MOREHEAD, Ky. – Morehead State soccer coach
Paul Cox has released the team's 2026 schedule. The 20-game slate includes 13 contests in the first 47 days and then the final seven over the last 42 days. It also includes two new opponents and nine home games.
Two familiar faces (Little Rock and Tennessee Tech) are gone as the Ohio Valley Conference now has nine members with eight playing women's soccer. Consequently, all eight institutions will receive berths to the league post-season tournament, which will run from November 5-15.
With the departure of 2025 OVC Tournament (and regular-season) champion Tennessee Tech from the conference, MSU will not face a single NCAA Tournament participant in 2026. That also was the case last year and in the inaugural season of 1998.
There are two first-time opponents on the regular-season schedule, Brescia (Ky.) and Alabama A&M. In addition, the Eagles will have an exhibition contest against Chicago State to open the campaign. It also will be the first time the two schools will meet on the pitch.
The 2026 season will be a redemption tour for the Blue and Gold as 10 of the teams scheduled defeated the Eagles last fall. Two of the other 14 repeats from 2025 had matches with MSU that ended in a 0-0 tie.
It will be a tough slate for Coach Cox's squad. Morehead State's third-year mentor will face 12 opponents that boasted .500 or better records last fall, with seven winning at least 10 games.
"It's a good balanced schedule that will test us and prepare us for the OVC," Cox said.
The Eagles will open play with their earliest date in school history. Both 2024 and 2025 featured exhibition openers on August 7, which tied for the previous initial start.
It will be the first time since 2018 that all of MSU's exhibition games were on the road. Last year, the Eagles went 1-1 in exhibition play, including defeating Brescia at home 2-0 and falling to Cincinnati on the road 2-1.
Morehead State's first exhibition game will be at Chicago State on Wednesday, Aug. 5. The Cougars finished 5-9-5 overall and 3-6-2 in the Northeast Conference last year.
Next up is a Saturday, Aug. 8 exhibition game at Ohio. The teams last met in 2013. The Bobcats own a 4-1 series advantage, with MSU's lone victory in the series coming in 2011, 2-1 in Athens, Ohio. In 2025, OU posted a 5-9-5 overall record and a 3-5-4 mark in the Mid-American Conference.
As has been the case for the past three years, the regular season will begin with a game against Marshall. The Thursday, Aug. 13 contest will take place in Huntington, W.Va. In 2025, the Thundering Herd pulled out a 3-0 victory in Morehead. Marshall leads the all-time series 9-1-3, with the Eagles capturing a 2-1, two-overtime win at home in 2005. Over the last three years, the two teams tied 1-1 at Marshall in 2024, with the Thundering Herd winning 3-0 at MSU in 2003.
On Sunday, Aug. 16, the Blue and Gold will host Brescia, an NAIA school located in Owensboro, Ky., and a member of the River States Conference. The Eagles defeated the Bearcats 2-0 in a home exhibition game on August 7, 2025. BU posted an 11-6-1 overall mark last fall and finished 6-4 in the RSC. It will be the first regular-season meeting between the two.
One team against whom MSU gained the upper hand in last year's meeting is Miami (Ohio), winning 1-0 at home despite taking just one shot. The two foes will meet on Thursday, Aug. 20, in Oxford, Ohio. The Redhawks lead the series 8-2. They also defeated the Eagles 2-1 in a March exhibition contest. Last fall, Miami posted an 11-5-3 record, including finishing 8-2-2 in the Mid-American Conference.
Former MSU assistant coach and current head coach of the Cleveland State Vikings, Mark Sappington, will make his return to Morehead, when he brings his team to town for a Sunday, Aug. 23 contest. Sappington was an assistant at MSU in 2022 and 2023. The two squads faced off last year in Cleveland, with the Vikings claiming a 3-0 victory. It was the only regular-season meeting between the two sides. CSU finished 4-6-7 overall and 1-3-6 in the Horizon League last fall.
Archrival Eastern Kentucky will host the Blue and Gold on Thursday, Aug. 27, for the Bluegrass Cup. EKU defeated the Eagles 5-1 last fall at MSU. However, Morehead State still owns the series edge 9-7-2. It will be the third consecutive year the teams will have faced each other. The Eagles' last series win came in 2024 in Richmond, 2-1.
The Colonels went 10-4-5 overall and 5-2-3 in the Atlantic Sun Conference last year. EKU will be a member of the newly formed United Athletic Conference in 2026-27.
