Soccer Starts 2026 Season Against Northwestern State

Wednesday, August 12

Norman, Okla.

7 p.m.

University of Oklahoma

Northwestern State

picture of OU soccer balls on John Crain Field before a game

Photo by: Daem Campbell/University of Oklahoma

Soccer Starts 2026 Season Against Northwestern State

August 11, 2026 | Soccer

OU Game Notes Live Stats SEC Network+

By: OU Athletics Communications

NORMAN — Oklahoma Soccer opens its 31st season of play with a home game against Northwestern State Wednesday, Aug. 12 at 7 p.m. from John Crain Field.

HOW TO FOLLOW
Tomorrow's game, all 2026 home games and Southeastern Conference (SEC) games this year will be streamed on SEC Network+. Live stats will be available on statbroadcast.com. Chad McKee (play-by-play) and Nick McMillan (color commentary) will be on the call.

PROMOS ON THE PITCH
The first 100 fans wearing a World Cup themed jersey will receive a voucher for a free hot dog and soda. The 2026 schedule poster will also be available for pickup. All home games at John Crain Field will be free admission.

SEASON OPENERS

• The Sooners are 14-13-3 all-time in season openers and 3-0 in season openers under head coach Matt Mott. The Sooners are 2-0 in home openers in Mott's tenure and 17-9-4 all-time in home openers at John Crain Field.

THE SCOUT

• Oklahoma and Northwestern State will face off for the first time. The Demons won the 2025 Southland Conference (SLC) Regular Season Championship, its third in program history. They tallied 13 victories last year, just two behind the program record.

• They will not return 2025 SLC Player of the Year Emily Senatore and Defensive Player of the Year Jessica Spitzer. The Demons were picked to win the league per the preseason coaches poll, beating out second-place East Texas A&M who the Sooners will also face later this week.

2025 IN REVIEW

• The Sooners reached double-digit wins for consecutive seasons with a 10-win campaign in 2025. It's the third time in program history that OU soccer has tallied at least 10 wins in consecutive seasons. The Sooners will look to tie a program record with three straight in 2026. Additionally, OU's four losses were the fewest in a season in program history.

• OU set a program record by being ranked in the national polls for four consecutive weeks during the 2025 season. Oklahoma was ranked as high as No. 19 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll and No. 22 in the Top Drawer Soccer Poll. It was the first time since 2017 that the Sooners broke the top 25 rankings.

• 2025 also saw OU set a program record for points (116) while tying for the most home wins in a season (eight), most goals (38) and most assists (40).

NOTABLE NUMBERS

8: The 2026 roster features eight freshmen and eight transfers making up the 29-player roster. Transfers arrive from schools such as Arizona, Cal State Northridge, Pepperdine, NJIT, MTSU, Marshall and Kansas.

13: Oklahoma returns 13 players from last year's team, 11 of which earned minutes in the 2025 season. Ally Laccinole, an SEC All-Freshman selection, tallied the most minutes by a returner with 1,561 on the backline.

18: The Sooners have an 18-match schedule that features eight regular season contests at John Crain Field and two exhibitions. The Sooners play three non-conference matches at home and five in SEC play.

22: Kayla Keefer led the Sooners with 22 points in 2025 and she returns for her junior season this year. The forward posted seven goals (second most on the team) and paced OU with eight assists.

PRESEASON WATCH LISTS

• Five Sooners were tabbed to the SEC Preseason Watch List including Elle Canty, Lexi Dendis, Kayla Keefer, Narissa Fults and Ally Laccinole. The group is made up of two sophomores and three juniors.

• Junior transfer Fernanda Dantas was also named to the United Soccer Coaches MAC Hermann Trophy Defenders to Watch List. Players who earned all-region honors in 2025 and are returning for this season are eligible to be on the list.

RETURNERS

Oklahoma's roster features 13 returners, 11 of which lettered last season.

Elle Canty | Norman, Okla.
Claire Curran | San Diego, Calif.
Emily Davey | Trabuco Canyon, Calif.
Lexi Dendis | Flemington, N.J.
Aly Guthrie | Plano, Texas
Natalie Hoefer | Owasso, Okla.
Kayla Keefer | Bloomsburg, Pa.
Ally Laccinole | Woodinville, Wash.
Drue Legan | Jenks, Okla.
Isabella Martinez | Keller, Texas
Sophie Morrin | Cheshire, England
Kiki Smith | Ahwatukee, Ariz.
Callie Sullivan | Norman, Okla.

FRESHMEN & TRANSFER NEWCOMERS

• Oklahoma's roster includes eight transfers and eight freshmen this year. Transfers Narissa Fults, Paige Califf, Addison Tauscher and Sadie Sterbenz all competed with the Sooners during the spring season.

True Freshmen

Kenzie Clouse | Norman, Okla.
Olivia Wright | Edmond, Okla.
Halley Jae Coffey | Norman, Okla.
Avery Brand | Parker, Colo.
Kennedy Kaiser | McAllen, Texas
Kate McCallister | Rowlett, Texas
Landrey Turner | Broken Arrow, Okla.
Brenna Hallam | Colorado Springs, Colo.

Transfers

Mojisola Ayodele | NJIT | Princeton, N.J.
Paige Califf | CSUN | Orange, Calif.
Kendall Campbell | Pepperdine | Palmdale, Calif.
Fernanda Dantas | Marshall | Salvador, Brazil
Ariana Ellison | New Mexico State | Sammamish, Wash.
Narissa Fults | Arizona | Norman, Okla.
Sadie Sterbenz | MTSU | Clarendon Hills, Ill.
Addison Tauscher | Kansas | Lenexa, Kan.

SCHEDULE NOTES

OU will play 20 total matches, two in the exhibition portion of the year and 18 regular season games.

Oklahoma's games against 2025 NCAA Tournament participants include: Mississippi State, Tennessee, LSU, Arkansas, BYU, Alabama and Georgia
The Sooners will play five non-conference games against teams they faced in the non-con slate in 2025. The Sooners went 5-0 in those games a year ago
OU makes its first-ever trip to East Texas A&M
The Sooners go to Provo, Utah, for the first time since 2013
OU hosts Auburn for the first time
For the first time since 2013 OU will play a regular season game in the month of November