Women’s soccer looks to turn the page in 2026 after finishing 2025 with an overall record of 6-11-3 and a 2-5-3 record in conference. In the Cats’ first two games this season, they beat Jackson State on the road 3-1 and before falling to New Mexico State at home 1-0.

Looking back, last season ended with a 0-7 loss to Utah Valley in the first round of the Western Athletic Conference postseason tournament. Despite that, the Wildcats embrace many changes in 2026, adding 15 new players, five new coaches and a new conference.

Head Coach Stephen Salas enters his fourth season with the Wildcats, saying he’s more hopeful about this group than any other before.

“This is the most talented group that we’ve had at this institution,” Salas said.

Among this new group is captain Aliyah Anderson, graduate student forward from Phoenix, Arizona, who will be joining her team back on the field after missing all of last season with a long-term injury.

Anderson set the tone on the road for her teammates by scoring one of the Wildcats’ three goals against Jackson State. The victory also marked a major turnaround from last season, when the team went just 1-10-1 on the road, providing a strong start to the new season.

“It’s definitely better to start off in the winning category; we are the only team in our conference to do that,” Anderson said. “So I think that sets the standard for where we can build from, moving into the rest of the season. We saw that we can score goals, fight and play defense; putting all of those pieces together against a better opponent will be fun to see.”

In addition to the new roster, one of the big changes underway for the program includes the move to the United Athletic Conference this season.

The change brings in six new teams, including Little Rock, North Alabama, Eastern Kentucky, West Georgia, Austin Peay and Central Arkansas. Also, among the teams departing were Utah Valley, California Baptist, Utah Tech and Southern Utah.

Rather than being intimidated, Salas and his team are embracing the opportunity for a new start.

“The big thing is we’re a lot deeper this year,” Salas said. “We are able to do more things within our system and style of play that we weren’t able to do before. The WAC was really tough, but so will the UAC, but we’re gonna compete.”

The Wildcats were picked fourth in the UAC Preseason Coaches Poll, but their goal remains to make their mark in the new conference.

“We feel really good about this season, having a goal of winning the conference,” Salas said.