NEWARK, Del. (November 7, 2026) – No. 6 seed Georgian Court University won the 2026 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Men’s Soccer Championship by defeating No. 5 seed University of Bridgeport, 2-1, in the championship final on Saturday morning at the Wilmington University Athletics Center. Wilmington was the predetermined host of the match.
Georgian Court (12-6-3) wins the second CACC championship in the 14-year history of its program, with the other coming in 2016. The Lions earn the conference’s automatic berth into the 2026 NCAA Division II Super Region 1 Championship tournament.
Bridgeport, the CACC’s 2025 champion, looked poised to defend when conference Player of the Year Kristians Prieditis scored in the 11th minute. But GCU drew a penalty with 17:30 left in the first half, and Gijs van Eif converted. Momentum continued to swing toward the Lions, as the Purple Knights had a player sent off for a second yellow card with under eight minutes remaining until halftime.
With just over 10 minutes gone by in period two, GCU moved ahead for good. A Lion header bounded off the crossbar and a UB player attempted to clear. The ball ended up at the foot of Lion sophomore Noa Aasheim who got a low shot inside the left crossbar. It was Aasheim’s first goal of the season. Georgian Court had the better of play for the balance of the match and kept UB (9-8-3) from producing many dangerous chances.
Van Eif, who scored twice in the tournament and got off a game-high six shots in the final, was named the Most Valuable Player of the championship. Georgian Court, which won all three of its playoff games by identical 2-1 scores, is the first No. 6 seed to win the CACC men’s title since Bloomfield College in 2015.
Full tournament results, as well as links to view championship photo albums and purchase championship apparel, are available at the CACC Championship Central webpage.
2026 CACC MEN'S SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP
Quarterfinals – Saturday, October 31 (at sites of higher seeds)
#1 Wilmington 3, #8 Caldwell 1
#5 Bridgeport 3, #4 Holy Family 2
#6 Georgian Court 2, #3 Felician 1 (2 OT)
#7 Post 2, #2 Jefferson 2 (2 OT) (Post advances on PKs, 5-4)
Semifinals – Tuesday, November 3 (at sites of higher seeds)
Bridgeport 4, Wilmington 2
Georgian Court 2, Post 1
Championship Final – Saturday, November 7
(at Wilmington University Athletics Complex, Newark, Del.)
Georgian Court 2, Bridgeport 1
2026 CACC MEN'S SOCCER ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Tye Haley, Post
Francisco Pinochet, Post
Sven Henneberg, Wilmington
Mylan Le Baut, Wilmington
Davide Luppi, Bridgeport
Pablo Marques, Bridgeport
Joao Miranda, Bridgeport
Kristians Prieditis, Bridgeport
Noa Aasheim, Georgian Court
Yanis Achouri, Georgian Court
Lennox Blue Labelt, Georgian Court
Nicholas Damiano, Georgian Court
Bryan Sanchez, Georgian Court
Gijs van Eif, Georgian Court
MVP: Gijs van Eif, Georgian Court
2026 CACC MEN'S SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP SCHOLAR AWARD
(Student-Athlete with the Highest Cumulative Grade Point Average at the Finals Site and At Least 48 Credits Earned at Current School)
Pontus Schmitz Gustafsson, University of Bridgeport (4.00)
Founded in 1961, the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference has been affiliated with NCAA Division II for 21 years. Conference institutions compete for championships in 18 sports – seven for men, 10 for women, and one co-ed. The CACC contains 11 full members in Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. Membership includes the University of Bridgeport, Caldwell University, Chestnut Hill College, Dominican University New York, Felician University, Georgian Court University, Goldey-Beacom College, Holy Family University, Post University, Thomas Jefferson University, and Wilmington University.