With the men's World Cup beginning on Thursday, it's a perfect time to take a look at the state of the men's and women's soccer programs at the University of Connecticut heading into 2026.

While the temperatures outside this week read into the 90s, it's hard to believe that we are just about two months away from our first fall athletic contests of the year...

The Huskies went 12-5-4 in the 2025 campaign, earning a return trip to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018. It was the 37th NCAA Tournament berth in the program's storied history. The Huskies had a bye in the first round before beating Cornell, but then lost to Maryland in the Round of 16.

Three UConn players (Ayoub Lajhar, Austin Brummett and Kyle Durham) were selected in the MLS SuperDraft and six players were placed on All-Big East teams.

The Huskies are coached by Chris Gbandi, who helped the Huskies win their most recent national championship as a player in 2000. He's headed into his fifth season as head coach.

The Huskies will open up the season on Aug. 20 when they host Syracuse, another regional contender. The Big East season will begin on Sept. 18 with a home match against Seton Hall and will conclude on Nov. 6 with another home match against Georgetown. Georgetown was the No. 1 seed in the Big East tournament a year ago, advancing to the Elite 8.

The UConn also put together an excellent 2025 campaign, going 11-4-3 overall and 7-1-2 inside the Big East. Unfortunately, they didn't make the NCAA Tournament after being beaten by Xavier 7-0 in the Big East tournament. 

The seven wins in league play were the most for UConn since 2007, and the 11 wins marked the third straight double-digit win year.

Three players received All-Big East honors, including first teamers Chioma Okafor and Anaya Johnson. 

Margaret Rodriguez is the head coach of the program, and she's about to enter her ninth year at the helm. She is also a UConn graduate, having graduated in 1999. She helped UConn play in the national title game in 1997.

Aug. 13: at Stony Brook 

Aug. 20: Rutgers

Aug. 23: Boston University

Aug. 27: at Brown

Sept. 6: LIU

Sept. 13: at West Virginia

Sept. 20: at Harvard

Sept. 25: Vermont

Sept. 30: at St. John’s***

Oct. 3: Providence***

Oct. 7: Seton Hall***

Oct. 10: at Xavier***

Oct. 17: DePaul***

Oct. 21: at Creighton***

Oct. 24: at Marquette***

Oct. 28: Butler***

Oct. 31: Georgetown***

Nov. 7: Villanova***

Nov. 11-14: Big East Championship (if qualifies)

Former UConn men's soccer standout Cyle Larin is representing Team Canada at the World Cup. Information on his schedule and how to watch are included here.

Remember to join our UCONN on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other Huskies fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that's free too!