U.S. Women’s National Team to Play Match at UCSB’s Harder Stadium

The U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team will host an international match at UCSB’s Harder Stadium for the first time in history, as the U.S. is set to face Chile for a Tuesday night matchup on January 27, 2026. This will be the first time the U.S. Women’s National Team has played at UCSB since U.S. soccer hosted two exhibition games at Harder Stadium prior to the Women’s World Cup in 1991.

Visit Santa Barbara helped coordinate with the U.S. Women’s National Team to bring an elite game to South Coast soccer fans and attract visiting sports fans to attend the game and spend time in the area’s hotels, restaurants, and shops.

“We are thrilled to welcome the U.S. Women’s National Team to UCSB for their match against Chile in January,” said Visit Santa Barbara South Coast President and CEO Kathy Janega-Dykes. “Visit S.B.’s mission is to inspire overnight travel to the South Coast to enhance the community’s economy and quality of life. Sports tourism plays a vital role in that effort, especially during the shoulder season, when this exciting match takes place.”

The January 27 match will be the first-ever international match on the Central Coast, and only the second time an international match has been played north of Los Angeles and south of San Francisco. 

“One of the goals of U.S. Soccer is to take our National Teams to new markets around the country, and I applaud that,” said U.S. head coach Emma Hayes. “Playing in a city for the first time is not a common occurrence at this point in our history so I know our players will enjoy being in beautiful Santa Barbara and our staff are really looking forward to January camp and these matches against two tough South American countries. This is the start of an important year for our team and as always, we’re focused on maximizing every minute we get with the players.”

The U.S. Women’s National Team has held training camps in Santa Barbara several times in its history, including in March 2019 — just a few months before the team went on to win the World Cup — and again in 2023 when the team practiced at UCSB and Westmont College. The U.S. played an exhibition match in 1991, where they defeated the UCSB women’s team 10-0 before going on to win the country’s first-ever World Cup later that summer.

The U.S. Men’s National Team has played an international match at Harder Stadium once, in 1993, where the U.S. men’s team played a 1-1 draw against Romania in front of a crowd of more than 9,000.

Presale tickets for the January 27 match will be available starting at 10 a.m. on December 10 and will run through 8 a.m. on December 12. Tickets will be available for the public after 10 a.m. on December 12.