NEW ORLEANS – The South Alabama Jaguars closed out the 2016 regular season with a 12-5-1 overall record and a 7-3-0 conference record as they earned the 2016 Sun Belt Women’s Soccer Championship regular season title and the tournament’s No. 1 seed. The regular season title is the third consecutive regular season crown for the Jaguars as they become the first Sun Belt soccer women’s team to accomplish that feat in the league history.
The championship tournament begins in Foley, Ala. on Wednesday, Nov. 4. Semifinal matches take place on Friday, Nov. 6 and the championship scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 8 at 1 p.m. (CT). All matches of the tournament will be broadcast by ESPN3 and available on the WatchESPN app.
VIEW THE COMPLETE TOURNAMENT BRACKETS HERE
As the tournament’s top seed, South Alabama opted to open the tournament in the 7 p.m. (CT) time slot. USA only has the option to choose the time of its first round match. The Jaguars will take on eighth-seeded Troy (7-9-3, 3-5-2 SBC) in the final match on Wednesday.
The top-seeded Jaguars enter the tournament seeking their fourth consecutive Sun Belt tournament title. Troy knocked off the defending champs earlier this season with a 1-0 victory.
The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (10-5-3, 6-2-2 SBC) enter the tournament as the league’s No. 2 seed as they wrapped up their first season in the Sun Belt. Head coach Paul Hogan’s Chanticleers closed out their 2016 regular season with a tie against UL Lafayette on Sunday. The Chanticleers are 5-1-2 in their last eight matches and will face seventh-seeded Arkansas State at 10 a.m. (CT). As the No. 2 seed, Coastal Carolina had the option of choosing the 10 a.m. (CT) or 1 p.m. (CT) time slot.
The Chanticleers defeated the Red Wolves 4-0 in the opening match of conference play earlier this year.
Little Rock is the No. 3 seed and one of the hottest teams entering into the tournament. The Trojans (11-6-1, 6-3-1 SBC) have not lost in their last six matches with wins in their past three. The six Sun Belt wins are a new program record, besting the five wins posted in 2007.
The Trojans will face the sixth-seeded UL Monroe (7-8-3, 4-4-2 SBC) on Wednesday at 1 p.m. (CT). ULM qualified for the tournament for the first time in program history. Little Rock will look to avenge its loss to the Warhawks on Sept. 23.
Appalachian State (9-7-2, 4-4-2 SBC) enters the tournament as the No. 4 seed and will face fifth-seeded UL Lafayette (8-8-2, 4-4-2 SBC) on Wednesday at 4 p.m. (CT). The Mountaineers have won three consecutive matches entering the tournament, including a 2-0 shutout of the Ragin’ Cajuns on Friday.
Fans can also follow the action from the Foley Sports Tourism Complex via Twitter (@SunBelt) or through live stats available on SunBeltSports.org.
2016 Sun Belt Conference Soccer Championship Seeds
- South Alabama – 21 pts., 7-3-0
- Coastal Carolina – 20 pts., 6-2-2
- Little Rock – 19 pts., 6-3-1
- Appalachian State – 14 pts., 4-4-2 *
- UL Lafayette – 14 pts., 4-4-2
- UL Monroe – 14 pts., 4-4-2
- Arkansas State – 13 pts., 4-5-1
- Troy – 11 pts., 3-5-2 **
2016 Women’s Soccer Championship Seeds
Wednesday, November 2 (First Round)
M1 – 10 a.m. CT – No. 2 Coastal Carolina vs. No. 7 Arkansas State
M2 – 1 p.m. CT – No. 3 Little Rock vs. No. 6 UL Monroe
M3 – 4 p.m. CT – No. 4 Appalachian State vs. No. 5 UL Lafayette
M4 – 7 p.m. CT – No. 1 South Alabama vs. No. 8 Troy
Friday, November 4 (Semifinals)
M5 – 4 p.m. CT – Match 1 Winner vs. Match 2 Winner
M6 – 7 p.m. CT – Match 3 Winner vs. Match 4 Winner
Sunday, November 6 (Championship Match)
M7 – 1 p.m. CT – Match 5 Winner vs. Match 6 Winner
All matches will be broadcast live on ESPN3
* Appalachian State, UL Lafayette and UL Monroe each finished the regular season tied with 14 points. Using the three-way tiebreaker, and comparing the points earned in the matches played amongst the tied teams, Appalachian State earned six points – having defeated both UL Lafayette and UL Monroe – thus earning the No. 4 seed in the tournament. UL Lafayette and UL Monroe then proceed to a two-team tiebreaker, where UL Lafayette earned the No. 5 seed by defeating UL Monroe head-to-head earlier this season.
** Troy and Texas State each finished with 11 points in the final standings, however, Troy defeated Texas State earlier this year and therefore earned the eighth and final tournament berth.
