CLEVELAND, Ga. – Truett McConnell men's soccer is set to kick off its 2026 campaign on Saturday with a 6 p.m. season opener against Point University at the TMU Soccer Complex.

The Bears enter the season ranked third in the Appalachian Athletic Conference preseason poll after reaching the AAC conference tournament semi-finals in 2025. They have already gained on-field experience heading into tomorrow's matchup through preseason scrimmages against the University of North Georgia and Shorter University.

Saturday evening will serve as the 14^th matchup between the two programs all-time, with the Bears being the most recent victors in a 2-0 road win in 2022. 

The Skyhawks of Point University hope to improve from a 2025 campaign that finished 6-8-2, an effort that fell just short of a Southern States Athletic Conference tournament berth. Junior outside back Moritz Dalpiaz will look to lead his Skyhawks once again, after a 2025 season that saw him finish as the team's leader in both goals (six) and assists (three).

The Bears have their sights set on another AAC tournament run in 2026 after reaching the conference championship finals in 2024 and semi-finals in 2025. Seniors Jovica Lazarevic and Pablo Farrona are in position to lead the charge offensively after recording seven and six goals respectively for TMU in 2025, while junior Marco Mandelka returns to anchor the defense as team captain. All three had efforts in 2025 that led to First Team All-AAC recognitions. 2026 also serves as head coach Scott Borchers' 25^th season as a collegiate head coach and 12^th season with Truett McConnell.

Truett McConnell has claimed victory in their last four home openers and looks to extend that streak to five straight tomorrow.