COMMERCE – East Texas A&M University has announced the full schedule for the 2026 season on Thursday morning.
Entering the fifth season under the leadership of coach
Ashley Gordon, the Lions play an 18-match regular season schedule culminating in the Southland Conference Tournament held at the Lion Soccer Field on November 10-15.
"We intentionally built a non-conference schedule that will challenge our team and expose us to a high level of competition before we enter Southland Conference play," said Gordon.
"We're also pleased with the conference schedule format, which provides an extra week in the calendar, allowing for better recovery and more training days. That balance between competition, preparation, and recovery will be valuable for our team throughout the year."
Season tickets are now on sale for the 2026 Lion Soccer season. Fans can get access to all nine regular season home matches for just $40 by buying their season tickets now at
LionAthletics.com/tickets.
Before beginning the regular season, the Lions host Navarro College for an exhibition match on August 5 at 11 a.m. and then play at Little Rock on August 7.
For the first time since the 2022 season, East Texas A&M begins its season on the road as the Lions head to Grambling on August 13. The Lions and the Tigers are playing for the third straight season with East Texas A&M being 1-0-1.
The first home match of the season comes on August 16 against Oklahoma at 7 p.m., marking the first time the Lions are hosting a SEC opponent at the Lion Soccer Field in the Division I era. East Texas A&M played at Oklahoma last season for the first ever meeting between the two teams.
The Lions then host Louisiana on August 20 for the first ever meeting between the two teams at 7 p.m.
A two-match road swing comes next at Texas State on August 27, playing the Bobcats for the first time in San Marcos and second time overall and then at Abilene Christian on August 30. The Lions beat the Wildcats, 1-0, in Commerce last season, which was the first meeting in the Division I era and 10
th overall.
On September 3, the Lions host UTSA at 7 p.m. which is the fourth meeting between the two programs over the last five seasons. The Lions then play at Tulsa on September 6, taking on the Golden Hurricane for the fourth year in a row.
Non-conference play closes out against Alabama A&M on September 10, which marks the first ever meeting between the two programs.
The Lions' Southland schedule remains the same as announced earlier this year. East Texas A&M plays at UIW (September 17), Northwestern State (October 8), Nicholls (October 11), HCU (October 22), and at UTRGV (November 1) on the road, while hosting Southeastern La. (Sept. 24), Lamar (Oct. 1), A&M-Corpus Christi (Oct. 15), McNeese (Oct. 25), and SFA (Nov. 5).
The home match against Southeastern La. on September 24 will be the annual Hispanic Heritage Night.
The winner of the Southland Conference Tournament on November 10-15 receives an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament, which begins on November 20. The 2026 NCAA Women's College Cup is set for December 11-14 in Cary, North Carolina.
2026 LION SOCCER SCHEDULE
| DATE |
OPPONENT |
SITE |
TIME |
| AUG. 5 |
NAVARRO COLLEGEEXH |
COMMERCE |
11 A.M. |
| Aug. 7 |
at Little RockEXH |
Little Rock, Ark. |
6 p.m. |
| Aug. 13 |
at Grambling |
Grambling, La. |
6 p.m. |
| AUG. 16 |
OKLAHOMA |
COMMERCE |
7 P.M. |
| AUG. 20 |
LOUISIANA |
COMMERCE |
7 P.M. |
| Aug. 27 |
at Texas State |
San Marcos |
7:30 p.m. |
| Aug. 30 |
at Abilene Christian |
Abilene |
1 p.m. |
| SEPT. 3 |
UTSA |
COMMERCE |
7 P.M. |
| Sept. 6 |
at Tulsa |
Tulsa, Okla. |
1 p.m. |
| SEPT. 10 |
ALABAMA A&M |
COMMERCE |
7 P.M. |
| Sept. 17 |
at UIWSLC |
San Antonio |
7 p.m. |
| SEPT. 24 |
SOUTHEASTERN LA.SLC |
COMMERCE |
7 P.M. |
| OCT. 1 |
LAMARSLC |
COMMERCE |
7:30 P.M. |
| Oct. 8 |
at Northwestern StateSLC |
Natchitoches, La. |
6 p.m. |
| Oct. 11 |
at NichollsSLC |
Thibodaux, La. |
1 p.m. |
| OCT. 15 |
A&M-CORPUS CHRISTISLC |
COMMERCE |
7 P.M. |
| Oct. 22 |
at HCUSLC |
Houston |
6:30 p.m. |
| OCT. 25 |
MCNEESESLC |
COMMERCE |
1 P.M. |
| Nov. 1 |
at UTRGVSLC |
Edinburg |
Noon |
| NOV. 5 |
SFASLC |
COMMERCE |
7 P.M. |
| Nov. 10-15 |
SLC Tournament |
Commerce |
TBA |
| Nov. 20-22 |
NCAA Tournament-First Round |
Campus Sites |
TBA |
| Nov. 27-29 |
NCAA Tournament-Second & Third Round |
Campus Sites |
TBA |
| Dec. 4-6 |
NCAA Tournament-Quarterfinals |
Campus Sites |
TBA |
| Dec. 11-14 |
NCAA Women's College Cup |
Cary, N.C. |
TBA |
-ETAMU-
