If Thursday, August 14, isn’t marked in your calendar as a national holiday it should be. The kickoff for the 2025 women’s soccer season comes with a jam-packed schedule of games and a built-in excuse to not move from your couch for the entire afternoon. With over 100 games of action, there are almost too many to choose from, but here’s five that should be on your calendar.

Ohio State v. Clemson

Nothing screams interesting like a matchup between a ranked team and a team that wants to be ranked. Fans can see it kickoff at 6:00pm. Ohio St. has been consistent in their mid-ranking and quality soccer. The Buckeyes have been consistently ranked in the top 25 The past few years, hovering around number 20. Clemson tasted the College Cup and immediately fell from grace.

Should Ohio St appear in the dictionary next to consistency? The Buckeyes have posted season averages of .674, .526, and .625 dating back to 2024. This matchup will provide an early test of their consistency this year as the Buckeyes look to score an early win against a historically good program. A win against Clemson might say more about the Tigers than it does about the Buckeyes: are the Tigers still in free fall? Or can they manage to be competitive?. However, a commanding win will put Ohio St. on the front foot for the season and an ACC win never hurts when it comes to resume building.

Clemson has looked alright in preseason, tying Alabama 2-2. There was no reported score for their August 9 exhibition match against Tennessee. How the Tigers respond to last year and what they look like in their opening game will give clues to the season. The thing to watch here is the response rate, especially if Ohio St. gets on the board first. Clemson’s offense is less of a question mark than their defense, so watch the backline for clues on how the comeback season will go.

Auburn v. Louisville

With both Auburn and Louisville going into the season unranked, this is a matchup designed to test the strength of women’s college soccer overall. It’s also a 6:30pm kickoff, easy to flip to during halftime of the 6:00pm slate.

Louisville finished 12th in the ACC and just a smidge above .500. Auburn is a tough first test that should show rather quickly where the weak points are for Louisville. For the Cardinals, confidence and grit matter more than style, though they certainly wouldn’t turn style and flash down in their opener. This matchup is all about seeing how good the middle of the pack looks like.

Auburn started last season off with a rout of then #5 Clemson en route to a 10 game unbeaten streak. This year, the Tigers will want to duplicate that success and find a way to carry it into the post season, where they faltered last year. What exactly went wrong is hard to pin down. A micro collapse on defense? The goals drying up? Or simply not being holistically strong enough to advance further. The defense has been strong, so watch the offense, especially in the second half, to see how the team adjusts their in game strategy.

Minnesota v. BYU

End a full slate of Thursday action with #24 Minnesota squaring off against unranked BYU at 8:00pm. BYU has a pedigree and their opening game should be a statement after a lackluster season. Minnesota will be looking to make a statement early, proving that last year was the norm, not just an exceptionally good season.

With 14 returners who have Sweet Sixteen experience, the Gophers are looking to build, not restart. Minnesota has four transfers and nine incoming freshmen, providing plenty of new look options to complement an experienced core. An opening win against BYU is the Gophers chance to state that this is business as usual, not a one off dream season.

Last season was a disappointment to the Cougars, never quite finding their offense or their groove. This year should be, could be different. Half the battle will be putting the disappointment of last year behind them. The big question to look for with this matchup is how the Cougars handle frustration and if their troubleshooting looks different from last year. W hat answers have they found in the offseason?

Allie Fryer was BYU's most creative force last season, picking up 11 goals as well as two assists for the 2024 season

Arizona v UC Irvine

Sunday’s slate of can’t-miss action includes a 12:30pm matchup between Arizona and UC Irvine. Consider this a battle of the bubbles.

Arizona found hardnosed success at the start of the year, making waves for their defensive structure and poise, before falling off the radar at the end. This year, they’ll be searching for a return to the NCAA tournament and consistency. More goal scoring is likely on the agenda as well, searching for a way to turn defense into transition offense. UC Irvine isn’t the toughest test on Arizona’s schedule but a win here sets the tone.

Arizona returns Narissa Fults as an experienced senior, who scored 4 goals and added 3 assists in 2024. Crucially, she ended the season on a high scoring 3 consecutive goals in the final 3 games

It wasn’t that long ago that UC Irvine downed #1 UCLA and then #8 Gonzaga in the 2023 NCAA tournament. Last year, the Anteaters had none of that success, losing in the first round of the Big West Conference. Now, having experienced an up year and a down year, the Anteaters will be looking for their mean. Testing themselves against a similarly defensive minded team will give UC Irvine a chance to test their attack’s creativity and problem solving–something they’ll need all season long.

Arkansas v. Notre Dame

There’s a heavyweight matchup to end the weekend: #6 Arkansas faces off against #2 Notre Dame at 5:30pm on the SEC Network. The match is an early test of who’s ready right out of the gate and also how close the top of the rankings actually are.

Last season, Arkansas cruised to a second place finish in the SEC, losing only one game in the regular season. The Razorbacks bowed out of the SEC tournament in the semifinals and lost to Stanford on PKs in the third round of the NCAA tournament. And, with 71 goals last year, Arkansas looked unstoppable on offense. Opponents scored just 14 goals against the Razorbacks. Now ranked just about Stanford and with one of the hardest schedules, Arkansas will look to put the pieces together a little tighter this year. Having been active in the transfer portal, the Razorbacks are looking to make an immediate improvement from last year, looking to either score 72 goals or limit teams to just 13–the margins are that small.

Izzy Engle was named the ACC Freshman of the year last season, after a prolific 19 goal season for the Fighting Irish

Notre Dame, on the other hand, comes in at #2 on the preseason poll and returns 2024 ACC Freshman of the Year Izzy Engle. With 19 goals last season, Engle defined herself as one of the best strikers in the college game. Now, with a year of experience under her belt, the question becomes: have defenses figured out how to stop her with a year of film? Or has Engle evolved her game enough to remain unstoppable and incredibly dangerous. Perhaps more interesting: has Notre Dame found the depth and defensive pieces to complement Engle and challenge for the top spot in the ACC?