BEAUMONT, Texas – Lamar University head coach
Nathan Kogut announced the schedule for the upcoming 2026 soccer campaign. The 2026 slate will consist of 18 games, including nine hosted at the LU Soccer Complex, with five of those coming in Southland Conference play.
"We are excited to finally announce our 2026 schedule," said Coach Kogut. "We set out to create a schedule that allows us to face teams from bigger conferences that are expecting to compete for championships so that we can be better prepared to fight for a Southland Conference title. I believe we have a good balance of different playing styles as well a couple of unique road trips for our players to experience. The conference has improved tremendously the last few seasons, and we are excited to set ourselves up to have the best chance to lift another trophy."
To kick off the campaign, LU will host a pair of exhibitions against Blinn (Aug. 5
th) and UL Monroe (Aug. 9
th). The Cardinals start their regular season by hitting the road in four of their five games. Big Red takes on UTEP (Aug. 12
th), Louisiana Tech (Aug. 20
th), Rice (Aug. 23
rd), and Tarleton State (Aug. 30
th). Big Red's home opener is against Sam Houston Sunday, Aug. 16
th.
LU will feel right at home for five of its six September contests, beginning with Our Lady of the Lake (Sept. 3
rd), Texas A&M-San Antonio (Sept. 10
th) and Southern (Sept. 13
th) to conclude non-conference play. The conference season opens Thursday, Sept. 17
th against UT Rio Grande Valley. The next week sees the Cardinals head out to Natchitoches, La, to battle with the reigning conference regular-season champion Northwestern State Demons (Sept. 24) before coming home to face Nicholls (Sept. 27
th).
As October rolls around, the Cardinals have a 10-day break in between their road contests at East Texas A&M (Oct. 1
st) and Stephen F. Austin (Oct. 11
th). LU then hosts the South Texas teams of UIW (Oct. 15
th) and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (Oct. 22
nd) before heading to Hammond, La. to meet with Southeastern Louisiana (Oct. 25
th). The final two games of the regular season take place in November with a road match against the defending conference tournament champions, Houston Christian (Nov. 1
st) and a home finale against Battle of the Border rival McNeese (Nov. 5
th).
The SLC Tournament will run from Nov. 10
th through Sunday, Nov. 15
th, and will be held in Commerce at the Lion Soccer Field on the ETAMU campus.
All of LU's home games will be streamed on ESPN+
