NCAA Division I players, Lackey currently ranks No. 11 and Faddoul No. 13 in career goals, while Lackey’s 80 points stand 10th.
 
COACHING CAMARADERIE
In a meeting two of the Sun Belt’s last three unbeaten teams, Old Dominion 4-5-2, 2-0-2 SBC) first-year head coach Will Roberts and Marshall (6-2-4, 2-0-2 SBC) third-year head coach Rafa Simoes share a rare bond as former teammates at NCAA Division II University of Charleston where they won a national championship together in 2017 following a pair of runner-up finishes in 2014 and 2016. Thursday night’s match marks the third time Roberts and Simoes will face one another as head coaches, as Roberts - ULM’s head coach last season - led the Warhawks to a 3-2 regular season victory over Marshall before a 1-0 win against the Thundering Herd in the first round of the 2025 Sun Belt Championship in Foley, Ala., last November.
 
CAJUNS & JAGS
Currently standing alone atop the Sun Belt standings with 10 points, Louisiana (9-2-2, 3-0-1 SBC) hosts South Alabama (3-5-2, 1-2-1 SBC) in a rematch of their quarterfinal meeting in the 2025 Sun Belt Championship in Foley, Ala., where the Jaguars advanced on penalty kicks (4-3), after a 110-minute scoreless draw. The Ragin’ Cajuns were seeded eighth in last year’s tournament, while South Alabama was seeded first.
 
PROFILIC PANTHERS
Georgia State (8-3-1, 3-1-0 SBC) owns three-straight conference wins entering Thursday’s road match at ULM (3-9-1, 0-4-0 SBC). The Panthers are victorious in six of their last seven and seven of their last nine games while producing a 7-1-1 record during that span. They rank second in the Sun Belt in points per game (5.75) and shots on goal per game (6.42) while possessing two of the conference’s premier scoring threats in forward Aaliyah Faddoul (8 goals, 20 points) and midfielder Sunniyah Tucker (7 goals, 17 points). Faddoul and Tucker rank among the top 50 players nationally in total points.
 
LOUISIANA LIGHTNING
Louisiana ranks No. 6 nationally in goals scored (37), No. 7 in scoring offense (2.85), No. 9 in goal differential (+23), No. 19 in points per game (7.62) and No. 35 in total assists (25) while leading the Sun Belt in each category. Midfielder Miku Kurihara ranks No. 7 nationally in goals (11), No. 8 in points (25) and No. 10 in game-winning goals (4), while leading the Sun Belt in all three categories.
 
HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE
Just four Sun Belt teams remain unbeaten on their home fields this season, while two of them will play at home during the midweek slate including Georgia Southern (5-0-1) and Coastal Carolina (5-0-1). Marshall (3-0-3) and Georgia State (6-0-0) are the two other unbeatens but do not play at home again until Sunday, October 11. Marshall is unbeaten in Huntington, W.Va., in 11-consecutive outings and eight-straight Sun Belt contests dating back to the end of the 2024 campaign.
 
UNBEATEN STREAKS
Louisiana holds a Sun Belt-leading six-match unbeaten streak (5-0-1) followed by Marshall (3-0-2) at five in a row, Old Dominion (2-0-2) at four straight and Georgia State (3-0-0) with three.
 
SUN BELT IN THE RPI
As of Monday, Oct. 5, the Sun Belt has a season-high six teams ranked in the top 100 of the latest NCAA RPI rankings, led by No. 51 Georgia Southern, No. 69 Georgia State, No. 73 App State, No. 76 Louisiana, No. 88 James Madison and No. 90 Old Dominion.
 
 WHERE TO WATCH

Date	Time	Matchup	Broadcast
Weds., Oct. 7	4:00 p.m.	James Madison at Arkansas State	ESPN+
Thursday, Oct. 8	4:00 p.m.	App State at Georgia Southern	ESPN+
Thursday, Oct. 8	5:00 p.m.	Southern Miss at Coastal Carolina	ESPN+
Thursday, Oct. 8	5:00 p.m.	Louisiana Tech at Troy	ESPN+
Thursday, Oct. 8	6:00 p.m.	Marshall at Old Dominion	ESPN+
Thursday, Oct. 8	7:00 p.m.	Georgia State at ULM
Thursday, Oct. 8	7:00 p.m.	South Alabama at Louisiana	ESPN+

 
FINDING 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.