Trending
MORGANTOWN - There are three options available to the No. 13-ranked WVU men's soccer team at 7 p.m. today, when it travels to Sentara Park to face James Madison.
None of them are exactly a simple explanation and include scenarios based on a win, draw or loss.
The Mountaineers' best-case scenario would be a victory over the defensive-minded Dukes (7-5-4, 4-1-3 Sun Belt) to capture their first Sun Belt championship since 2024, but even that wouldn't become official until No. 21 Marshall finishes its match against Old Dominion in Huntington.
As it stands, the Mountaineers (9-2-4, 5-1-2) enter Tuesday in a tie with the Thundering Herd with 17 points. James Madison is in third with 15 points, but can also stake a claim to the regular-season title by beating WVU and Marshall loses against Old Dominion.
If West Virginia and Marshall were both to win or draw, they would share the conference title, but the Mountaineers would be awarded the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament.
Other options are out there that could see WVU also be the No. 2 or the No. 3 seed in the Sun Belt tournament, so, yeah, a lot rides on this final match of the regular season.
The WVU-JMU match features the two top defensive teams in the conference, with the Mountaineers allowing only nine goals on the season, while the Dukes have allowed 12.
James Madison keeper Erik Jaspers is second in the Sun Belt with 50 saves. WVU keeper Toby Mawer leads the league with an 82.1 save percentage.
What doesn't bode well for the Mountaineers is they are 0-5-2 all-time against the Dukes on their home pitch. The two draws came in the last two meetings inside Sentara Park in 2022 and 2024. WVU is 4-6-3 all-time against James Madison.
Just shy of 300 miles away in Huntington, Marshall (9-2-4, 5-1-2) will look to extend its winning streak to six consecutive matches when it faces struggling Old Dominion. That includes a 1-0 shutout win against JMU on Oct. 21.
However it all shakes out, the Sun Belt tournament is scheduled to begin on Nov. 8. West Virginia will be a part of the eight-team field. Exactly where will be determined after one final crazy day of the season.