Photo by: Jonathan Vivanco
Women’s Soccer Announces 2026 Schedule
7/15/2026 5:00:00 PM | Women's Soccer
RIVERSIDE --- Following back-to-back conference tournament championships to close out their tenure in the WAC, the Lancers are ready to roll into a new era with the announcement of the 2026 schedule. Beginning their tenure of Big West membership, head coach Kristen St. Clair kicks off her 20th season with the Lancers when the season gets underway on August 12.
St. Clair, the all-time wins leader in CBU Women's Soccer history, enters the season with 230 career victories at CBU. The 2026 season will mark the fourth conference affiliation during St. Clair's tenure, as she guided the Lancers through the GSAC (NAIA), PacWest (Division II), and WAC (Division I) as well.
"Coming out of the WAC in the past two years as champions, we are excited to announce our fall 2026 schedule as a new member of the Big West Conference," said St. Clair. "The Big West is widely considered the most challenging women's soccer mid-major conference to play and succeed in."
The 2026 season kicks off with an opening day visit to Berkeley on August 12. The Lancers will square off with Cal before returning to Riverside for a five-game homestand.
That homestand gets underway on August 20 with a visit from Portland State. UNLV then comes to town on August 23, followed by a non-conference meeting with UC Santa Barbara on August 27 to round out the month of August. September sees the homestand continue with a visit from North Alabama on September 3, and then San Diego closes things out with a visit to Riverside on September 17.
Next comes the official start of the Big West season, with the Lancers kicking off conference play on September 23 with a visit to Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo. The Lancers will then travel crosstown on September 26 to play UC Riverside for the first time as conference foes.
September closes out with UC San Diego's visit to the CBU Soccer Stadium on September 30.
October will be the busiest month of the season for the Lancers as they are scheduled to play eight times in the final month of the regular season. Four of those matches will be at home in Riverside, with CBU hosting UCSB (October 3), Utah Valley (October 14), UC Irvine (October 21), and CSU Bakersfield (October 24).
Road dates in October include Long Beach State (October 10), CSUN (October 17), Sacramento State (October 28), and Cal State Fullerton (October 31).
The 2026 Big West Tournament will begin with the conference quarterfinals on November 4, hosted by the third and fourth-place teams in the regular-season standings. The top two teams will receive a bye into the semifinals, beginning on November 7. The top two seeds will host their semifinal contest. The highest remaining seed will then host the conference championship match on November 14.
St. Clair added a comment on the quality of the Lancers' schedule, noting, "The quality of teams within the conference are proven and annually compete and win games against power four programs every year. We're looking forward to the opportunity to participate, succeed, and compete for Big West Championships. "
All Big West matches in the 2026 season will be streamed live on ESPN+. Tickets, including single-game and season ticket packages, will be on sale HERE.
St. Clair, the all-time wins leader in CBU Women's Soccer history, enters the season with 230 career victories at CBU. The 2026 season will mark the fourth conference affiliation during St. Clair's tenure, as she guided the Lancers through the GSAC (NAIA), PacWest (Division II), and WAC (Division I) as well.
"Coming out of the WAC in the past two years as champions, we are excited to announce our fall 2026 schedule as a new member of the Big West Conference," said St. Clair. "The Big West is widely considered the most challenging women's soccer mid-major conference to play and succeed in."
The 2026 season kicks off with an opening day visit to Berkeley on August 12. The Lancers will square off with Cal before returning to Riverside for a five-game homestand.
That homestand gets underway on August 20 with a visit from Portland State. UNLV then comes to town on August 23, followed by a non-conference meeting with UC Santa Barbara on August 27 to round out the month of August. September sees the homestand continue with a visit from North Alabama on September 3, and then San Diego closes things out with a visit to Riverside on September 17.
Next comes the official start of the Big West season, with the Lancers kicking off conference play on September 23 with a visit to Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo. The Lancers will then travel crosstown on September 26 to play UC Riverside for the first time as conference foes.
September closes out with UC San Diego's visit to the CBU Soccer Stadium on September 30.
October will be the busiest month of the season for the Lancers as they are scheduled to play eight times in the final month of the regular season. Four of those matches will be at home in Riverside, with CBU hosting UCSB (October 3), Utah Valley (October 14), UC Irvine (October 21), and CSU Bakersfield (October 24).
Road dates in October include Long Beach State (October 10), CSUN (October 17), Sacramento State (October 28), and Cal State Fullerton (October 31).
The 2026 Big West Tournament will begin with the conference quarterfinals on November 4, hosted by the third and fourth-place teams in the regular-season standings. The top two teams will receive a bye into the semifinals, beginning on November 7. The top two seeds will host their semifinal contest. The highest remaining seed will then host the conference championship match on November 14.
St. Clair added a comment on the quality of the Lancers' schedule, noting, "The quality of teams within the conference are proven and annually compete and win games against power four programs every year. We're looking forward to the opportunity to participate, succeed, and compete for Big West Championships. "
All Big West matches in the 2026 season will be streamed live on ESPN+. Tickets, including single-game and season ticket packages, will be on sale HERE.
Monday, September 01
Tuesday, November 12
Wednesday, August 28
Friday, November 03
