Women's Soccer Opens 2026 Season at SEMO

Thursday, August 13

Cape Girardeau, MO

6 P.M.

Southern Illinois University

SEMO

Mckenna Garrett makes a pass during Southern Illinois' exhibition with Austin Peay State Friday, August 7, 2026, in Carbondale, Ill.

Photo by: Malayna Russell

08/12/2026 | 1:18:00 | Women's Soccer

Watch Live Stats

By: Jordan Kruse, SIUSalukis.com

CARBONDALE, Ill. – Southern Illinois Women's Soccer hits the road to open its 2026 season for a bout with Southeast Missouri State Thursday night. In 2025, the Salukis finished 10-6-3 and qualified for the school's third MVC Tournament appearance.

Details
-What: Soccer at SEMO
-Date: August 13
-Time: 6 p.m.
-Location: Houck Field, Cape Girardeau, Mo.
-Opponent: SEMO
Live Results | Watch

Last Season
The Salukis roared out to a 4-0 start in 2025, the best in program history. After a loss on Aug. 31 to Southern Indiana, they went undefeated in their next six matches, holding an 8-1-2 record after two straight wins to open conference play.

SIU cooled off to wrap the regular season, going 2-4-1, but qualified as the fifth seed in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. No. 4 Illinois State defeated the Salukis 2-1 in Normal to end the season.

Following the season, several Salukis earned postseason honors:

All-MVC First Team

Sophia Schlicklin

All-MVC Second Team

All-MVC Third Team

Olivia Anderson

All-MVC Freshman Team

Brooke Gosse

MVC Scholar-Athlete Team

MVC All-Tournament Team

Olivia Anderson

Preseason Honors
Southern Illinois was picked fifth in the Missouri Valley Conference's Women's Soccer Preseason Poll, the league announced Wednesday afternoon. Junior Guliana Balistreri was named to The Valley's Preseason Team.

Drake (96, seven first-place votes), Illinois State (83, two first-place votes), UIC (77), and Murray State (69) led the poll, while Indiana State (58) followed Southern (59) in sixth.

The Matchup
Southern and SEMO have met five times in the school's history. The Salukis lead 3-2 and won the 2025 matchup in Carbondale.

SEMO is coming off a 2-15-2 2025 season where they went 2-5-2 in the Ohio Valley Conference. The squad lost their first game of the OVC Tournament 2-0 to the No. 5 seed, Southern Indiana.

Follow the Salukis
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Salukis by following the team on Twitter at @SIU_Soccer, on Facebook at Facebook.com/SalukiSoccer and on Instagram at @SIU_Soccer. Fans can also download the "Salukis" Mobile App on the App Store or Google Play Store.