The Eagles will have their longest home stand in nine seasons when they host the first of four straight games at the MSU Soccer Field on Sunday, Aug. 30. Northern Kentucky will be the guest on that date. MSU also had four-game home stands in 2000, 2003, 2015, 2016 and 2017. The school record is five, which it had in both 1999 and 2010.
The Norse won last year's matchup 5-0 in Highland Heights, Ky. They lead the all-time series 8-0-1, with the tie (1-1) coming after double overtime in 2014. NKU finished 10-3-6 overall and 7-1-2 in the Horizon League last year.
On Thursday, Sept. 3, the Blue and Gold will entertain Mercyhurst. The Lakers are entering their third year as Division I members. The two teams have only met once, in 2024, when the game ended in a 2-2 tie in Erie, Pa. Last year, MU finished 3-13-3 overall and 3-6-2 in the Northeast Conference.
Chattanooga comes to town on Sunday, Sept. 6. Last fall, the Mocs defeated the Eagles 2-0 on their own field. Prior to last season, Morehead State went 2-0-2 in its past four meetings against the Tennessee-based school. MSU's last victory was 2-0 on the road in 2017. Chattanooga leads the series 4-2-2. In 2025, it went 10-5-4 overall and 4-2-3 in the Southern Conference.
On Thursday, Sept. 10, MSU will host Indiana State. It will be the first time the two have faced each other since 2008. The Sycamores lead the series 3-0. Last fall, ISU finished 8-6-6 overall and 4-2-3 in the Missouri Valley Conference.
Morehead State will have its first break of the year after the Indiana State game. There will be a seven-day span between that outing and its contest with Alabama A&M.
MSU will travel to Normal, Ala., to face the Bulldogs on Thursday, Sept. 17. It will be the first meeting between the two squads. Alabama A&M went 9-9-1 overall and 5-2-1 in the Southwest Athletic Conference last year.
For their final non-conference game, the Eagles remain on the road for a Sunday, Sept. 20 contest against Bellarmine. The Knights captured a 2-1 victory at Morehead State last fall. The teams also met in Morehead in March, with the Knights winning 3-0. The regular-season series is tied 1-1-1. MSU's win (1-0) came on the road in 2024. In 2025, BU posted an 11-6-3 overall record, with a 4-5-1 mark in the Atlantic Sun Conference.
Lindenwood will host the Eagles on Sunday, Sept. 27, for the OVC opener. In 2025, the Lions toppled the Blue and Gold 3-0 in Morehead. The series is tied 2-2-1, with LU winning the two most recent meetings – last fall and in the OVC Tournament championship game of 2024. However, MSU captured the 2023 meeting at home 2-0. Lindenwood finished last season with a 10-5-5 overall record and a 5-2-2 mark and in third place in the OVC.
After another mid-week break, Morehead State will host SIU Edwardsville for its OVC home opener. The Cougars, which finished 3-12-5 overall and 2-4-3 and in seventh place in the conference last season, will meet the Eagles on Sunday, Oct. 4. Last year, the two teams tied 0-0. The last Blue and Gold win (2-0) came in Edwardsville, Ill., in 2023. SIUE leads the series 11-4-3.
Skipping another Thursday, Morehead State will travel to face Southeast Missouri on Sunday, Oct. 11. MSU played the Cougars and Redhawks in back-to-back contests to end the 2025 regular season. And just as with their outing versus SIUE, the Eagles tied SEMO 0-0. That outcome extended the Blue and Gold's unbeaten streak against the Redhawks to four games, with its last win, a 2-0 road decision, coming in 2024. However, Southeast Missouri still leads the series 17-9-7. It posted a 2-15-2 overall record and 2-5-2 OVC mark last season and finished in eighth place.
A trip to UT Martin follows on Thursday, Oct. 15. It will be the first and only midweek conference game of the season. The Skyhawks won 2-0 in Morehead last fall, with the Eagles' last victory coming in the 2024 OVC Tournament's opening round, a 1-0 decision in Evansville, Ind. UTM leads the all-time series 17-15-3. The Skyhawks finished 3-7-9 overall and 3-3-3 and in sixth place in the OVC in 2025.
The final three regular season games all come on Sundays, beginning with Eastern Illinois at home on October 18. Last fall, EIU posted an 8-8-3 overall record and a 5-3-1 mark in the OVC, good enough for fourth place. The Panthers won the 2025 meeting 1-0 in Charleston, Ill. However, the last time the two teams faced off in Morehead (2024), the Eagles won 5-1. EIU owns a 16-10-6 series record.
