EVANSTON, Ill. – Northwestern women’s soccer begins the 33rd season in school history with an early-season challenge at No. 11 Virginia on Wednesday night. Kickoff from Charlottesville is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT on ACCNX.
NU has won four-straight season openers, all on the road, dating back to 2022. The ‘Cats have outscored opponents 11-3 over those four contests. Wednesday night will mark the sixth-consecutive season that Northwestern opens the year away from Evanston. The Wildcats are 20-10-2 all-time in season openers. Since 2022, NU’s 21 regular-season non-conference wins rank second-most amongst Big Ten teams, trailing only UCLA (23).
Northwestern returns 76.6% of its games started, 75.2% of its minutes played, 76.9% of its goals scored, 82.8% of its assists and 79.0% of its points from its 2025 team that secured the eighth NCAA Tournament berth in program history.
Junior forward Kennedy Roesch was named to the 2026 United Soccer Coaches Players to Watch List ahead of the season. Roesch led all 'Cats and ranked third in the Big Ten with 10 goals and 23 points in 2025. Her 16 goals are the most by a Wildcat over a two-year span since Addie Steiner in 2014-15 (17) and most by an NU underclassman since Kelsey Hans in 2004-05 (21).
Year 3️⃣ Loading ⏳
— Northwestern Soccer (@NUWSoccer) August 10, 2026
Kennedy Roesch has been named a United Soccer Coaches Player to Watch! pic.twitter.com/yBpCJwFEip
Sophomore goalkeeper Nyamma Nelson returns after a breakout rookie season. Nelson ranked second in the Big Ten and 14th nationally with 10 shutouts on the 2025 campaign. Her 10 clean sheets in 2025 are the fourth-most in school history and the most by a first-year goalkeeper in school history.
Sophomore midfielder Keira Kemmerley, senior forward Megan Norkett and Roesch were named to the 2026 Big Ten Women’s Soccer Players to Watch List.
Northwestern welcomed a seven-player first-year class in the offseason, adding Camryn Freeman, Kayla Kamdem, Naomi Lofthouse, Elle Phillips, Kadance Radwanski Balogh, Amber Weaver and Gwen Zimmerman to the roster.
Virginia leads the all-time series 2-0, with both meetings coming in Charlottesville. The two sides last faced off in 2024, a 2-0 win for the Cavaliers.
In 2025, UVA went 14-3-5, earning a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament before bowing out in the Round of 16. The Cavaliers return All-Region selection Victoria Safradin at goalkeeper and ACC All-Freshman honorees forward/midfielder Addison Halpern and defender Liv Rademaker.
The Wildcats return home to Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium for their home opener on Wednesday, Aug. 20, hosting Syracuse at 7 p.m. CT on the lakefront.