CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 11 Virginia women’s soccer team (0-0) kicks off the 2026 season on Wednesday (Aug. 12) when the Cavaliers host Northwestern (0-0) at Klöckner Stadium. Kick is set for 7 p.m.
Admission to all home women’s soccer matches is free to the public in the regular season.
HOW TO FOLLOW THE ACTION
Wednesday night’s contest will be streamed on ACCNX which is available through the ESPN app and at ESPN.com. Live stats are also available with links to both stats and stream at VirginiaSports.com. Fans can also get updates by following the program’s official account on X (@UVAWomenSoccer).
NOTING THE CAVALIERS
- Virginia enters the season ranked No. 11 in the preseason poll from the United Soccer Coaches and ranked No. 13 in the initial poll from TopDrawerSoccer
- The Cavaliers have two players ranked among the top 100 players nationally in the preseason by TopDrawerSoccer with goalkeeper Victoria Safradin at No 61 and defender Tatum Galvin at No. 63
- Freshman defender Kyra Koopman (The Netherlands) was named to the top international freshmen to know list by TopDrawerSoccer heading into the season
- The Cavaliers were picked to finish sixth in the ACC in the league’s preseason poll voted on by the coaches
- Virginia plays its first six games at home this season to launch a 17-game slate for 2026.
- The Hoos will face 10 teams in 2026 that advanced to the NCAA Tournament a year ago and also face seven teams ranked in the preseason top 25.
- The Hoos welcomed eight newcomers to the 2026 squad, including five freshmen and three transfers. Among the transfers are All-ACC forward Gio Canali (Miami), defender Faith Broering (Cincinnati) and 2024 All-SEC Freshman team selection Reese Mattern (Tennessee).
- Among the five freshmen are two players who enrolled with the Cavaliers for the spring – Mackenzie Mize and Kyndal Shuler, both of whom were top 100 recruits by TopDrawerSoccer.
THE SERIES WITH NORTHWESTERN - Virginia and Northwestern have faced each other twice previously with the Hoos holding a 2-0 series lead
- Both previous meetings came in Charlottesville with the Cavaliers winning 5-0 in 1995 and 2-0 in 2024
- The last meeting saw a pair of first-half goals lead to a UVA victory in the second game of the season