The last OVC road trip will feature a stop at Western Illinois on Sunday, Oct. 25. The Eagles defeated the Leathernecks 1-0 at home in 2025. WIU owns a 2-1-1 series advantage. It finished 1-17-1 overall and 0-8-1 in the OVC and in 10th place last fall. In its only prior outing in Macomb, Ill., Morehead State defeated Western Illinois 2-0 in 2024.
The regular-season finale will be on Sunday, Nov. 1 at home against Southern Indiana. Last year, the Screaming Eagles captured a 1-0 decision in Evansville, Ind. In 2024, MSU defeated home standing USI 1-0 in the second round of the 2024 OVC Tournament. Southern Indiana owns a 4-2-0 series edge and posted marks of 9-7-5 overall and 4-2-3 in conference play last season. The Screaming Eagles finished in fifth.
The OVC Tournament begins on Thursday, Nov. 5 and will include all eight teams with all games at campus sites. The first round will be the No. 5 seed facing the No. 8 seed, as well as the No. 6 seed playing the No. 7 seed. The No. 3 and No. 4 seeds will serve as hosts.
On Sunday, Nov. 8, the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds will then host the winners. The semifinals will take place on Thursday, Nov. 12 and the finals on Sunday, Nov. 15, all at the site of the conference regular-season champion.
The Eagles last qualified for the tournament in 2024 when the team advanced all the way to the conference finals, before falling to Lindenwood 3-2. MSU has won four tournament titles and owns a 17-13-2 overall record in 17 appearances.
The first round of the NCAA Tournament will take place on November 20-22. The second and third rounds will be November 26-29, with the quarterfinals December 4-5 and the College Cup December 11-14. The selection show will be on Sunday, Nov. 16.
Morehead State finished 3-13-2 overall, and 1-6-2 and in ninth place in the OVC last season. In the spring, the club posted a 2-2-1 mark.
A complete list of kickoff times for all 20 games have yet to be determined.
2026 Schedule
Wednesday Aug. 5 Chicago State Chicago, Ill. TBA
Saturday Aug. 8 Ohio Athens, Ohio 4 p.m.
Thursday Aug. 13 Marshall Huntington, W.Va. 7 p.m.
Sunday Aug. 16 Brescia (Ky.) Morehead, Ky. TBA
Thursday Aug. 20 Miami (Ohio) Oxford, Ohio 7 p.m.
Sunday Aug. 23 Cleveland State Morehead, Ky. 1 p.m.
Thursday Aug. 27 Eastern Kentucky Richmond, Ky. TBA
Sunday Aug. 30 Northern Kentucky Morehead, Ky. 1 p.m.
Thursday Sept. 3 Mercyhurst Morehead, Ky. TBA
Sunday Sept. 6 Chattanooga Morehead, Ky. TBA
Thursday Sept. 10 Indiana State Morehead, Ky. TBA
Thursday Sept. 17 Alabama A&M Normal, Ala. TBA
Sunday Sept. 20 Bellarmine Louisville, Ky. TBA
Sunday Sept. 27 Lindenwood St. Charles, Mo. TBA
Sunday Oct. 4 SIU-Edwardsville Morehead, Ky. TBA
Sunday Oct. 11 Southeast Missouri Cape Girardeau, Mo. TBA
Thursday Oct. 15 UT Martin Martin, Tenn. TBA
Sunday Oct. 18 Eastern Illinois Morehead, Ky. TBA
Sunday Oct. 25 Western Illinois Macomb, Ill. TBA
Sunday Nov. 1 Southern Indiana Morehead, Ky. TBA
Thursday Nov. 5 OVC Tournament Campus Sites TBA
Sunday Nov. 8 OVC Tournament Campus Sites TBA
Thursday Nov. 12 OVC Tournament Campus Sites TBA
Sunday Nov. 15 OVC Tournament Campus Sites TBA
Fri.-Sun. Nov. 20-22 NCAA First Round Campus Sites TBA
Thurs.-Sun. Nov. 26-29 NCAA 2nd/3rd Rounds Campus Sites TBA
Fri.-Sat. Dec. 4-5 NCAA Quarterfinals Campus Sites TBA
Fri.-Mon. Dec. 11-14 NCAA College Cup Cary, N.C. TBA
# Exhibition contest
* Ohio Valley Conference contest
All Times Eastern
