The 2026 men's soccer season got underway on Thursday with seven teams in action. Defending champion Lindenwood scored a shutout victory while UTRGV scored two goals in the final 25 minutes to come-from-behind and win at West Florida. In other action Southern Indiana and UIW earned draws.
SOUTHERN INDIANA 0, MILWAUKEE 0
MILWAUKEE, Wis. - University of Southern Indiana Men's Soccer opened up the 2026 season in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with a 0-0 draw against the University of Milwaukee.
Thursday's 0-0 tie was the first time that USI has gathered a season-opening result since 2018, even before joining the Division I ranks in 2022. It is the first-time a Screaming Eagles opponent has been shut out since August 26, 2025 (Rose Hulman Institute of Technology). It is the first time since October 13, 2024 (University of the Incarnate Word) that USI has shut out a Division I program.
The Screaming Eagles totaled 11 shots, five on goal. Senior defenders Ian Graham and Kris Martial and sophomore midfielder Oliver Church all tied with two shots, with one shot on goal. Junior midfielder Ahiro Nakamae and sophomore midfielder Nolan Stevens each added their own shot on goal.
In the defensive effort helping to post the team shutout, OVC Preseason Player to Watch senior midfielder Garrett Morris, sophomore defender Zach Naessens, and sophomore goalkeeper Jacob English all helped to keep the net clean on 16 shot attempts. English finished the day with six saves, the most in his career without giving up a goal in a single game.
USI came out prepared to defend their own goal with Naessens and Nakamae forcing a Milwaukee player to shoot a shot inside the box wide left in the first five minutes of play. The Screaming Eagles responded with a shot of their own coming from Stevens that was saved by Milwaukee's goalkeeper. After that, it was all defense for USI the rest of the half. English gathered four saves, including a diving save at the 19th-minute mark. The Screaming Eagles were outshot 11 to three in the first half.
USI came out more aggressively in the second half. Oliver Church got too much of a header off of a corner kick that sailed just over the crossbar at the start of the second half. The Screaming Eagles were not done with their aggressive approach, however, adding three scoring chances in the next fourteen minutes, all of which were saved by Milwaukee's goalkeeper.
With nine minutes remaining in the match, USI evaded a counter by the Panthers that led to a corner kick that sailed over the Screaming Eagles' goal. English grabbed a save headed toward the goal off of a free kick. USI was not able to capitalize on the counter but managed to keep the Panthers on their own half for the rest of the match.
UIW 1, UMASS LOWELL 1
SAN ANTONIO - The University of the Incarnate Word men's soccer team (0-0-1) opened the 2026 season with a 1-1 draw against UMass Lowell (0-0-1) on Thursday night at Tom and Gayle Benson Stadium.
The match remained even through the opening 25 minutes, with the River Hawks' shot in the sixth minute serving as the only attempt by either team during that span. Andres Riera recorded the Cardinals' first two shots on goal in the 27th and 28th minutes, but UMass Lowell broke through 10 minutes later, finding the back of the net in the 38th minute to take a 1-0 lead. Just three minutes later, Diego Robles nearly leveled the match with a shot from just inside midfield, but his attempt sailed just over the post. UIW outshot UMass Lowell, 4-3, in the opening half but entered the break trailing by one.
Zion Long was the first Cardinal to threaten in the second half, forcing the River Hawks' goalkeeper to make a save in the 48th minute. Neither team managed a shot over the next 20 minutes before UIW finally broke through in the 65th minute. Following the Cardinals' second corner kick of the match, Danny Elizalde delivered a ball from the right corner that found Charles Chimezie, who slid the ball into the back of the net for his first goal as a Cardinal.
With 19 minutes remaining, the Cardinal backline held strong to preserve the equalizer and secure a 1-1 draw.
LINDENWOOD 3, CHICAGO STATE 0
ST. CHARLES, Mo. - The Lindenwood Men's Soccer team shut out Chicago State for the second straight year, defeating the Cougars by a final score of 3-0 in the season opener on Thursday night. The Lions were able to record 18 shots, including 11 on target to begin their 2026 campaign. Luca Bartoni picked up right where he left off last season, scoring two second half goals to put the game out of reach.
After no shots were recorded in the first 18 minutes of the game, the Lions finally settled in offensively and took five shots over the course of three minutes to put pressure on the Cougar defense. Lindenwood struck first a few minutes later in the 27th minute after Luke Neely was able to gather the ball off a Cougar turnover in their defensive zone. Neely found Philip Viberg Rasmussen in open space, and sent a shot to the lower right corner of the net for the first goal of the 2026 season for the Black and Gold. LU stood tall for the remainder of the half and didn't allow a single shot in the opening 45 minutes of play and took a 1-0 lead into the locker room.
In the second half, the Lions continued to push the pace offensively, recording the first six shots of the second half. On the sixth shot of the half, Bartoni was able to add onto the lead after Gabriel Tonks sent a shot from the right side of the box that created a rebound opportunity. Chicago State's goalkeeper was able to deny Tonk's on target attempt, but Bartoni was in the right place at the right time and buried the rebound to put the Lions up 2-0 in the 62nd minute. Bartoni's second goal of the half would come with less than three minutes to play, putting Lindenwood in front for good by a score of 3-0 thanks to great passes from Viberg Rassmussen and Ryan Holmes.
