Saint Joseph's to Face No. 10 Middlebury in NCAA Tourney First Round

STANDISH, Maine – The NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Committee announced the 64-team field for the 2026 NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship, and Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Champion Saint Joseph's College (9-2-8) will face No. 10 Middlebury College in a first-round contest on Saturday, November 14 at 11:00 AM at Middlebury's South Street Field.

Tickets cost $15 for adults and $5 for students/seniors, children two and under are free.  An all-sessions pass can be purchased for $25.

Led by eighth-year Head Coach Will Pike '11, Saint Joseph's earned the GNAC's automatic NCAA Tournament berth with a 2-0 victory over Norwich University in the conference championship at the SJC Athletics Complex on Saturday afternoon. The Monks will make their seventh NCAA Tournament appearance and first since 2021.

Middlebury (10-2-3) received an at-large berth and hosting rights for the opening two rounds. The Panthers are making their ninth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and 19th overall. The top seed in the NESCAC Tournament, Middlebury fell to eighth-seeded Amherst College, 3-2, in the conference quarterfinals on October 31.

The Panthers are pursuing their second national championship. Head Coach Alex Elias '08 helped Middlebury capture its lone NCAA title as a player in 2007, when the Panthers defeated Trinity (Texas), 4-3, in penalty kicks. That team finished 18-2-2, the best record in program history.

Saturday's other first-round match-up at Middlebury features Hobart (10-3-4) and Wheaton (Mass.) (11-2-6) at 1:30 PM. The first-round winners will meet on Sunday, November 15 at 1:00 PM, with a trip to the third round on the line.

Saturday's contest will mark the second meeting between the Saint Joseph's and Middlebury men's soccer programs. The Monks won the only previous match-up, defeating the Panthers, 2-1, in the opening round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament.

Forty-two conferences were awarded automatic qualification for the championship, with the remaining 22 berths filled through at-large selections.

Sixteen sites will host four teams each for first- and second-round competition on November 13-14 or November 14-15. Second-round winners will advance to one of four sectional sites on November 20-21 or November 21-22. All tournament games leading up to the national semifinals will be played on the campuses of competing institutions.

The four sectional winners will advance to the national semifinals on December 3 at Historic Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, with Capital University and the Greater Columbus Sports Commission serving as hosts. The national championship game will be played on December 5.