NEW ORLEANS (JMU Athletics) – James Madison women’s soccer took home one major award and saw three players named to the All-Sun Belt Conference Teams, as the league announced its season-ending awards on Sunday afternoon.

Ginny Lackey garnered Offensive Player of the Year honors and earned a spot on the All-Conference First Team, while redshirt sophomore Jeanette Fieldsend and senior Jordan Yang received Second Team nods.
The Dukes’ three all-conference selections mark the fifth consecutive season in which James Madison has had at least three selections. Lackey’s honor marks the second straight season in which a JMU player has received a major award.

After becoming the first player in school history to win Player and Freshman of the year in the same season, Lackey became the first JMU player to bring home SBC Offensive Player of the Year. The sophomore played all 18 of the Dukes’ matches, recording 11 goals and six assists, ranking second and fourth in the conference. Her 28 points lead the Sun Belt, with 13 of which coming in league play. The Bolton, Manchester native became the first Sun Belt player to log back-to-back 10+ goal and 25+ point seasons since Charde Hannah did so for South Alabama in 2014-15, and the first Duke to do the same since Ashley Herndon in 205-16.

Starting 17 of 18 matches, Fieldsend netted three goals while delivering five assists for a total of 11 points. The redshirt sophomore’s four assists in Sun Belt play tie her for third in the conference, and her eight points against league opponents also place her in the SBC’s top 20. The Indian Trial, N.C. native’s best performance came against Marshall, when she scored a game-winning goal and tallied a pair of assists amid a five-match unbeaten streak for the Dukes.

Yang joins an All-Conference team in back-to-back seasons, earning a spot on the first team in 2024. Starting all 18 matches, the senior led a backline that forced five shutouts and held three SBC opponents to their lowest shot totals of the season. On the offensive end, Yang logged a pair of assists and grabbed the first score of her career against App State. The senior took home Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Week honors in September after shutting out William & Mary and assisting in an equalizing goal to draw No.9 Penn State.

The fifth-seeded Dukes will face off with No.4 Texas State in the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Championship on Monday at the Foley Sports Tourism Complex in Foley, Ala. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT.

— JMU Athletics —