For the contest, Lindenwood allowed just two shots all game with only one being on target that was handled by Quinn Closson in the 67th minute. Offensively, five different players picked up a point tonight with Viberg Rassmussen and Bartoni each collecting multiple points in the season opener.
OMAHA 4, EASTERN ILLINOIS 2
OMAHA, Neb. - Eastern Illinois men's soccer opened the 2026 season with a 4-2 loss to Omaha on Friday, Aug. 21, at Caniglia Field. The Panthers and Mavericks were tied 2-2 at halftime before Omaha scored twice in the second half to secure the victory.
Eastern Illinois got a standout performance from forward Sergej Misic, who scored both of the Panthers' goals on three shots, all of which were on target. Miguel D'Amico added an assist, while goalkeeper Samuel Toruno made eight saves in the contest.
The Panthers held their own offensively early, scoring twice in the opening 45 minutes, but Omaha generated significantly more chances throughout the match. The Mavericks finished with an 18-6 advantage in shots and an 8-6 edge in corner kicks. Omaha also put 12 shots on target compared to four for Eastern Illinois.
Omaha received goals from Mikey Stukenholtz, Simon Guardiero, Matt Hosty and Amari Fowlkes, with Fowlkes also adding an assist. Derek Johnson contributed an assist, while Brett Perkins recorded an assist as the Mavericks finished with three assists overall.
UTRGV 3, WEST FLORIDA 2
PENSACOLA, Fla. - The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros men's soccer team spoiled the University of West Florida (UWF) Argonauts Kickoff to DI night with a thrilling 3-2 win at Brosnahan Soccer Complex Thursday.
In the 67th minute, sophomore Florida International transfer Emmanuel Gore Bi scored his first career goal, a shot that went right down the middle to knot the match at 2-2.
Junior Malang Mandiang knocked in the game-winner for the Vaqueros (1-0-0) in the 79th minute off a nice feed from sophomore Floridian Sammy Jadid, who notched his first career assist.
The Argonauts (0-1-0) took a 1-0 lead on a goal from Tobias Gjesdahl before senior Mouhamed Pouye scored the equalizer, a well-hit shot that found the back right corner of the net in the 29th minute. Adrian Rodriguez answered for UWF to give the Argonauts a 2-1 lead heading into halftime.
JACKSONVILLE 2, HCU 0
HOUSTON - Houston Christian University opened its 2026 campaign with a tough 2-0 defeat to Jacksonville University on Thursday night at Sorrels Field. A scoreless tie at the half was broken by a penalty kick early in the second session of a feisty and physical matchup on Fondren Road.
Each team got of three shots during a very well-paced opening 45 minutes. A shot by Santiago Maynez in the sixth minute was saved as the Huskies best chance at scoring, while Harvey Heeps made two saves to push the two teams to the intermission at nil-nil.
In the second half, the Dolphins came out quickly, pushing the tempo looking for the breakthrough. That tally would come just into the 53rd minute when a tussle near the top of the box was ruled a penalty on HCU, sending Matias Tobon to the spot. He calmly put his kick to the back of the net to give the visitors their opening goal of the season.
The Huskies nearly equalized in the 70th minute when Noah Fernandes strike from just left of the box to the far post was snagged by JU's Simen Havig. Six minutes later, Ryan Okerayi put a blast onto the left corner that was just knocked away by Havig to preserve the one-goal advantage.
As the clock hit 81 minutes, the Dolphins got out on a break. Dante Wright took a ball up from the left channel and slithered a pass through the defense to an awaiting Mathias Mjaavatn near the top of the box. His shot screamed past a diving Heeps to give Jacksonville a two-goal margin.
Okerayi led the Huskies with three shots, one on goal, while Fernandes had two shots on goal. HCU had 10 shots total with four on goal, but the Dolphins were just a tad more efficient, placing four of their six total shots on target. Harvey Heeps had two saves in his HCU debut in the pipes.
Tobon, JU's leading returning scorer, opened his account with a shot and goal in 62 minutes. Havig made four saves to the Dolphins, who go to 1-0 on the season.
#25 KANSAS CITY 5, SIUE 0
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Kansas City's Raphael Kistmann scored twice as the Roos downed SIUE 5-0 Thursday in the 2026 season opener for both teams.
The Roos wasted little time getting on the board, scoring the first goal of the night in the 10th minute of play. Kansas City added another before halftime to lead 2-0 at the break.
Second-half goals in the 57th, 76th and 82nd minutes in the second half sealed the game for the Roos.
Kansas City outshot SIUE 23-8 in the game including 12 shots on goal. Junior goalkeeper Louis Krueger made seven saves for the Cougars.
Colin Bastianoni, Mathias Clausen and Ryley Gibbs each finished with a pair of shots for SIUE. Bastianoni had the only shot on goal for SIUE. Juan Rodas and Grant Locker each had a single shot.