LAKELAND, Fla. — The reigning Sun Conference regular-season and tournament champion Southeastern University women's soccer program has finalized its schedule for the 2026 campaign. The 17-game slate features eight home matches at the SEU Soccer Field in Lakeland, highlighted by five contests against programs ranked in the NAIA Top 25.
The Fire enter their second season under head coach
Skelly Kellar, who earned 2025 Sun Conference Coach of the Year honors after leading Southeastern to a championship in his first year at the helm. Southeastern returns a veteran core, including top attackers
Olivia Hadad and
Sara Irurozki, who co-led the Fire offense with 10 goals each last season.
Southeastern officially opens the regular season at home on Thursday, August 20, hosting Webber International at 7 p.m in a non conference setting. Following the opener, the Fire embark on a rigorous non-conference road trip to face consecutive national powers: No. 6 Missouri Valley on August 24 in Marshall, Missouri, and No. 16 MidAmerica Nazarene two days later in Olathe, Kansas.
The non-conference schedule also features ranked home matches against No. 8 Truett McConnell University on August 31 and No. 22 Georgia Gwinnett College (Sept. 24).
Sun Conference play is highlighted by a highly anticipated postseason rematch on Wednesday, October 14, when the Fire host the reigning NAIA National Champion, No. 1 Keiser, in Lakeland. Southeastern defeated Keiser 3-2 in last year's Sun Conference Tournament final. The regular season concludes at home on Wednesday, October 28, against St. Thomas.
"SEU is an amazing place, and to be a part of the women's soccer team is something special," said Kellar. "Last year was a great year with a remarkable group. Winning championships is always our goal, but with every new season, the new group has to prove who they are and earn everything they get. We can't become complacent or think we've arrived. We have a strong, experienced group returning, and I'm excited about what our incoming class will bring as we continue to build. Our goal is to become a team that is determined, competitive, united, and selfless! If we can do that, I think we can do something really special!"
The Sun Conference Tournament begins with opening-round matches on campus sites on Wednesday, November 4, and concludes with the championship on November 11. The NAIA National Championship opens with the First and Second Rounds on November 19-21, while the final site of the 43rd NAIA Women's Soccer National Championship will be held November 30 through December 7 at Jack Allen Sports Complex in Decatur, Alabama. The championship match is scheduled for December 7.
