SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Drury women's soccer head coach Justin Olson has announced the Panthers' 2026 schedule, which includes 18 regular-season contests – ten of which will be played at home at the Lake Country Soccer Complex.
 
The season opens with three non-conference matches against Mid-America Intercollegiate Association (MIAA) opponents. Drury opens with Emporia State on August 27 in Springfield. Three days later, the Panthers host Central Missouri before traveling to Topeka, Kansas, to face national semifinalist Washburn on September 2. Drury hosted Emporia State and Washburn to open the 2025 season, beating the Hornets 1-0 and dropping a 3-1 decision to Washburn.
 
The Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) play kicks off on Sept. 5 when Drury travels to Truman State. The GLVC home opener for the Panthers is four days later when they host Illinois Springfield on Sept. 9.
 
Key conference match-ups include a back-to-back road test with Missouri-St. Louis (Sept. 12) and McKendree (Sept. 16). Both the Tritons and Bearcats reached the NCAA Division II National Tournament last season, with UMSL winning the Midwest regional before bowing out in the national quarterfinals. Drury and McKendree met in the GLVC Finals last season with the Panthers outlasting the Bearcats in penalty kicks.
 
The Panthers will step out of conference play on Sept. 23 to host Missouri Western. The Griffons qualified for the national tournament after winning the MIAA Tournament Championship in 2025.
 
Drury wraps up the season with three consecutive matches in Springfield, starting with Maryville (Oct. 17), then ending with Southwest Baptist (Oct. 21) and Lincoln (Oct. 24) in the final week of the regular season.
 
The Panthers' 2026 opponents combined for a 142-122-78 (.529) record last season. Six teams on Drury's schedule: Central Missouri, Washburn, Missouri-St. Louis, McKendree, Missouri Western, and Maryville qualified for the 2025 NCAA Division II Tournament, posting a collective 8-6-2 record in postseason play.
 
The GLVC Tournament is set to begin Nov. 1, with quarterfinal matches hosted by the top four seeds. The national tournament will begin Nov. 12, culminating in the national championship match on Dec. 13 in Kansas City, Missouri.
 
Drury returns two All-GLVC and all-region performers from last season: Katy Fitzler and Anna Harris. Fitzler was the league's goalkeeper of the year last season when she held a 0.57 goals-against average with 93 saves, and a .886 save percentage. Harris anchored the Drury defense that had ten shutouts and recorded two assists.
 
Head coach Justin Olson enters his seventh season at the helm following his second GLVC Tournament title and third national tournament appearance. Olson led the Panthers to their second consecutive national tournament, the first time in program history.
 
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