CHICAGO – Following their historic 2025 season, head coach David Nikolic and the UIC women's soccer team have announced their 2026 schedule. The Flames are coming off their first-ever Missouri Valley Conference postseason title and NCAA Tournament appearance and are looking to repeat their success with a deeper postseason run this time around.
"We are all thrilled to get things started this fall," stated Nikolic. "This season's schedule shows our continued commitment to competing in high-level matches immediately."
The official kickoff for the 2026 season is set for Aug. 12, when the Flames travel to Athens, Ohio, for a 3 p.m. (CT) match at Ohio University.
UIC then returns home to Chicago for three of its next four home matches, starting with the Flames Field opener on Aug. 16 against Eastern Illinois (4 p.m. CT), the first of four in-state opponents on the 2026 non-conference schedule.
In return matches from last season, the Flames will visit a pair of Big Ten Conference opponents in Illinois (Aug. 23) and Wisconsin (Aug. 30). Last year, UIC played both Big Ten foes to 1-0 margins early in what would be NCAA Tournament campaigns for the Illini and Badgers.
In between their Power Four matchups, the Flames will host DePaul on Aug. 27, and then, after visiting Wisconsin, they will close out non-conference play against defending Conference USA regular-season champion Western Kentucky (Sept. 6) and in-state foe Western Illinois (Sept. 10).
"We have a challenging schedule and are especially fired up to welcome all our opponents to Flames Field with so many in-state rivals coming to Chicago this fall," Nikolic said. "The team is gearing up for this year and is hungry to continue what we have built over the past few seasons."
UIC will begin its nine-match MVC season on Sept. 20 at Belmont before returning home the following Sunday for a rematch of last year's MVC Championship final against Illinois State at Flames Field (UIC captured the 2025 crown on penalties, 2-1, following a scoreless tie).
The regular season will conclude Nov. 1 when the Flames play host to Evansville.
The 2026 MVC Championship will take place Nov. 8-15 on the campuses of the higher-seeded teams.
The full 2026 UIC women's soccer schedule, including match promotions, can be found here.
FOLLOW THE FLAMES
For more information, fans are encouraged to visit UICFlames.com, or follow the Flames on social media through X (@UIC_WSOC and @UICFlames) and Instagram (@uic_wsoc and @uicflames).
