No. 19 Georgia Opens 2026 Season at Illinois

Thursday, August 13

Champaign, Ill.

7 p.m.

University of Georgia

Illinois

The Georgia soccer team huddles before its exhibition against Auburn on August 5.

Photo by: Conor Dillon/UGAAA

August 11, 2026 | Soccer

Match Notes

#19/25 Georgia (0-0, 0-0 SEC) at Illinois (0-0, 0-0 Big Ten)
Date: Thursday, Aug. 13
Time: 7 p.m. EDT
Location: Champaign, Ill.
Site: Demirjian Park

MEDIA INFORMATION
Streaming: B1G+ [$] (Scott Sudikoff, PxP / Jenna Clemmons, Analyst)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
X: @UGASoccer
Instagram: @UGASoccer

Social Media: For complete information on Georgia soccer, follow the team on its social media channels via @UGASoccer on X, Facebook, and Instagram.

INSIDE THE SERIES
Overall: Tied, 1-1
In Athens: Tied, 1-1
In Champaign: First Meeting
Last Meeting: UGA – W, 2-0 (Sept. 5, 2024 – Athens, Ga.)
Current Streak: UGA, W1
GF / GA: 3 / 2

QUICK KICKS
Opening Night
No. 19 Georgia opens its 32nd season of soccer with a contest at Illinois, the ninth season-opening road date in program history. The Bulldogs hold a 16-9-6 mark in season openings but are looking for their first victory since 2022. This is the third all-time meeting between Georgia and Illinois, with the previous two coming in Athens. The Fighting Illini prevailed, 2-1, in 2003, while the Bulldogs earned a 2-0 victory in 2024. Georgia holds an 8-5-2 record against Big Ten competition, following three matchups last season (W - Michigan; L - UCLA, Ohio State).

Soccer in Sanford
After its season-opening trip to the Midwest, Georgia returns home for a historic evening in Athens. The Bulldogs will face James Madison in the "Soccer in Sanford" match on Thursday, Aug. 20 at Dooley Field at Sanford Stadium. The match will simultaneously honor the 30th anniversary of the United States women's national team's gold medal victory over China in the 1996 Summer Olympics at Sanford, along with looking to set a new NCAA attendance record. The women's record of 14,410 was set in the 1999 NCAA Championship in San Jose between North Carolina and Notre Dame, while the overall mark of 22,512 was set in 1980 during a Saint Louis-SIUE match at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.

Coming Home
Georgia sophomore goalkeeper Hannah Folliard will be the lone Bulldog to feel at home Thursday evening as she plays her first college match in her home state. Folliard is a native of Plainfield, Illinois, located over 100 miles from Champaign. Folliard attended Plainfield South High School and played for Galaxy Soccer Club in Naperville, earning a place on the Illinois All-State Team. Folliard is one of numerous roster connections in the match, including two former Bulldogs on the Illini roster.

Junior forward Cayla Jackson played in 10 matches during her 2024 freshman season, ironically scoring her lone goal against Illinois, while fifth year forward Sutton Webb was rostered in 2022, but did not appear in any matches. Additionally, Illinois assistant coach Sammy Jo Prudhomme played for two seasons under Coach Keidane McAlpine at USC, starting in goal for his 2016 NCAA championship team.

Racking Up Honors
Georgia collected a bevy of preseason honors entering the 2026 season. The Bulldogs were ranked 19th in the United Soccer Coaches poll and 25th in TopDrawerSoccer's rankings, earning a preseason ranking for the sixth time in program history (1998, '99, '08, '09, '24, '26). Senior midfielder Honoka Hamano was named to United Soccer Coaches' Midfielders to Watch List, following an All-Big 12 season last year at UCF. Fifth year defender Assa Kante was ranked 43rd nationally in TDS' Top 100 Players List, while freshman Lilly Osifodunrin earned a spot on the TDS Preseason Freshman Best XI. Additionally, graduate goalkeeper Jordan Brown, senior midfielder Kiera Staude, sophomore forward Mya Townes and Folliard were named to the SEC Preseason Watch List.

