Indiana women’s soccer heads on the road Wednesday for the first time in its 2026 season, taking on Xavier University at 6:30 p.m in Cincinnati, Ohio. The two teams last met September 2025, in a Bloomington game ending in a 2-2 draw.
The road trip follows a 2-0-1 homestand for Indiana. The Hoosiers began their strong season start with two dominant games. It seemed the team would win their third and final game against Bellarmine University in the opening homestand series until a handball in the penalty box gave the Knights an opportunity for a goal in the 89th minute of Friday’s game, tying the teams. Coach Rife expressed postgame his disappointment to leave Friday’s match with a draw.
“The day’s done,” Rife said postgame. “It’s not where we want to be or the standard it needs to be, but we don’t have a choice. The challenge for the girls is: What do we do next? How do we respond?”
The Hoosiers will travel to take on the Musketeers, who opened the season receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches poll but faltered in an opening day loss to fellow Big Ten school Michigan State 2-0 in East Lansing, Michigan.
Xavier won their next match against Miami University with freshman forward Kieran Bradley coming off the bench and notching a goal in each half to propel Xavier to a 3-0 win, while tallying just 22 minutes on the pitch.
Their next match, against another Big Ten opponent, Michigan, was ruled a no-contest after being canceled due to inclement weather. The delay occurred 58 minutes into the game, with Xavier losing to Michigan 6-0. Now with a 1-1-0 record this season, Xavier welcomes Indiana to Corcoran Field in Cincinnati.
In last season’s match against Xavier, Indiana was outshot 20-3, but a two-goal game from Indiana standout then-freshman defender Grace Hamm was all Indiana needed to remain undefeated at home, a streak that lasted until a final match loss to Iowa University.
Now, in Rife’s second year and Xavier head coach Katy Etelman’s first season at the helm, the rematch willtake place away from Bill Armstrong Stadium. The Hoosiers have seen far less success historically away from Bloomington, owning a 2-3-0 record when playing at Xavier and a 7-0-1 mark at home.
Despite that history, Rife said he enjoys the focus that comes with playing away from home.
“I enjoyed going on the road because I felt there were fewer distractions,” Rife said. “You get to focus on the game, and you’re not worried about things going on back home.”
Rife said the change in location will not determine the result. Instead, he said, Indiana’s success will depend on its ability to control the match on the field and capitalize on the opportunities it creates.
“The difference will not be that we’re on the road,” Rife said. “The difference is going to be what we do when we’re on the field.”
Indiana will face Xavier at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday at Corcoran Field in Cincinnati. The match will be streamed on XAVIER+.
Follow reporters Will Kwiatkowski (@WKwiatkowski_15 and wdkwiatk@iu.edu) and Leonardo Vesperini (@leovmedia and lvesperi@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana women’s soccer season.
