Opening Whistle
For the second time under coach Mark Sappington, the Vikings will open the season with consecutive road games, starting with Kent State on Thursday, August 13, followed by Eastern Kentucky on Sunday, August 16.

Season Openers
This is the third straight year and the sixth in the last eight seasons that the Green and White have started with Kent State. Cleveland State last won a season opener in 2018, defeating Howard at home in overtime, 2-1.

Series History Against Kent State
Cleveland State and Kent State will meet for the 20th time, with the Golden Flashes holding a 14-2-3 advantage. The last three contests have gone in favor of Kent State, including a 1-0-win last season on Krenzler Field. The Vikings last won in 2017 on the road 2-1, and the most recent positive result came in 2022 via a 1-1 draw on the road.

About the Flashes
Kent State is coming off an 8-6-6 season with a MAC conference record of 6-4-3. The Flashes have won their last three season openers and return midfielder, Samantha Miller, who led the team in goals (4), assists (4), and points (12). Forward, Josie Morgan is also back, who had four goals. Leah Shaffer is back in net after putting up six shutouts last season.

About the Colonels
Eastern Kentucky opens the season on Wednesday, August 12 at the University of Cincinnati. EKU was picked to finish atop the UAC Preseason Poll and had six players receive Preseason All-UAC honors after going 10-4-5 last season. The team returns Chiara Premoli who was named on the United Soccer Coaches 2026 NCAA D-1 Midfielders Watch List, along with goalkeeper Jordan LeVasseur who was added to the Goalkeepers to Watch List.
 
Series History With EKU
This will be fifth meeting between these two teams with the Vikings holding a 3-1-0 advantage. These two teams last met in Richmond in 2015 with the Green and White coming away with the 2-1 victory.

A Look Back at Last Season
The Vikings are coming off a 4-6-7 overall season in which the team went 1-3-6 in Horizon League matches. The Green and White had a strong month of September with a 2-2-4 overall record which was highlighted by a five-match unbeaten streak.

Returning Players/Newcomers
Cleveland State returns 17 players from last season to go along with eight freshman and one transfer. Cortlyn Hefty is the top goal scorer back with four braces, all of which came in league games. Ryleigh Alcala is the top assist man back after contribution two a season ago. Hayleigh Lewis is back in goal after making 65 saves to go along with four shutouts.

Milestone Watch
Hayleigh Lewis begins the season with the ninth most saves in program history (65) and sixth most shutouts (4).

Meet Your Captains
Olivia Cruz and Cortlyn Hefty will serve as the team captains for the 2026 season.

Preseason Poll
Cleveland State was chosen to finish ninth in the Horizon League Preseason Poll with 57 points. Milwaukee took the top spot with 142 points, NKU was second with 119 points, and YSU in third with 103 points.

Up Next
Cleveland State takes to Krenzler Field for the first time this season on Thursday, August 20 against Duquesne at 7 p.m.