BATON ROUGE, La. — The No. 16 LSU Soccer team (0-1-0) is set to face Northwestern State (0-1-0) in their 2026 home opener on Sunday, August 16 at 6 p.m. CT inside the LSU Soccer Stadium.
LSU and Northwestern both opened their 2026 season with losses as the Tigers fell to No. 18 Wake Forest 2-0, while the Demons dropped nine goals in their loss to Oklahoma on Wednesday night.
The action on Sunday night will be live streamed on SEC Network+. To purchase tickets to attend the match, the link is here. Live stats and streaming links are also available here.
The Matchup
LSU is 5-0-1 all-time in their history against Northwestern State. The Tigers and Demons last met in 2023, when LSU secured the 2-1 victory. The first battle between the two teams came in 1998 with LSU coming out victorious 2-0.
The Demons are coming off a winning (13-5-3) 2025 season where they were semifinalists in the 2025 Southland Conference tournament. They return to their home state this weekend to face the Tigers in Baton Rouge after beginning their 2026 campaign with a loss to the Oklahoma Sooners.
Preseason Honors
LSU enters the 2026 season with a pair of Tigers earning recognition on the United Soccer Coaches/MAC Hermann Trophy Players to Watch List, as forwards Ava Galligan and Allie Fryer were named among the nation’s top players to watch entering the new campaign. The Tigers are one of just a handful of programs nationally with multiple forwards represented on the list.
Galligan returns for her senior season following one of the most productive campaigns in program history. The Ashburn, Virginia, native started 19 of LSU’s 25 matches in 2025 and led the Tigers with 11 goals while adding four assists for 26 points. She also recorded six game-winning goals, ranked among the SEC leaders in goals, points, shots and game-winning goals, and earned First Team All-SEC, SEC All-Tournament Team and United Soccer Coaches All-Southeast Region honors. Galligan played a key role in LSU’s historic run to the NCAA Sweet 16 for the first time in program history.
Fryer joins the Tigers for her fifth collegiate season after transferring from BYU. The Spanish Fork, Utah, native brings 30 career goals and extensive postseason experience to LSU’s attack, adding another proven scoring threat to a front line that helped the Tigers lead the SEC in goals in 2025.
LSU was also represented by five players on the 2026 SEC Soccer Preseason Watchlist, with Galligan joined by Fryer, sophomore forward Sariyah Bailey, senior defender Kelsey Major and senior goalkeeper Audur Scheving. The SEC announced a 75-player watchlist, which included 18 returning All-SEC selections from a season ago.
Bailey earned Third Team All-SEC and SEC All-Freshman honors as a freshman in 2025 after making an immediate impact during LSU’s historic postseason run. Fryer enters her first season in Baton Rouge following a 30-goal career at BYU, while Major returns as a veteran presence on the LSU back line after starting every match for the Tigers in 2025. Scheving also returns between the posts after recording 42 saves and six wins last season.
The individual preseason recognition comes as LSU enters the 2026 campaign with high expectations following its historic 2025 season. The Tigers were selected to finish tied for fourth with Tennessee in the SEC Preseason Coaches’ Poll, behind preseason favorite Vanderbilt, Arkansas and Georgia. The poll was voted on by the league’s 16 head coaches.
LSU also enters the season ranked No. 16 in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll, marking the program’s highest preseason national ranking in the poll and placing the Tigers among five SEC teams ranked in the national top 25.
Roster Breakdown
This season’s LSU Soccer roster features 27 student-athletes, with a mix of returning veterans, newcomers and international talent. The Tigers return a strong core from last season’s historic NCAA Sweet 16 squad while adding a talented group of freshmen and transfers.
The senior class includes fifth-year seniors Kelsey Major and Allie Fryer along with the traditional seniors of Audur Scheving, Emma Alvord, Brielyn Knowles and Ava Galligan. Fryer transferred to LSU this summer after an accomplished four-year career at BYU, where she scored 30 career goals and earned All-Big 12 First Team honors in 2024.
The junior class consists of Amy Smith, Ava Amsden, Annaleigh Bruser, Senai Rogers, Katelyn Holt and Linka Ono.
The sophomore group includes Maud Ferrière, Ryann Denecour, Sariyah Bailey, Lila Jaillet and Rylie Kuyper while Rakel Sigurðardottir, Ryleigh Albin, Alexia Hansen, Ella Kate Johnston, Berglind Hlynsdottir, Ava Villapando, Mia Conard, Jaya Dern, Kylee Rocha, and Marie Pues make up this year’s freshmen class.
Looking Ahead
No. 16 LSU will stay at home to host the next two matches against UCF on Thursday, August 20 and Florida Gulf Coast on Sunday, August 23 before traveling back on the road to face Arizona State and Arizona.
The Tigers will host Baylor to conclude non-conference play before beginning SEC action Sept. 11 against Tennessee.
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