INDIANAPOLIS - As the calendar continues to flip toward August, the Marian women's soccer team has finalized and publicly announced its 2026 schedule, as announced by head coach Justin Sullivan on Monday, June 22. Coming off a season in which the team posted a 20-1-2 overall record and earned the No. 1 seed in the NAIA National Tournament, the Knights have unveiled their 16-game regular-season slate for the upcoming fall.

The Knights enter the 2026 season off one of the program's most successful seasons, as the Knights posted a 20-1-2 overall record and were among the top teams in the NAIA throughout the 2025 season. Marian won the Crossroads League regular season championship with an 8-0-1 record and played for the league tournament title. After a convincing 2-0 win over Aquinas College in the NAIA Second Round Championship, the Knights posted a 1-1 record at the final site of the national tournament, where they competed as the No. 1 overall team in the NAIA.

For the 2026 campaign, the season will kick off on August 8, as Marian plays the first of its two preseason exhibitions, traveling to Campbellsville University. Marian will then hit the road on August 14, traveling back to Kentucky to take on Brescia University. 

After a short preseason exhibition slate, the Knights begin the regular season on August 20, hosting the University of St. Francis (Ill.) on the 2026 NAIA Soccer Opening Day. The season kicks at 5:00 p.m. from Ascension St. Vincent Field, with the ISC Sports Network onsite to capture the action as Marian hosts the front end of a doubleheader with the men's program.

The women will continue a strong homestand of tough competition entering the month of September with three additional home games following the opener, taking on Saint Ambrose, the University of Science and Arts (Oklahoma), and the University of the Cumberlands. The four-match homestand turns into a three-match road trip to end non-conference play, with Marian first traveling to the Chicagoland area over Labor Day weekend for matches at Olivet Nazarene and Saint Xavier. Marian ends the non-conference slate on September 15 at the University of Northwestern Ohio.

Crossroads League play opens on September 23, with Marian opening league play at home against Huntington. The first home match of the conference season is followed by road matches at Goshen, Mount Vernon Nazarene, and Grace, before returning home on October 10 against Taylor. Marian's home game over homecoming weekend will kick at 7:00 p.m. Both the regular season and the month of October conclude with home matches against Bethel and the University of Saint Francis, with the two games sandwiching road stops at Spring Arbor and Indiana Wesleyan. 

Following the finale on October 28, the Knights gear up for the postseason, playing the Crossroads League Tournament Quarterfinal on Tuesday, November 3. The semifinal round will be played on Friday, November 6, with the championship coming on Tuesday, November 10. 

The NAIA First and Second Round, which Marian has hosted since the 2019 season, takes place on November 19 and 21. The 2026 NAIA Tournament Final Site play will begin on Monday, November 30, with the tournament moving from Pensacola to its new home in Decatur, Alabama. The championship will be played at the Jack Allen Sports Complex. 

Marian's season will begin on August 8 with a road exhibition at Campbellsville, traveling to Kentucky to take on the Tigers. 

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