NEW ORLEANS – Week four of Sun Belt Conference men’s soccer action sees all 10 programs in action once again as just three points separate No. 1 from No. 7 in the league standings. Five matches over two days start tomorrow, Oct. 9, with three matches and conclude on Saturday, Oct. 10, with the remaining two. All matches will be streamed live on ESPN+.
 
(RV) Georgia Southern (6-1-3, 2-0-1) and James Madison (5-4-2, 2-0-1) are tied for the top spot on the league table with seven points each and now look to put some distance between them and the next grouping.
 
THREE IS A MAGIC NUMBER
Three weeks of conference play have turned the Preseason Poll upside down and a Sun Belt win is still worth three points in the league table. Ahead of game No. 4 of SBC action, the difference between No. 1 and No. 7 in the standings is just three points. (RV) Georgia Southern and James Madison stand at the top each with a 2-0-1 SBC record. The Eagles were picked fifth in the preseason poll and James Madison eighth and have opportunities to increase
their point leads. No. 9 South Carolina and No. 15 West Virginia sit with five points (two behind the top of the table) and can easily move into the top of the table. UCF, Marshall and Kentucky all stand 1-1-1 in the league and hold four points.
 
TERRIFIC TAKAHIRO
UCF’s Takahiro Fujita earned his first career offensive player of the week award after claiming week two’s defensive player of the week nod. His first career brace in a 4-0 win over (RV) Marshall. He owns four goals on the year so far - matching his previous two season totals combined. A native of Kawai, Japan, he is tied for seventh in total goals in the Sun Belt.
 
ERIK EARNS IT
James Madison netminder Erik Jaspers posted his fourth shutout of the season in a 1-0 decision over Coastal Carolina (Oct. 2). The Dukes’ netminder posted five second half saves to push James Madison into a tie for first place through three games of league play. The Saratoga Springs, Utah, native previously earned Defensive Player of the Week honors for week five. He ranks second in the Sun Belt with four shutouts, 36 saves and a .783 save percentage.
 
POLLIN’ POLLIN’ POLLIN’
Three Sun Belt Conference programs were listed in the most recent United Soccer Coaches Poll. South Carolina and West Virginia are inside the top 25 after tying one another last week. South Carolina is No. 9 and West Virginia No. 11. Georgia Southern holds the first spot outside of the top 25 after upsetting No. 23 Old Dominion last week. Georgia Southern becomes the seventh Sun Belt program to appear in the poll this year. It is the seventh time this season the Sun Belt has three teams in the poll out of a total of eight polls.
 
THE BEST IS IN THE BELT
The Sun Belt is well-represented among the NCAA statistical top 10s this season across multiple categories. Georgia State ranks seventh in saves per game with 5.83 and is 10th in fouls per game with 8.33. Old Dominion is third in scoring offense (3.00), fourth in total goals (33), sixth in points per game (8.29), shot accuracy (.528) and total points (91); and ninth in shots on goal per game (7.64). South Carolina is ninth with a .800 win-loss-tie percentage. UCF is fifth in shutout percentage (.600) and 10th in goals against average (.700). West Virginia is fourth with 7.89 corner kicks per game. Coastal Carolina, Old Dominion, South Carolina, and West Virginia are all tied for the best penalty kick success rate with a perfect 1.000.
 
RPI SUPERSTARS
Seven Sun Belt teams are inside the top 100 of the NCAA Division I RPI. All 10 teams are inside the top 130. South Carolina (2nd), West Virginia (14th), Georgia Southern (22nd), Old Dominion (38th), Marshall (66th), James Madison (69th) and UCF (82nd) are the top 100 programs. Georgia State (115th), Kentucky (120th) and Coastal Carolina (129th) round out the full grouping. The Sun Belt is fourth in conference RPI rankings and is one of five conferences with at least seven teams in the top 100 joining the ACC (15), Big Ten (11), Big East (8) and CAA (7).
 
