Ranked No. 2 in the country in the final NAIA men’s soccer poll, there wasn’t much doubt that Dalton State College would receive a bid to the national championship tournament, even after an exit in the Southern States Athletic Tournament semifinals cost them an automatic bid.
On Monday, it became official.
Dalton State (12-2-3) received one of 13 at-large bids to the 40-team field of the NAIA Men’s Soccer National Championships and will be the fourth overall seed in the tournament.
The Roadrunners will host a three-team opening rounds bracket in Dalton, with the winner to advance to the tournament’s final site in Wichita, Kansas, starting Nov. 27.
The University of California, Merced will play against West Virginia University Tech on Thursday in Dalton, and the winner will face the Roadrunners on Saturday.
Dalton State is one of three teams from the Southern States Athletic Conference to receive a spot in the NAIA tournament. The other two are the two that played in the SSAC tournament finals. William Carey upset DSC 2-1 in the semis last week and played Mobile, which won the SSAC regular season and tournament championship. William Carey is seeded ninth, while Mobile is eighth.
It’s a familiar situation for Dalton State, which was in a similar spot last season.
The Roadrunners were put out of the SSAC semifinals, then received an at-large bid and hosted an opening round tournament in Dalton. The Roadrunners advanced to the NAIA final site before dropping to Lindsey Wilson in the national quarterfinals.
16 teams advance to the tournament’s final site at Scheels Stryker Sports Complex in Wichita, with games starting Nov. 27, quarterfinals starting Nov. 30, semis on Dec. 2 and the national championship game held on Dec. 4.
It’s the fifth appearance in the NAIA tournament for the DSC men since the program began in 2015, and the Roadrunners are searching for their first title.
UC Merced reached the NAIA tournament with an automatic bid as the California Pacific Conference’s runner-up. The Bobcats are 12-3-3 on the year and was a participant in the tournament last season.
WVU Tech won the River States Conference Tournament to receive an automatic bid to the tourney. The Golden Bears are 13-4-3 and are in the national tournament for the first time since 2020.