The No. 5 seed Liberty Flames defeated No. 3 seed UNC Greensboro on Saturday evening in Greensboro, North Carolina, at UNCG Soccer Complex to claim the 2026 SoCon Men’s Soccer Championship. With the win, the Flames capture the conference’s automatic bid to the 2026 NCAA Tournament field.
First-team All-SoCon forward Samson Kpardeh scored the lone goal of the night, his 10th of the season, in the 70th minute, lifting Liberty (8-7-3) to its first-ever SoCon Championship in its first year in the league. Kpardeh has scored at least one goal in eight of the nine games he has played this season after battling an injury during the middle portion of the schedule.
The Flames were making their first appearance in 13 years in a conference championship game, having not reached a title game since falling to Coastal Carolina, 2-0, in the Big South Championship on Nov. 17, 2013. This marks Liberty’s first conference championship since 2011, when the Flames defeated Gardner-Webb, 3-1, to claim the Big South title. Meanwhile, UNCG (7-3-9) was making its second consecutive appearance in the conference championship game.
The Flames got their revenge in the title game after losing to Greensboro, 2-1, on Sept. 19 during the regular season at the site of Saturday’s championship game.
Head coach Scott Wells guided Liberty to the conference championship in his first season with the Flames. He previously coached at Gardner-Webb, leading the Runnin’ Bulldogs to the Big South Conference Championship in 2024.
Liberty’s championship run required three victories against some of the SoCon’s top programs, beginning with a trip to Johnson City, Tennessee, to face No. 4 seed ETSU in the quarterfinals. After playing to a 2-2 draw through regulation and overtime, the Flames advanced with a 3-1 advantage in the penalty shootout. Goalkeeper Dan Rose came up big, stopping three ETSU attempts, including the Buccaneers’ final shot, to send Liberty into the semifinals.
The Flames then traveled to Greenville, South Carolina, to take on No. 1 seed and two-time defending SoCon Champion Furman. Playing a man down and with the score tied at two, Liberty midfielder Lachlan Middleton scored the game-winning goal in the 79th minute to propel the Flames to a 3-2 victory. The win marked Furman’s first home loss in 18 games.
Liberty’s postseason success was particularly impressive considering the Flames entered the tournament as the No. 5 seed after finishing fifth in the SoCon standings during their inaugural season in the conference.
With Saturday’s victory, Liberty secures its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2011, when the Flames captured the Big South Championship with an 11-6-3 record before advancing to the NCAA Tournament.
The Flames will learn their destination and first-round opponent in the 2026 NCAA Tournament on Monday, Nov. 16, when the selection show is streamed live on NCAA.com. The tournament begins Thursday, Nov. 19, with first-round matches hosted at campus sites.