New Faces in New Places
Adding to 16 returning letterwinners, Georgia welcomes 12 new players to the 2026 roster, including four veteran transfers. Honoka Hamano earned Second Team All-Big 12 and Third Team All-Region honors last season at UCF, while senior midfielder Gabbi Ceballos was an SEC All-Tournament Team member at LSU last season as she helped the Tigers reach the NCAA Round of 16. Graduate forward Emma Pettersen picked up First Team All-CUSA honors last season at Middle Tennessee with nine goals and five assists. The Bulldog freshmen are led by defender Lilly Osifodunrin, who was ranked 23rd nationally by TopDrawerSoccer, while fellow defender Leila Avila joined Bulldog teammate Ava Stack to help lead Mexico to a bronze medal at the 2025 FIFA U17 Women's World Cup. Fellow Californian Maya Woolforde was TDS' No. 25 national recruit, while midfielder London Crawford (Colombia) and forward Mary Hartofilis (Ireland) bring international experience to the table. In addition to the newcomers, sophomores Mona Childs, Grayson Rogers, and Victoria Saah will also look to make their Georgia debuts early in the season after not seeing the field in their 2025 freshman campaigns. Childs and Rogers both suffered season-ending injuries prior to the fall, but will look to immediately contribute.

A Veteran Group
Despite the loaded class of newcomers, Georgia returns 64.5 percent of its minutes from the 2025 team which finished third in SEC play. Senior midfielder Kiera Staude, a 2025 Second Team All-SEC performer, is the Bulldogs' top returning attacker after a career-high six goals last season. Sophomore forward Lily Kate Elphick posted four goals in her first season, while fellow sophomore attacker Mya Townes provided three, including a winner against top-10 Arkansas. The Bulldogs' backline is buoyed by the returns of fifth year Assa Kante, senior Devon Winters, and sophomore Maddy Herniter, who combined for 58 starts last season. The Bulldogs also feature tremendous depth in goal with graduate Jordan Brown and sophomore Hannah Folliard returning this season. Folliard was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team last year after posting 46 saves and five solo shutouts. Brown missed the 2025 season due to injury but has amassed 233 saves in 52 appearances, ranking fourth in program history with a 0.99 GAA.

Challenging Slate
Georgia head coach Keidane McAlpine has again crafted a challenging schedule for his team, including five ranked matchups. For the fifth-consecutive season, the Bulldogs will take on the defending NCAA champion as they face Florida State on Sept. 3 in Athens. A week prior, Georgia will travel to face 2025 College Cup semifinalist TCU in Fort Worth. The Bulldogs will also take on SEC preseason favorites Vanderbilt, Arkansas, and LSU. Georgia is one of five Power Four programs to face a team from each of the four P4 conferences, joining Illinois, Nebraska, North Carolina, and Ohio State.

Raising the Bar
Under Keidane McAlpine, Georgia has continued to raise the program's profile and achieve new heights of success, highlighted by the 2023 SEC Tournament championship and NCAA Round of 16 appearance. The Bulldogs have both advanced in the SEC Tournament and hosted NCAA First Round matches in four straight years for the first time. The Bulldogs have also finished unbeaten on the road in SEC play in both 2022 and 2024. McAlpine's program currently has four players in the NWSL (Croix Bethune, Mallie McKenzie, Cate Hardin, Madison Haugen), the most top flight pro players at any point in program history. Three Bulldogs (Amber Nguyen, Nicole Vernis, Hannah White) also helped Lexington Sporting Club sweep the USL Super League regular season and postseason titles.

The Bulldogs' increased success has expanded the recruiting footprint of the program, resulting in a roster full of geographic diversity in 2026. This season's team features players from 10 different states and four nations. The Dawgs still feature 12 players from Georgia, one of the country's deepest talent pools.

Up Next
Georgia continues its Big Ten road trip with a contest at Minnesota on Sunday, Aug. 16 at 1 p.m. The match will stream live on B1G+.