CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia men’s soccer head coach, George Gelnovatch announced Tuesday (July 7) the team’s slate for the 2026 season which features 12 home games and four road contests.
“Our 2026 schedule provides the kind of challenges that will prepare us well for postseason soccer,” Gelnovatch said. “Opening the season against a quality UCLA team at Klöckner Stadium will be a great early test, and from there we'll continue to face some of the best programs in the country. We know we'll have to earn every result, and we believe a schedule like this gives us the best opportunity to position ourselves for the NCAA Tournament.”
The 2026 ACC Schedule features home matches against Boston College (Sept. 4), Virginia Tech (Oct. 2), California (Oct. 9) and Pittsburgh (Oct. 30). The Cavaliers will hit the road to take on Wake Forest (Sept. 19), Stanford (Sept. 25), Duke (Oct. 16) and Syracuse (Oct. 24).
Each of Virginia’s eight non-conference matchups will be held at Klöckner Stadium including its home opener against UCLA (Aug. 20). The Cavaliers will also host High Point (Aug. 24), American (Aug. 28), FGCU (Aug. 31), Oregon State (Sept. 8), Liberty (Sept. 12), Queens (Oct. 6), and Gardner-Webb (Oct. 13) outside of league play.
Virginia will also host three exhibition matches at Klöckner Stadium leading up to the regular season. The team’s preseason slate features VMI (Aug. 8), Davidson (Aug. 11) and Longwood (Aug. 15).
Cavalier Schedule Notes
- The 2026 Virginia Schedule includes six opponents that were selected to the 2025 NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship
- According to RPI rankings, Virginia has played a top-8 rated strength of schedule in four consecutive seasons. The 2025 schedule was the eighth most difficult schedule in NCAA Division I
- Virginia’s strength of schedule has helped the team earn a first-round bye in each of the last four NCAA Men’s Soccer Championships and a pair of top-four overall seeds in the last four seasons.
- UVA is one of three teams in NCAA Division I to earn a first-round bye in each of the last four seasons — of those teams, UVA is the only program to earn multiple top-four seeds in that span.
- UVA’s home opener renews a rivalry with UCLA and marks the first meeting with the Bruins since the Cavaliers topped UCLA in penalties to win the 2014 NCAA Championship.
2026 Virginia Men’s Soccer Schedule
|
Date |
Opponent |
Time |
|
Saturday, Aug. 8 |
vs VMI (Exh.) |
5 p.m. |
|
Tuesday, Aug. 11 |
vs Davidson (Exh.) |
6 p.m. |
|
Saturday, Aug. 15 |
vs Longwood (Exh.) |
6 p.m. |
|
Thursday, Aug. 20 |
vs UCLA |
7 p.m. |
|
Monday, Aug. 24 |
vs High Point |
6 p.m. |
|
Friday, Aug. 28 |
vs American |
6 p.m. |
|
Monday, Aug. 31 |
vs Florida Gulf Coast |
6 p.m. |
|
Friday, Sept. 4 |
vs Boston College |
6 p.m. |
|
Tuesday, Sept. 8 |
vs Oregon State |
6 p.m. |
|
Saturday, Sept. 12 |
vs Liberty |
6 p.m. |
|
Saturday, Sept. 19 |
at Wake Forest |
7 p.m. |
|
Friday, Sept. 25 |
at Stanford |
10 p.m. (ET) |
|
Friday, Oct. 2 |
vs Virginia Tech |
8 p.m. |
|
Tuesday, Oct. 6 |
vs Queens |
6 p.m. |
|
Friday, Oct. 9 |
vs California |
6 p.m. |
|
Tuesday, Oct. 13 |
vs Gardner-Webb |
6 p.m. |
|
Friday, Oct. 16 |
at Duke |
7 p.m. |
|
Saturday, Oct. 24 |
at Syracuse |
2 p.m. |
|
Friday, Oct. 30 |
vs Pittsburgh |
6 p.m. |