Volume II | Issue II
Over 400 games across the country are in the books already with nearly 800 on the schedule for this month alone across the nation. Though out the first 400 collective games completed to this point, we seen numerous top 25 showdowns, along with some stellar performances already.
The second edition of NAIA Women’s Soccer players of the week were released on Tuesday with two great performances
The latest Coaches’ Top 25 poll was released last week Wednesday and everyone was on the move. The second regular season Coaches’ Top 25 will be released on Wednesday, Sept. 16. Until then, check out the latest poll at the link below!
Ashlyn Fuss is a name you may recognize from earlier this week when she was tabbed as the PrestoSports-NAIA Women’s Soccer Defensive Player of the Week. The 5-9 freshman goalkeeper from Boise, Idaho made a statement in her third career game as a Raider, putting up a performance that has been unseen from a Raider since the 2002 season. Even more so, she did it on the road against the No. 3 ranked team in the nation.
Fuss’ 18 saves against No. 3 Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) had SOU escaping Prescott, Ariz. with a 0-0 draw as it marked the first shutout for ERAU over 17 regular season contests, dating back to last year against Science & Arts (Okla.) on September 6.
Furthermore, Fuss was three saves shy of matching the school record set back in 2001 by Emily Schifferling during the Raiders match against Chico State on September 2.
How did the featured matches from Issue I of the notebook for the 2026 season play out? Well, the week kicked off with Southeastern (Fla.) arriving to Olathe, Kansas ready to play against MidAmerican Nazarene (Kan.). The Fire took a 1-0 advantage into halftime, but the Pioneers came out in the second half and put two away within six minutes of each other as they carries the one goal lead through the final whistle.
Truett McConnell (Ga.) traveled north to Cumberlands (Ky.) in what was a classic top 10 showdown at the time with TMU being ranked No. 8 and UC at No. 2 when the match was played. Neither team was able to find the back of the net in the first half as they reached the break at 0-0. In the 54th minute, the Patriots found the first goal of the game from Abigail Little, but the lead was short lived as Erin Ward found Peyton Brooks in the 70th minutes knotting the game back up at 1-1. the game winning goal came in the 83rd minute for UC as Laura Bosca connected with Letizia Traversone in the final goal of the game to pick up a solid 2-1 victory.
Indiana Wesleyan held off Science & Arts (Okla.) in Marion, Ind. after an unassisted goal from the Wildcats Alyssa Hamann in the 23rd minutes. The two sides were nearly equal all game as both teams combined for 10 shots and four corners.
Out west, College of Idaho and The Master’s (Calif.) found themselves in a second half shootout after the Yotes took a 1-0 lead into the break. TMU scored the equalizer shortly after the start of the second half as Breanna Fajardo found Autumn Heeb in the 47th minute. Shaelyn Olsen and Rylee Russell put away back-to-back scores giving CI a 3-1 lead by the 84th minute, but The Master’s wasn’t done quite yet, just before the final whistle, they were able to sneak one in from Fajardo.
The Knights of Marian (Ind.) picked up their first ranked win of the year against Science & Arts who at the time was ranked No. 20. Sammie King put the game winning goal away in the 35th minute before picking up her second goal of the game in the 86th. Olivia Parmer jumped in on the scoring action as well in the 51st minute giving the Knights a convincing 3-0 victory over the Drovers. Marian wasn’t afraid to shoot in that game either, taking a total of 14 shots with nine on frame.
Then the highlight match of the first issue; a top five bout between the visiting Patriots of Cumberlands and the Knights of Marian. The potent offense that MU displayed just a few day earlier was still present against at the time No. 2 UC with a 14-8 shot differential and 11-5 advantage in corners during the match. Both goalkeepers were called upon multiple times as Morgan White for UC made five saves and Lily Ames made two as.
Outside of the featured matches, there were tons of other great matches played, as teams continue to settle in for a new season and iron out the early season kinks. The hottest team so far in offensive output has been New College of Florida, through five games, they have scored 43 total goals with an average of 8.60 per game so far. With over 41.20 shots on goal per game, they’ve been locked in putting on average .510 of them on goal.
We have more featured matches to watch on deck for the next two weeks as well with even more great duels that aren’t listed here. to see the full schedule of matches along with links to follow along, be sure to click the button below!
Over the next two weeks, we are in for some fantastic matches across the nation with top 25 battles continuing, the highlight of all featured matches will be No. 2 Keiser (Fla.) traveling north to Williamsburg, Ky. for a duel with No. 1 Cumberlands (Ky.) on Saturday, Sept 12. Kick off between these top two teams is set for 7 p.m. ET.
Thursday, Sept. 10 at 4:30 p.m. ET
Neutral Site in Williamsburg, Ky.
Friday, Sept. 11 at 5 p.m. ET
Saturday, Sept. 12 at 7 p.m. ET
Saturday, Sept. 12 at 7 p.m. CT
Wednesday, Sept. 16 at 5 p.m. CT
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