EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women's Soccer opens its 30^th anniversary year and the 2026 regular season on Thursday at 7 p.m. at Strassweg Field when the Screaming Eagles host Wright State University.
 
Thursday's home match kicks off a three-match homestand for the Screaming Eagles to begin the 2026 campaign. USI will actually start the season with five of its first six matches at Strassweg Field.
 
USI and Wright State are meeting on Thursday for the first time since the 2024 season. The Raiders lead the all-time series 2-0 and won each contest in 2023 and 2024 by a score of 2-1.
 
USI was projected third in the OVC's 2026 Preseason Predicted Order of Finish for its highest projection since joining the conference in 2022.
 
The Screaming Eagles enter the 2026 campaign coming off their best Division I season in 2025. USI went 9-7-5 overall and 4-2-3 in Ohio Valley Conference play a season ago. USI made its deepest run in the OVC Tournament with a trip to the semifinals before coming up short in penalty kicks against the top seed and eventual champions Tennessee Tech University.
 
The stellar 2025 season saw the Screaming Eagles record a program Division I record of nine overall wins and 14 total results, which were the most overall since 2021. Prior to the penalty shootout in the OVC Tournament semifinals, USI recorded its first-ever OVC Tournament wins in the first round and quarterfinals. Additionally, USI totaled 27 goals and posted 10 shutouts, which also rank as a program Division I record, the best overall since 2021, and two shy of the program's overall single-season record. USI ended last season and entered this season on the heels of four straight shutouts, which is two shy of the program's overall record. During the middle of the 2025 season, the Screaming Eagles had a 10-match unbeaten streak, which was the longest for the program since 1998.
 
The 2026 USI squad features 21 returning players, including four starters, and 10 newcomers. The Screaming Eagles bring back just over 42 percent of minutes played, 48 percent of their goal scoring, and 41 percent of their total scoring from 2025.
 
Returning for the Screaming Eagles is junior defender Emma Schut, who was named to the All-OVC Second Team last season. Also returning to USI's backline is sophomore defender Tierney Mullady, who earned OVC All-Newcomer Team accolades in her freshman year. Schut and Mullady helped anchor USI's defensive unit last season with three different stretches of over 300 minutes without allowing a goal to the opposition. Graduate forward Payton Seymour and junior defender Ava Hess are also back in the fold and were named to the OVC's 2026 Preseason Players to Watch List. Senior forward Eva Boer and junior forward Josie Pochocki are USI's top returning scorers from last season, with each tallying eight points off three goals and two assists in 2025.
 
Head Coach Eric Schoenstein heads into his 11^th season at the helm and 13^th overall season on the women's soccer staff. In the previous 10 seasons as head coach of the Screaming Eagles, Schoenstein has tallied an 88-68-35 record.
 
For Wright State, the Raiders come off a 7-7-5 season in 2025 with a 4-1-5 record in the Horizon League, reaching the quarterfinal round of the 2025 Horizon League Championship Tournament. The Raiders were projected sixth in the 2026 Horizon League preseason poll.
 
Wright State's top-returning scorer from last season is senior midfielder Caitlin Burger, who earned All-Horizon League First Team honors in 2025 after totaling a team-high 12 points on a team-best five goals and four assists. Fellow senior midfielder Ruby Dunlevy is also back in the Wright State attack after scoring 11 points on three goals and a team-high five assists. Senior defender Kaitlyn Eyink, an All-Horizon League Third-Team selection a year ago, returns to lead the defensive line for Wright State after making 19 starts and playing 1,486 minutes in 2025.
 
Thursday's match against Wright State can be streamed with a subscription to ESPN+. Fans can also stay up to date on the action by following USI Women's Soccer on X (@usiwsoc).