Men’s Soccer announces strong 2026 slate
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman men’s soccer head coach Stephen Lyons has officially announced the team’s schedule for the 2026 season.
VIDEO: Stephen Lyons Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman men's soccer head coach Stephen Lyons has officially announced the team's schedule for the 2026 season.
The 15-game schedule features eight on the road and seven at home. Nine of those opponents were .500 or better this past season and three of them made the NCAA Tournament.
A trip to the Sunshine State begins C-N's 2026 season. The season opener is set for August 27th at Nova Southeastern. NSU and C-N will meet for just the fourth time and the first since 2012. Two days later, the Eagles will stay near Fort Lauderdale, Florida to play another SSC foe, Palm Beach Atlantic. The Sunshine Conference Champions were Super Region 2's top-seed in 2025 and finished the year 13-3-2. The matchup with the Sailfish will be the first-ever meeting.
"Really good tests for us to open the season," Carson-Newman head coach Stephen Lyons said. "Important that we come in ready to play the best opponents. That's hopefully going to prepare us going into conference play. It'll be a good little trip for us on the road, very excited about it and to see how the new guys perform as well."
The Florida trip is followed by the home opener versus Trevecca Nazarene on September 2nd. The second and final home non-conference affair is with Alabama Huntsville on Sept 8th. The final non-conference game is a road match with Belmont Abbey on Sept 23rd. The Crusaders are back on C-N's schedule for the first time since the February 2021 spring season.
"Those will be really good opponents to test ourselves, especially against different styles of play," Lyons said. "Returning with Alabama Huntsville and Trevecca Nazarene, playing them both last year. It's all about exposing the guys to different styles and different levels of competition because we know going into conference play we are going to see that and we need to be prepared for it."
At no point during the 2026 season will Carson-Newman play more than two consecutive home or away matches. Three of the first four matches are on the road, while three of the final four are at home. There are four occasions in which the Eagles will have at least six days off between games.
September 5th is C-N's South Atlantic Conference opener, a visit to Lenoir-Rhyne. Other road matches in league play are with Anderson, Emory & Henry, Tusculum and Catawba. Home tilts are scheduled with Newberry, Mars Hill, Coker, Wingate and Lincoln Memorial. The regular season finale clash with LMU on October 28th is the only time the Eagles host a conference match on a weekday.
"This conference is so competitive," Lyons said. "Obviously, Anderson won the regular season last year and there were probably three or four other teams that could've been there and that's the same every year. We just have to focus on ourselves and making sure that we are putting out our best performances."
All of Carson-Newman home games will be available on the Eagle Sports Network on FloSports with a subscription. Road conference games will also be streamed on FloSports as well.
