PITTSBURG - The Pittsburg State University women's soccer team will begin the 2026 season at home with a pair of games at the Gorilla Soccer Pitch.
 
Pitt State will begin the season on Thursday (Aug. 27) at 1:00 p.m. (CDT) against the preseason No. 9 ranked University of Missouri – St. Louis Tritons. To end the weekend, PSU will host East Central University on Sunday (Aug. 30) at 1:00 p.m.
 
Picked to repeat as MIAA champions, Pittsburg State enters the third-year of the Wes Branstetter era with high expectations after making it to the NCAA Division II National Tournament field last fall.
 
Branstetter, the MIAA Coach of the Year in 2025 will have the MIAA Offensive Player of the Year in Carrie Cunningham and seven other Gorillas that earned All-MIAA honors a season ago back.
 
Cunningham finished last season with a team-high three game winning goals, 53 shots and 22 shots on goal on her way to All-Region laurels. Abby Hoffman, was a first-team All-MIAA midfielder after leading the team with five assists in over 1,100 minutes. Jocelyn Kramar, picked up first-team All-MIAA honors as a goalkeeper after finishing with a 0.73 GAA in 1,700 minutes, claiming 49 saves and keeping 10 shutouts in 14 wins. Ella Cazzavillan was a second-team All-MIAA performer as a forward after a five goal freshman season. Livi Jones joines Cazzavillan on the All-MIAA second-team with three goals and two assists as a defender. Mia Hunt was the lone third-team All-MIAA performer for the Gorillas, finishing with four goals and two assists from midfield. Avianna Gonzalez and Adelynn Phipps were honorable mention All-MIAA selections that were defensive stalwarts.
 
Last season, the Gorillas began the 2025 campaign with a 2-0 win in St. Louis, Mo., against UMSL (Sept. 4). Cunningham and Cazzavillan claimed late second half goals, as Kramar picked up the shutout win.
 
Against ECU, Pitt State is 2-0-0 with a 7-1 win in Ada, Okla., last season (Sept. 20) and a 1-0 win in the inaugural home match for the program (Sept. 12) in 2024.
 
The 2025 Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) regular season co-champions, Missouri - St. Louis was ranked ninth in the preseason United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division II Poll. Last fall the Tritons advanced to the NCAA Division II National Tournament, claiming the Midwest Regional title and advancing to the quarterfinal round where they lost to Washburn.
 
Back from the 2025 team that finished 15-5-2 overall and 11-1-2 in the GLVC are five All-GLVC performers. Taylor Martin was the GLVC Defensive Player of the Year, claiming third-team All-American and first-team All-Region laurels a season ago. Karley Kinzinger was a second-team All-GLVC performer as a defender, Josie Maddox claimed second-team All-GLVC honors as a forward, Gwen Maggard rounded out the second-team All-GLVC honorees as a midfielder. Rachel Skyberg rounds out the returning All-Conference performers as a third-team midfielder. Stephen Cavallo was named the GLVC Coach of the Year in his first season leading the program.
 
Maddox led the team with 17 points from six goals and five assists, firing off a team-high 59 shots and 33 shots on goal. Maddie Clark led the team in 2025 with seven assists, adding in four goals, all of which were game winning efforts. Maggard leads the All-GLVC returners with six assists, adding in five goals, going 4-of-4 from penalty kicks. In goal, Allysa Wolf is the lone returner from a season ago. Wolf will be joined by Grace Hastert, Hannah McFarlane and Tyler Pritchett as potential options as a goalkeeper.
 
Picked to finish sixth in the Great American Conference (GAC) Preseason Poll (Aug. 20), East Central is led by second-year head coach Joseph Quiray. In 2025 the Tigers went 1-13-4, going 1-7-4 in conference play.
 
Ximena Resendiz (2^nd) and Emily Cavazos (HM) were All-GAC selections last fall and return in 2026. Resendiz scored two goals last campaign in 1,400 minutes as a defender, while Cavazos in 1,400 minutes scored once. As a team, ECU scored 12 goals on the season (0.67) and allowed 52 (2.89). Against Pittsburg State, the Tigers gave up seven goals to an opponent for the first time since the 2018 season when they lost 7-0 against Southwestern Oklahoma (Sept. 22).