JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville State soccer team will have a final tune up before embarking on the ASUN schedule with a Thursday night contest with former Ohio Valley Conference foe Belmont at the JSU Soccer Field.

The Gamecocks and Bruins will get started at 7 p.m. with free admission to all home games. The match will also be streamed on ESPN+. JSU (4-4) will be looking to snap a two-match losing skid after falling twice last week on the road at Troy and Samford. The Bruins have been idle since Sept. 9 after their match with Mississippi State was postponed last Sunday. Belmont will bring a 3-4 overall mark into the non-conference outing.

Jax State and Belmont will meet for the second time in one calendar year as the two sides opened the spring slate after the 2020 campaign was pushed back a semester. The Bruins claimed their fifth in a row over the Gamecocks with a 2-1 overtime decision on March 2 at the JSU Soccer Field. Jax State will be looking to snap Belmont's winning streak that dates back to the 2015 season. The two programs were once a part of the ASUN and the Ohio Valley Conference.

As the Gamecocks wrap up the non-conference portion of the schedule, they enter the weekend ranked in the top-50 in the NCAA Division I Soccer statistics for shot on goals per game. As a team, Jax State is accounting for 8.25 shots on goal per game. JSU is listed second among ASUN programs in total shots with 130 on the season through eight matches (16.3 shots per game).

JSU has spread the wealth offensively this season with different players combining for the 13 goals scored this season. When freshman Kylie Wells drilled a goal last Thursday night at Troy, she became the eighth different Gamecock to record a goal this season. Freshman Nyeemah Prescod-Beckles leads the team with three goals, while sophomores Gabriel Clarke and Cynthia Bagozzi have tallied two goals each. Joining Wells with a goal is senior Alicia Pallister, junior Cephana Deane, junior Reilly Kucko and junior Ali Thomas. JSU is one of five ASUN squads to have eight or more different players net a goal.

Redshirt junior goalkeeper Morgan Lerch has turned in quality work between the posts with a pair of shutouts and collecting four wins. Through eight matches, Lerch has 30 saves and a goals against average of 1.60.

Following the Belmont bout, JSU will turn its focus on the ASUN slate, beginning with Liberty on Thursday, Sept. 23 in Lynchburg, Va. The Flames are the reigning ASUN Tournament champions and winning the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Gamecocks will wrap up the first weekend of conference action on Sunday, Sept. 26 with a short drive over to Kennesaw State.