COLUMBIA, Ky. - Lindsey Wilson men's soccer head coach Sicelo Buthelezi has announced the Blue Raiders' challenging 2026 schedule.
The 15-match slate features 11 teams that qualified for the 2025 NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship, including seven conference tournament champions. Six opponents also finished the 2025 season ranked among the top 10 in the NAIA Men's Soccer Coaches' Postseason Top 25 Poll.
Lindsey Wilson opens the season with a pair of home matches at Walter S. Reuling Stadium, hosting Southern States Athletic Conference tournament champion Life (Ga.) on Aug. 28 before welcoming Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference tournament champion Indiana Tech on Aug. 31.
The Blue Raiders hit the road for a matchup with former Mid-South Conference rival Rio Grande (Ohio) on Sept. 5 before opening Mid-South Conference play three days later against Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) in Columbia.
Following a road contest at Indiana Wesleyan on Sept. 12, Lindsey Wilson returns home to face River States Conference tournament champion and 2025 NAIA national runner-up West Virginia Tech on Sept. 14. The Blue Raiders then travel to McKenzie, Tennessee, to take on defending Mid-South Conference Tournament champion Bethel (Tenn.) on Sept. 17.
Conference play continues Sept. 26 when 2025 NAIA semifinalist Cumberlands (Ky.) visits Columbia, beginning a three-match Mid-South stretch that also includes a road trip to Cumberland (Tenn.) and a home contest against Campbellsville (Ky.).
Lindsey Wilson hosts Appalachian Athletic Conference tournament champion Union Commonwealth (Ky.) on Oct. 10 before closing the regular season with two marquee nonconference matchups. The Blue Raiders travel to face Continental Athletic Conference tournament champion Georgia Gwinnett on Oct. 21 before meeting Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament champion Oklahoma Wesleyan in a neutral-site contest on Oct. 26 in Jackson, Tennessee.
The Mid-South Conference tournament begins Oct. 28-30 with the quarterfinal round, continues Nov. 4-6 in the semifinals, then wraps up on Nov. 10 with the championship match. All tournament matches will be played at the higher seed.
The NAIA Opening Round is scheduled for Nov. 19-21 at campus sites across the country, leading up to the Round of 16 at the final site in Orange Beach, Alabama.
