FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (August 10, 2026) – The Northern Arizona soccer team starts the 2026 season this week on the road at UC Riverside. The Lumberjacks will kickoff against the Highlanders in the season opener for both teams on Wednesday, Aug. 12 at 7:30 p.m. Mountain Standard time inside of UCR Soccer Stadium. The match can be followed on live stats, available
here.
The Lumberjacks return 60% of their goal scorers from 2025, headlined by
Micala Boex (eight) and
Valerie Llamas (three), who were both Second Team All-Big Sky selections last season. Boex grabbed the league's preseason MVP award last week and was listed on the accompanying All-Conference team, with NAU being picked to finish fourth.
UC Riverside was picked to finish 11th in its league preseason poll and is the first of two opponents NAU will face from the Big West this season. The Highlanders lost all but two matches last season as they finished 2025 with a 0-16-2 record, including a 0-9-1 mark in conference play. Mike Dibbini enters his second season at the helm in Riverside, holding an overall record of 303-176-52 in his career.
NAU is 1-2-1 against UC Riverside, with the most recent meeting occurring over a decade ago in 2014, when the Highlanders took a 4-2 win. The Jacks took the inaugural meeting, 4-1 in Flagstaff in 2003.
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