Texas State Soccer is one of the eight teams that qualified for the 2025 Sun Belt Women’s Soccer Championship. Although they had the opportunity to enter the tournament as the first seed and regular season champions, they lost 4-2 against James Madison University in the regular season finale on Oct. 29.
They enter the Sun Belt Women’s Soccer Championship as the No.4 seed in the tournament and are still among the favorites to lift the championship trophy this season.
Here’s how the field of the Sun Belt is stacking up entering the tournament.
Championship favorites
The ranking of the top four teams entering this tournament was decided on the final day of the regular season, which shows just how close the top of the Sun Belt was in terms of quality.
No. 1 South Alabama won the West Division narrowly off a tiebreaker and lead the way as the overall top seed. The Jaguars have only given up 0.69 goals per game.
No. 2 Old Dominion, winners of the East Division, was a team that usually tried to score their goals in the opening moments of their games. 20 of their 31 goals came in the first 45 minutes of their matches.
No. 3 Louisiana-Monroe won the regular season title after not losing a single conference match, but just lost out on the top spot. They averaged two goals per game while averaging only 1.29 goals against.
Out of all of these teams, however, No. 4 Texas State had the strongest offense, averaging 2.29 goals per game. They averaged 12.2 shots per game, with over half of those being on target.
Any one of these teams has a real shot of lifting the trophy.
Sneaky contenders
No. 5 James Madison and No. 6 Marshall are two teams that are tough to beat but do have viable flaws. The Dukes like to play expansive football, but that inherent desire to create overloads leaves them susceptible to counterattacks. This was showcased in their recent win over the Bobcats. Even though they had an extra player advantage, they still gave up two goals.
The Thundering Herd has a more traditional shape, as they build up with two center backs and they let their full backs push up the wings. They like to play balls into space and cross the ball into the middle of the box. They only lost two games this season, but they’ve also struggled to put teams away, hence their four draws.
The Wild Cards
No. 7 Georgia State is a total mystery. On one hand, the Panthers won five conference games, which matches Texas State’s win total. However, they also lost four matches as well, the most out of any team in the bracket, most by just one score. If they perform at their best, they have the potential to make a run to the final.
No. 8 Louisiana has a tough path ahead of them as they face South Alabama in the first round. Assuming they win, either the Dukes or the Bobcats will be waiting for them in the Semi-finals. It’s not impossible, but it is highly unlikely they’ll be able to beat a South Alabama team that torched them 3-0 in the regular season.
Texas State will search for revenge and their first and last Sun Belt Tournament title as they face off against James Madison in the first round of the Sun Belt Women’s Championship Tournament, Monday, at 7 p.m. at the Foley Sports Tourism Complex in Foley, Ala. The match will be available to stream on ESPN+.
