2026 Schedules

[jknezek]

W&L women's soccer team lists Batten for VWU. I had to look at it a few times to figure it out. That's going to take some getting used to. Men's soccer still had it listed as VWU. Could not figure out who Batten was and why it was listed as an ODAC game until I looked at the location.

Yes, I know VWU rebranded, I just wasn't thinking about it and it kind of shocked me.

[Kuiper]

Some NESCAC schedules

Williams

NESCAC teams often start playing conference games early in the season, even from Opening Day, but I don't think I've see a team play three straight NESCAC games to start the season (Bates, Hamilton, and Trinity).  On the other hand, Williams started last season with Wheaton (MA) and then played Tufts (which it beat 3-1!), Hamilton, and Amherst, so this year looks quite a bit less intimidating (especially given how good Wheaton turned out to be last year). In terms of non-conference games, Williams trades Union and Western Connecticut (which it tied 3-3), for Gordon and Hartford.  Starting the season with some of the lower NESCAC teams may come back to bit them in 2026 since they end with Wesleyan, Tufts, and Middlebury.

Middlebury

Middlebury trades out Bridgewater State, St. Lawrence, Thomas, and Vassar for the US Merchant Marine Academy, Endicott, RPI, and Maine Maritime Academy.  I would say that's a downgrade, but St. Lawrence turned out to be a down year and they beat Vassar 4-2, while Endicott is capable of rising to the occasion (including tying Wheaton last season) and USMMA went 12-4-3 last season, while RPI is probably due for a turnaround.  One conference advantage for Middlebury is that they don't have a two NESCAC game weekend.

[Kuiper]

Denison

Denison has had some fun schedules in recent years and this is no exception.  They seem to have made it a tradition to pair with Kenyon and bring in a couple of geographically interesting opponents.  This year is no exception with Occidental and Pomona-Pitzer visiting on the second weekend of the season.  I'm not sure either team is likely to give Denison a serious challenge, but with Oxy coming off games against Trinity (TX) on 9/6 at Claremont, @Kenyon on 9/11, they will either be riding a wave of momentum and playing at mid-season form in physicality and speed of play or they will be battered and bruised by the time they play @Denison on 9/13.  I'm betting the latter.  The toughest non-conference game for Denison might be Otterbein on 9/16, which tied Denison last season 3-3.

Kenyon

Not only does Kenyon play the same Oxy-Pomona-Pitzer swing as Denison, but they also play Hanover right after Denison.  Kenyon's biggest test might be the first game of the season against Ohio Northern, a team that tied Kenyon last season and usually starts out well against tough non-conference opponents.

[SKUD]

Some NESCAC schedules

Williams

NESCAC teams often start playing conference games early in the season, even from Opening Day, but I don't think I've see a team play three straight NESCAC games to start the season (Bates, Hamilton, and Trinity).  On the other hand, Williams started last season with Wheaton (MA) and then played Tufts (which it beat 3-1!), Hamilton, and Amherst, so this year looks quite a bit less intimidating (especially given how good Wheaton turned out to be last year). In terms of non-conference games, Williams trades Union and Western Connecticut (which it tied 3-3), for Gordon and Hartford.  Starting the season with some of the lower NESCAC teams may come back to bit them in 2026 since they end with Wesleyan, Tufts, and Middlebury.

Middlebury

Middlebury trades out Bridgewater State, St. Lawrence, Thomas, and Vassar for the US Merchant Marine Academy, Endicott, RPI, and Maine Maritime Academy.  I would say that's a downgrade, but St. Lawrence turned out to be a down year and they beat Vassar 4-2, while Endicott is capable of rising to the occasion (including tying Wheaton last season) and USMMA went 12-4-3 last season, while RPI is probably due for a turnaround.  One conference advantage for Middlebury is that they don't have a two NESCAC game weekend.

Do these teams look like they are running away from quality OOC games vs years past? I think we are seeing NPI at work here.  Why challenge OOC when you will have the SOS from conf games?

[Kuiper]

Some NWC schedules

Pacific Lutheran

Pacific Lutheran is trying to rebound from a disappointing season, at least by their standards, where they fniished 13-4-3, but failed to qualify for the tournament after losing to Whitman at home in the last regular season game.  The season got off to a bad start when the team lost its first three non-conference games, only beating UC Santa Cruz.  In 2026, PLU returns most of its key contributors and has an ambitious non-conference schedule again, hosting Chapman and Lake Forest and then traveling to Illinois to take on North Park and Wheaton (Ill), who they lost to at home in 2025 2-1.

Whitman

Whitman follows up its NWC championship season and NCAA tournament appearance with a cross-country trip to Virginia to take on Marymount and Mary Washington.  Then they host UC Santa Cruz and Mary Hardin-Baylor.  None of those are easy games, especially with Whitman losing first team All Region X forward Lucas McAllister and defender Adrian Valencia, but if Whitman and Pacific Lutheran can win all of those non-conference games, it could boost their NPI points enough to give the NWC two possible slots in the tournament.

[Kuiper]

Macalester

Very strong non-conference schedule:

@Wisconsin-Platteville
@Luther
Wartburg
@Wisconsin-Whitewater
@Wisconsin Eau-Claire
Wisconsin-Superior

The only school in the group not to have a winning record last season was Wartburg and they were 8-8-2 and lost to Luther in the ARC Championship game.  Plus, few schools play that many away non-conference games.

Carleton

Not a horrible season, but definitely a below average one in which they didn't even make the MIAC conference tournament and lost pretty handily to some of the top teams in the conference.  This year, UC Santa Cruz and Grinnell pay return visits and they add Wisconsin-Eau Claire and subtract Lincoln (CA), which is a big upgrade.