FOLEY — An 89th-minute goal from senior Shea Collins lifted top-seeded James Madison to its first Sun Belt Conference Women’s Soccer Championship with a 3-2 victory over third-seeded Texas State on Saturday, Nov. 9, at the Foley Sports Tourism Complex.

“We did it,” Dukes head coach Joshua Walters said. “So proud of the girls and their resiliency. We never quit and made history.”

James Madison was making its third-consecutive appearance in the SBC title match and earned its second NCAA Tournament berth in a row. The Dukes (12-3-5) were set to open the first-round action against No. 3 Ohio State on Friday. James Madison’s last conference title came in 2015 when it won the Coastal Athletic Association.

Collins, who eventually took home the 2024 SBC Championship Most Outstanding Performer, opened the scoring five minutes into the contest off assists from freshman Ginny Lackey and junior Jamie Swartz then registered an assist, alongside junior Jordan Yang, on a goal from senior Sophia Verrecchia just nine minutes later.  

While Texas State (12-4-5) scored in the 22nd and 55th minutes, it was Lackey who helped set up the Dukes’ game-winning goal in the penultimate minute of regulation. Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Sofia DeCerb made a save in the final seconds to secure a one-goal victory.

The win capped the first time in James Madison program history that the team won both the regular season title and postseason tournament in the same season. The Dukes also became the first Sun Belt champion as the No. 1 seed since 2020.

James Madison became the fourth school to claim an SBC championship since the tournament moved to the Foley Sports Tourism Complex in 2016. The Dukes joined South Alabama (2016, 2017, 2019-2021), Little Rock (2018) and Old Dominion (2022, 2023) as other programs to hoist a Sun Belt Women’s Soccer trophy in the City of Foley.