The women’s soccer team at the University of Memphis got their 2026 campaign off to a winning start on Wednesday night with a 2-0 win over Kennesaw State. Now the meat of the non-conference schedule gets under way. Saturday night will be the first of five straight games against power conference opponents for the Tigers and only two of those five are at home. The team coming to visit? The Alabama Crimson Tide.
Coach Brooks Monaghan may have felt that Wednesday night’s win against Kennesaw State left something to be desired, but as the old saying goes, “You can’t win them all if you don’t win the first one.” The big positive on the night, other than the win, was Ai Kitagawa scoring two first-half goals. Kitagawa is one of the best players on the Memphis team and for them to have the season they believe they can have, she will definitely need to step up early and often throughout the season. She was able to do it against Kennesaw State and the Tiger fans will not doubt be hoping that she continues to do so during this tough scheduling stretch, starting at home against Alabama.
For all the national success that the SEC has had in football, baseball, and to a lesser degree men’s basketball, they have underwhelmed in women’s soccer (to say nothing of their lack of men’s soccer programs). Only one SEC school has won a national title as the legendary Abby Wambach and the Florida Gators claimed the trophy 1998. But what makes the lack of national titles so confusing is that many of the schools in the SEC have very good programs seemingly every year. Just last year, Memphis faced Ole Miss, Missouri, Vanderbilt, and Tennessee (the latter two of whom were both ranked in the top 15). The last team to even make it to the College Cup was Alabama back in 2022. They haven’t reached those heights since, but have still been a competent program as they made the NCAA Tournament in both 2023 and 2025. Entering his twelfth season in Tuscaloosa, Coach Wes Hart has the Tide off to a 1-0 start after they went on the road to defeat St. Louis 2-1 on Wednesday. The one to watch for Alabama is senior Larkin Thomason who led the team with nine goals last season and got off to a good start this year with one of their two goals against St. Louis.
When, Where
Date: Saturday, August 15, 2026
Stadium: Billy Murphy Track & Soccer Stadium
City: Memphis, TN
Time: 7pm
TV: ESPN+
All-Time Series
Memphis leads 8-2-1
Last Meeting
Date: Sunday, August 27, 2023
Stadium: Alabama Soccer Stadium
City: Tuscaloosa, AL
Result: Memphis 1-2 Alabama
Next Game
Date: Friday, August 21, 2026
Match-Up: Memphis @ Vanderbilt
Stadium: Vanderbilt Soccer/Lacrosse Complex
City: Nashville, TN
Time: 6pm
TV: SEC Network
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