LAKELAND, Fla. – The Florida Southern College men's soccer team earn the no. 3 seed in the 2026 Sunshine State Conference Tournament as they will hosted the no. 6 seed in Palm Beach Atlantic on Monday (Nov. 2) at 6 pm at Berend Field. With their seeding, the Mocs earn their highest regular season finish in the conference table in program history and host an SSC Tournament match for the first time in time history as well.
SSC Quarterfinal
Opponent: Palm Beach Atlantic
Location: Lakeland, Fla. | Berend Field
Date: Monday, Nov. 2, 2026 | 6:00 p.m.
Live Stats:
http://www.fscmocs.com/stats
Video:
www.fscmocs.com/live
Tournament Page:
https://sunshinestateconference.com/tournaments/?id=286
Florida Southern solidified the three seed finish after a 5-2-3 SSC record while also having their most conference points since 2018. The Mocs were ranked as high as no. 4 nationally, while ending the regular season at 10-3-3 and an unbeaten record at home (6-0-2). Now in his sixth season with the Mocs, head coach Ashley Holmes has made the SSC Tournament in four of his six season in Lakeland.
"Our goal for the past six season has been to put ourselves in a position to host a conference tournament game," said Holmes. "To finish third and record the highest finish in program history in such a competitive conference is a fantastic achievement. Pur players have worked incredibly hard to get to this point, and they deserve to be proud of what they've accomplished and to have it celebrated. We now have a few days to recover and get over the disappointment of narrowly missing out on the regular season title.Monday evening brings a new season and a fresh opportunity to make even more history for the program."
3rd Seed – The Moccasins - Roster | Schedule | Coaches | Statistics
Despite the results in the past few matches, Florida Southern has been red hot this season as they were victorious in every match against non-SSC opponents. They also have back-to-back victories over ranked opponents in #13 Lynn and #24 Flagler in a combined 6-2 margin. To go along with four straight victories to start the season, the Mocs also were winners in the opening four SSC matches that coincided with a five-game win streak in September.
The Mocs have one of the best all-around offenses in the SSC, with four players scoring four or more goals in 2026. The squad is led by junior
Tim Baierlein with his ten goals on the season, good for third in the conference.
Darcy Moffat has both seven goals and assists, as both his and Baierlein's 21 points are top-five in the SSC.
Hector Oliver has six goals, mainly coming from the free kick spots, to go along with five assists.
Defensively, the Mocs are led in goal by graduate-student
Ricardo Marques. A former Conference Carolinas Defensive Player of the Year, Marques recently etched his name in the history books with his fifth shutout of the season that broke him into the program's top-ten. He's made 18 total saves across the Mocs' last four matches, including a season-high eight last week against Barry. The back line is also supported by true freshman
Ollie Stephens. A Defensive Player of the Week winner this season, Stephens has scored four goals on the year while helping the defense allow one or fewer goals in eleven matches.
6th Seed – The Sailfish - Roster | Schedule | Coaches | Statistics
Palm Beach Atlantic have scored 28 times on the year while only allowing 18 goals, both are fourth in the SSC. They've taken the most total shots in the conference at 204 while also leading the SSC in penalty kicks with their five on the year.
The Sailfish are led by sophomore Kobi Thomas, who leads all of Division II with his 17 goals in 2026, 61% of the Sailfish's goals, while averaging over a goal per contest. Thomas has two hat tricks on the season while scoring two or more goals in five separate matches and comes into Monday with 38 points in 2026. In net, the Sailfish look to graduate-student Flavio Giannini. He's earned five shutouts this season while making 36 saves in his 13 matches between the sticks in his final collegiate year.
The Matchup – FSC vs PBA
The Mocs won the regular-season matchup by a 3-2 score on Oct. 10, in a game where FSC were down a goal twice that night before
Darcy Moffat scored in the 83rd minute to give the Mocs the victory. Thomas scored the Sailfish's two goals while
Joao Lopes and
Tim Baierlein also found the back of the net to cap off a 16-shot night for FSC. The contest is also a repeat of the 2025 FSC quarterfinal in which the top-seed Sailfish barely escaped with a 1-0 victory in double overtime against the eight-seed Mocs.
FSC in the SSC Tournament
This is the second consecutive year that the Mocs have made the SSC Tournament and the first time in program history in which they are hosting a quarterfinal match. The Mocs are looking to advance to the semifinals for the first time since 2006 and the fourth time in the team's history. The Mocs have not won in their last seven postseason games and are looking to right the course of the program on Monday evening.
"To host a conference tournament game in Lakeland for the first time since 1978 is something special and one that we as a group are really proud of," continued Holmes. "We are super excited to have this opportunity in front of our home fans as well. As we know, PBA are always a tough team to play and one that we have seen a few times away from home in the conference tournament the past few seasons. Hopefully, with home advantage we can get a great crowd behind our players and continue to push the program to new heights with a tournament victory."
