Challenging Slate Awaits Spartan Soccer in '26

East Lansing, Mich. -- Michigan State women's soccer coach Jeff Hosler has announced the schedule for the upcoming season.

Fresh off a 15-4-6 record a year ago with the nation's most difficult schedule, Hosler's 2026 slate is designed to once again have Michigan State challenging the nation's best in preparation for a postseason run. A total of nine teams – half of MSU's 2026 opponents - were in the NCAA Tournament a year ago, including four of MSU's six non-conference foes. Additionally, six upcoming opponents finished the season in the final national polls. The Spartans made their first-ever NCAA quarterfinal (Elite Eight) appearance in 2025 and have four straight seasons of reaching the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament as well as back-to-back Big Ten regular-season titles in 2022 and 2023.

Michigan State returns 15 previous letterwinners and starters at 10 positions for 2026, after finishing the season at No. 7 in the final national poll. Hosler has secured the No. 7 recruiting class in the nation to bolster its returning roster as MSU looks to battle for championships both at the Big Ten and national level.

"Last year's challenging non-conference slate set us up well for the success we had in the Big Ten, and then a difficult conference schedule prepared us for the post-season with deep runs in both tournaments," noted Hosler. "This fall, we continue to schedule the toughest of non-conference opponents and put ourselves in situations to face match adversity against a wide variety of playing styles. Those situations well help us grow and generate the resiliency necessary to become the best team we possibly can be."

Season ticket members will be treated to a 10-game home slate, with access to an exclusive presale window to purchase tickets to any Big Ten Tournament or NCAA Tournament games that will be held at DeMartin Stadium. Among games in the regular season are a rematch of MSU's Sweet 16 showdown against Colorado (Aug. 30) as well as one with defending Big Ten champion Washington (Sept. 27), which last year won the Big Ten Tournament title over the Spartans on penalty kicks.

Michigan State has four home games in August alone – starting with defending Big East Tournament Champion Xavier (Aug. 12). Loyola (Chicago) is MSU's second home game on Aug. 19 before MSU plays its first road test in Chapel Hill against North Carolina (Aug. 23). MSU welcomes Eastern Michigan for a midweek matchup (Aug. 27) and closes the month with that game vs. Colorado (Aug. 30).

September puts MSU on the road for its longest stretch of the season, beginning with a Thursday night game at Notre Dame (Sept.3). The Irish finished 2025 ranked No. 11 and spent a considerable amount of time throughout the season in the national top five. The following week sends the Spartans to the west coast for games at Southern Cal (Sept. 10) and UCLA (Sept. 13). MSU saw both teams last year at home and had a second matchup of the year against the Bruins in the Big Ten semifinals – a game that the Spartans won in overtime.

MSU has three straight games at home to close out the month, with the annual battle for state supremacy against Michigan comes on Sunday, Sept. 20. MSU welcomes Nebraska (Sept. 24) before a second straight marquee Sunday game against Washington, which closed 2025 as the No. 6 team in the national poll – one spot ahead of the Spartans.

The final month of the regular season begins on Oct. 4 at Illinois. A Thursday game at home against Minnesota (Oct. 8) precedes back-to-back, separate trips to the state of Indiana: MSU plays at Purdue (Oct. 11) and at Indiana (Oct. 16). A big home week follows with visits from Penn State (Oct. 22) and Maryland (Oct. 25) to close out MSU's conference contests at home, and the regular season finale will be played on Oct. 30 at Northwestern.

The format for the Big Ten Tournament has changed for 2026 – the postseason tourney will feature just eight teams, with quarterfinal (Oct. 3-4) and semifinal (Oct. 7) games played at a neutral site before returning to campus – the highest-remaining seed will host the Big Ten Championship match on Friday, Nov. 12. The NCAA Tournament will begin the weekend of Nov. 20-22, with the College Cup held in Cary, North Carolina Dec. 11-14.

Season ticket memberships are available now at sprtns.co/WSCTickets; single-game tickets will be on sale later this summer. Games at DeMartin stadium continue to be one of the hottest tickets in collegiate women's soccer, as the Spartans ranked fourth nationally in overall attendance in 2025 (23,893), averaging more than 1,800 fans per game.

To purchase tickets for any Michigan State athletics event, visit the Spartan Ticket Office online at MSUSpartans.com; fans can also call the Spartan Ticket Office at 517-355-1610, or email tickets@msu.edu.

Michigan State University Athletics

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