NATIONAL NOTICE
West Virginia forward Pablo Pozos is in the national spotlight after earning a spot on the Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy Watch List earlier this year. He also notched in on the United Soccer Coaches Players to Watch listing and was ranked 53rd in the TopDrawerSoccer.com Preseason Top 100. UCF’s Takahiro Fujita also made the United Soccer Coaches listing and ranked 50th in TDS’s Top 100.
 
TITLE DEFENSES
Reigning Sun Belt regular season champion Kentucky is looking to turn things around after a 1-6-2 start to 2026 and did so last week with a win over No. 23 Old Dominion. 2025 Sun Belt Tournament Champion UCF look to continue building on their 2025 momentum and 5-2-3 start to 2026. Historically, repeat conference champions are hard to come by as four different teams have hoisted the Sun Belt Championship Trophy since 2022 They are: Kentucky in 2022, Marshall in 2023, West Virginia in 2024, and UCF in 2025
 
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS IN CONWAY
UCF (5-2-3, 1-1-1) travels to Coastal Carolina (2-4-4, 0-1-2) to lead things off this weekend. UCF leads the all-time series 5-2-0 and 3-0-0 in Sun Belt play. Coastal’s last win came in 1995 and their last win in Conway in 1994. UCF has won four consecutive matches dating back to 1998. Last season, UCF defeated CCU on October 31 in Orlando. Matisse Hebert, UCF’s primary netminder, has allowed just seven goals in 10 matches with six total shutouts.
 
COMING OVER THE MOUNTAINS
No. 15 West Virginia (5-1-3, 1-0-2) travels from the heights of the Allegheny Mountains down to the Tidewater of Norfolk to take on Old Dominion (8-3-0, 0-3-0). Old Dominion is on a three-game skid to start conference play so far and will be looking to hand the Mountaineers their first conference loss in the last five matches. WVU leads the all-time series 7-1-3 and 5-1-0 in Norfolk. The two met last twice last year, tying the quarterfinals before West Virginia advanced on PKs. West Virginia is fresh off tying now No. 9 South Carolina at home while Old Dominion was upset by Kentucky last week.
 
UPSTART AT THE OLD GUARD
Marshall (4-2-3, 1-1-1) hosts (RV) Georgia Southern (6-1-3, 2-0-1) a week removed from falling out of the United Soccer Coaches Poll. Georgia Southern is currently the leading team in the Sun Belt through three games and has a chance to widen its gap in Huntington. Georgia Southern’s offense, led by freshman Broden Beorlegui, will face its toughest test yet against the Thundering Herd’s defensive efforts. Marshall leads 3-1-0 in the series in Sun Belt play though Georgia Southern won last year’s match 2-1 in Statesboro.
 
HOW THE TURN TABLES
Kentucky (1-6-3, 1-1-1) visits No. 9 South Carolina (7-1-2, 1-0-2) in a very different meeting from their last. Last year, No. 25 Kentucky defeated South Carolina 2-1 for the third time in Sun Belt play and fifth overall time since joining. In 2026, South Carolina is a top 10 program and looks to move up the table in a win against the struggling Wildcats. Kentucky got its first win of the season last week over Old Dominion and now looks for back-to-back league wins.
 
KEEP IT MOVING
James Madison (5-4-2, 2-0-1) hosts Georgia State (6-4-2, 0-2-1) with a chance to further its lead in the Sun Belt standings. James Madison is tied at the top with seven total points while Georgia State is looking for its first win. Reigning defensive player of the week Erik Jaspers and Georgia State’s Jackson Burrell will have a duel of keepers in store as the Panthers look to spoil the Dukes’ start to conference play.
 

Date	Time	Matchup	Broadcast
Friday, Oct. 9	5 p.m.	UCF at Coastal Carolina	ESPN+
Friday, Oct. 9	6 p.m.	No. 15 West Virginia at Old Dominion	ESPN+
Friday, Oct. 9	6:15 p.m.	(RV) Georgia Southern at Marshall	ESPN+
Saturday, Oct. 10	5 p.m.	Kentucky at No. 9 South Carolina	ESPN+
Saturday, Oct. 10	6 p.m.	Georgia State at James Madison	ESPN+