CLEVELAND, Ga. – Truett McConnell University men's soccer (12-2-2 overall, 11-1-0 AAC) is set to host all of its matches in the 2026 Appalachian Athletic Conference tournament, including Tuesday's match against the Columbia International University Rams (6-7-5 overall, 4-4-4 AAC) at the TMU Soccer Complex after earning the #1 seed in the conference. 
 
The Bears prepare to face the Rams after a close battle in October that required an 86^th minute goal from senior Pablo Farrona for a 2-1 TMU victory. Roman Reynolds also scored one of his eight goals on the season in that contest, while Nathan King was the lone goal scorer for the Rams via penalty kick.
 
Columbia International has been known for close contests all season, including hard-fought draws to Spartanburg Methodist, Milligan, and Pikeville along with a one-goal loss to Southeastern who were receiving votes in the national coaches' poll at the time of competition. Their roster includes formidable attackers Ezekiel Bargas and Julian Rodriguez who have contributed nine and eight goals respectively. Keeper Vasillos Diakomihalis finished the regular season with a .744 save percentage.
 
Truett McConnell enters tomorrow's match after a 2026 regular season campaign that featured 55 goals, the 14^th most goals scored by any program in the NAIA. Senior Jovica Lazarevic led the charge with 14 goals, topping the category in the AAC and ranking 13^th among players in the NAIA. Senior Pablo Farrona broke the single-season program record for assists with 11, achieving the mark in just nine games. He sits 6^th in the nation for goals created. He has also scored nine goals himself. Jakob Hendrickson finished second in the AAC in save percentage (.824), goals against (9) and goals against average (0.67) across the regular season.
 
First whistle at the TMU Soccer Complex is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Tuesday.