Varsity Athletics | 6/17/2026 1:15:00 PM

The York University Lions soccer teams will hit the pitch for 2026 beginning Aug. 28 in Windsor, as announced by the OUA on Wednesday afternoon.

York's men's team begins its national title defence, looking for its seventh title in program history and to win back-to-back U SPORTS crowns for the second time in program history and the first time since 2014 and 2015 while the women's squad will look to return to the postseason for the third consecutive season.

The Lions will then host the Western Mustangs on Sunday, Aug. 30 for their home opener, before welcoming the McMaster Marauders to York Lions Stadium for the Orientation Games on Thursday, Sept. 3.

The full 2026 schedule is detailed below:

• The Lions open the 2026 season in Windsor, where the men's team earned a resounding 4-0 victory and the women fell by a 3-2 score in the only meetings between the two teams a season ago.

• The home openers see the Western Mustangs ride into town in the only meetings of the year. Last season, the men's team took both games of a home-and-home, while the Lions women's side dropped both games to the Mustangs.

• The annual Orientation Game sees the McMaster Marauders invade York Lions Stadium for the second time in three years on the Thursday before Labour Day weekend. 2025 saw the Lions teams earn a win and a draw over their QEW rivals, with the road teams earning at least a point in each game.

• The Lions will head to Waterloo on the Sunday of Labour Day weekend to battle the Waterloo Warriors making it the second straight year York will visit K-W in the only matchup of the season between the red and white and the black and gold. The Lions women's team blanked Waterloo on their home pitch by a 2-0 scoreline in meeting last season, while the men's match a season ago ended in a 2-2 draw.

• The Lions return home the Friday following the long weekend to host the Lancers in the second of their two meetings against the blue and gold in their only matches of the weekend.

• York then navigates north to tangle with the Algoma Thunderbirds in a two-game weekend set. The Lions women's team will aim to stay unblemished against the Thunderbirds, looking to extend their 17-0 all-time mark, while the men's side looks to avenge a loss in their most recent game at Algoma, a 3-1 defeat on Sept. 22, 2024.

• The Lions return from their road trip to begin a stretch of three of four games on their home field hosting the Laurier Golden Hawks. The teams kicked off the 2025 season at York Lions Stadium on Aug. 28, with the Lions men's team earning a 2-0 victory over the Hawks after Laurier won the women's match 2-1 on a 68th minute tiebreaking marker.

• After six days off, the Lions begin October by battling the Guelph Gryphons for the only time in 2026. The York men's side beat Guelph 2-1 in the only match between the two teams a season ago, while the Lions women's team aims to recreate perhaps their most dramatic game of last year when they roared back from a 2-0 first-half deficit to stun the Gryphons on a 73nd-minute goal by Alexandra Quaidoo to steal a 3-2 victory.

• The Lions and Marauders conclude their season series in Hamilton on Oct. 4, with the Lions men's team looking to extend their unbeaten streak at Ron Joyce Stadium to 10 games dating back to Sept. 13, 2013. The women's team, meanwhile, returns to the site of their 2025 opening-round playoff defeat while looking to keep their regular season success going against the maroon and white. York holds a 5-2-3 record in regular season play against the Marauders since 2018.

• Senior night sees York take on the Brock Badgers. The red and white earned four of a possible six points in a home-and-home series against Brock a year ago, drawing the Badgers 1-1 on Oct. 3 at York Lions Stadium and beating them 1-0 48 hours later in St. Catharines.

• The Pride close out the 2026 regular season with their second and final meeting of the season against the Laurier Golden Hawks. York's teams did not win a game at Laurier a season ago, as the women's match ended in a scoreless stalemate, while the Hawks earned all three points in the men's match thanks to a late-first-half finish that supplied all the offence in a 1-0 Laurier victory.

York 2026 schedule:

Aug. 28: at Windsor – W: 6 p.m.; M: 8:15 p.m. 

Aug. 30: vs. Western – W: 1 p.m.; M: 3:15 p.m.

Sept. 3: vs. McMaster (Orientation Game) – W: 6 p.m.; M: 8:15 p.m.

Sept. 6: at Waterloo – W: 1 p.m.; M: 3:15 p.m.

Sept. 11: vs. Windsor – W: 6 p.m.; M: 8:15 p.m.

Sept. 19: at Algoma – W: 1 p.m.; M: 3:15 p.m.

Sept. 20: at Algoma – W: 1 p.m.; M: 3:15 p.m.

Sept. 25: vs. Laurier – W: 6 p.m.; M: 8:15 p.m.

Oct. 2: vs. Guelph – W: 6 p.m.; M: 8:15 p.m.

Oct. 4: at McMaster – W: 4 p.m.; M: 6:15 p.m.

Oct. 9: vs. Brock (Senior Night) – W: 6 p.m.; M: 8:15 p.m.

Oct. 16: at Laurier – W: 6 p.m.; M: 8:15 p.m.