THOMASVILLE, Ga. - The Thomas University Night Hawks had to wait until the final day of the regular season to celebrate, but a Dalton State win over Blue Mountain Christian on Sunday evening secured the eighth and final seed in the SSAC Championship for Billy Jeffery's boys. 

The field is set for the 2026 SSAC Men's Soccer Championship, presented by Chappy's Deli. The first round takes place this weekend with higher seeds hosting, with the semifinals and finals set for Nov. 5 and 7 in Montgomery, Ala. 

First Round Schedule

Thursday | 5:00 pm CST | #8 Thomas at #1 Faulkner | Montgomery, Ala.

Thursday | 7:30 pm EST | #7 UT Southern at #2 Life | Marietta, Ga.

Friday | 4:00 pm CST | #6 Mobile at #3 William Carey | Hattiesburg, Miss.

Friday | TBD | #5 Xavier at #4 Dalton State | Dalton, Ga.

Championship Seeds

1. Faulkner – 30

2. Life – 29

3. William Carey – 23

4. Dalton State – 22

5. Xavier – 20

6. Mobile – 18

7. UT Southern – 12

8. Thomas – 12

Tiebreakers

UT Southern, Thomas and Blue Mountain Christian all finished with 12 points. UT Southern won the head-to-head tiebreaker by beating both. Thomas then won the head-to-head with Blue Mountain for the final spot in the postseason. 

Final Site | Emory Folmar YMCA Soccer Complex | Montgomery, Ala.

Thursday, Nov. 5th Semifinal matches

Women's Game 1: 11:00 | No. 1/8 v. No. 4/5

Women's Game 2: 1:30 | No. 2/7 v. No. 3/6

Men's Game 1: 4:30 | No. 1/8 v. No. 4/5

Men's Game 2: 7:00 | No. 2/7 v. No. 3/6

Saturday, Nov. 7th Championship matches

Women's Championship: 4:00

Men's Championship: 7:00

Tickets: ssacsports.com/tickets

Watch Live For FREE: ssacsports.com/watch

Thomas will face off against the conference's regular season champions, the Faulkner University Eagles, on Thursday, Oct. 29 at 5:00 p.m. CST on John Mark Stallings Field in the tournament's first round. 

Dropping the match this season to Faulkner 10-0, Jeffery reflected on the team's performance. "We just need to be stronger and more disciplined, in all phases, and a good team like them...they'll capitalize," he said. "We need to make sure there is a full understanding of the objectives we want to accomplish, for all 90 minutes; and we need to execute to the best of our abilities." 

The Night Hawks enter the postseason with an offense executing with force; scoring three goals against Point and four against Andrew to end the regular season. Ethan Moore scored four of those seven, earning his first career SSAC Offensive Player of the Week award in the process."

"It's nice to reach this phase of the season, to earn a chance to keep playing," said Jeffery. "Faulkner is a tough place to go to, but we need to focus on our work and our execution first." 

"Winning those last two definitely lifted our moods," said Moore. "We can't wait for Thursday to prove what we can do."

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