Southern Illinois won the 2026 Missouri Valley Conference women’s soccer tournament title Sunday afternoon at Mediacom Stadium in Des Moines. The No. 2 seed Salukis beat top-seeded and host Drake, 1-0, for the first MVC Tournament championship and first NCAA Tournament appearance in program history.
Neither team scored in a scoreless first half, with the Bulldogs outshooting SIU 3-1. The match changed in the 50th minute when Drake’s Izzy Snowden was sent off with a red card, leaving the Bulldogs a player down for the last 40 minutes. The Salukis pushed forward from there and outshot Drake 7-1 after the break. Drake goalkeeper Kate Hopma made three saves in the second half to keep the match level.
SIU broke through in the 67th minute. Freshman Victoria Hassan finished a feed from Dana Nadda and Aylie Haycock for her second straight tournament game-winning goal, after she also scored the only goal in the Salukis’ 1-0 semifinal win over Illinois State. Drake earned two late corner kicks in the final two minutes, but SIU keeper Kaylynn Miller and the Saluki back line held on for a second straight 1-0 shutout.
SIU’s Guliana Balistreri was named Tournament MVP, and Dior Knorr received the Elite 18 Award.
MVC Women's Soccer All-Tournament Team
Ella Hamner, Evansville
Tori Angelo, Indiana State
Addison Howell, Murray State
Abbey MacDonald, Murray State
Mikayla Carkhuff, Illinois State
Grace Petrie, Illinois State
Zoey Mahoney, Drake
Mika Marolly, Drake
Alanna Pennington, Drake
Victoria Hassan, Southern Illinois
Aylie Haycock, Southern Illinois
Dana Nadda, Southern Illinois
Tournament MVP: Guliana Balistreri, Southern Illinois
Elite 18 Award: Dior Knorr, Southern Illinois
The title caps a historic season in Carbondale for the Salukis (15-4-0). Their staff was named MVC Coaching Staff of the Year, and Maya Dixon was named MVC Player of the Year. SIU made its first MVC Tournament appearance in 2022.
Drake (13-4-3) went unbeaten in league play during the regular season and now owns a 13-21-3 all-time record in the MVC Tournament. The Bulldogs have reached the title match in three of the past four seasons, falling to Valparaiso (2023), Missouri State (2024) and Southern Illinois (2026). Their only MVC Tournament crown came in 2006.
With the win, Southern Illinois has earned The Valley’s automatic bid to the 2026 NCAA Tournament. The Salukis will learn their first-round opponent during Monday’s Selection Show at 4 p.m. ET on NCAA.com. First-round matches are scheduled for Nov. 20-22.