Florida Southern, Lynn Advance to SSC Men's Soccer Championship Final
ORLANDO, Fla. – Florida Southern and Lynn advanced to the 2026 Sunshine State Conference Men's Soccer Championship final following a pair of dramatic semifinal victories Thursday evening. The Moccasins will host the Fighting Knights on Sunday, November 8, at 3 p.m.
Semifinal Recaps – Thursday, November 5
No. 3 Florida Southern 2, No. 7 Tampa 1: Florida Southern rallied from a 1-0 deficit with two second-half goals to defeat Tampa. After Leonard Bogeskar gave the Spartans the lead in the 49th minute, Ollie Stephens equalized for the Moccasins in the 57th minute. Tim Baierlein scored the game-winner in the 70th minute off an assist from Hector Oliver, sending Florida Southern to the championship match.
No. 5 Lynn 4, No. 8 Rollins 3 (2OT): Lynn outlasted Rollins in a double-overtime thriller to secure its place in the championship final. The Fighting Knights built a 3-1 second-half advantage behind goals from Robin Muenst, Fabian Wagner and Lukas Egarter. Rollins' Pablo Herrero scored twice in the final five minutes of regulation to force overtime. Luan Barroso Rennstich delivered the golden goal in the 104th minute off assists from Wagner and Muenst to seal the victory.
Championship Preview – Sunday, November 8
No. 3 Florida Southern vs No. 5 Lynn vs. | 3 p.m.
Florida Southern will host Lynn in Sunday's SSC Men's Soccer Championship final as both teams look to complete their tournament runs with a conference title.
Third-seeded Florida Southern has also won two tightly contested postseason matches, defeating No. 6 Palm Beach Atlantic, 3-2, in the quarterfinals before rallying past No. 7 Tampa in the semifinals. Tim Baierlein has delivered the game-winning goal in both victories.
The fifth-seeded Fighting Knights enter the championship match following victories over No. 4 Barry and No. 8 Rollins. Lynn has scored six goals in its two tournament contests, including four in Thursday's semifinal victory.
The championship match will take place at FSC on Sunday at 3 p.m., with the winner claiming the 2026 SSC Men's Soccer Tournament title.
Quarterfinal Recaps – Monday, November 2 & Tuesday, November 3
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No. 8 Rollins 2, No. 1 Florida Tech 1 (OT): Shota Fukinishi scored the game-winner just 18 seconds into overtime as the eighth-seeded Tars upset top-seeded Florida Tech. Tolu Junaid also scored for Rollins.
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No. 5 Lynn 2, No. 4 Barry 0: Fabian Wagner and Rui Ferreira scored first-half goals as the Fighting Knights shut out Barry to advance to the semifinals.
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No. 3 Florida Southern 3, No. 6 Palm Beach Atlantic 2: Tim Baierlein scored the game-winner in the 89th minute off an assist from Dakota Henry to lift the Moccasins past the Sailfish.
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No. 7 Tampa 2, No. 2 Embry-Riddle 1: The seventh-seeded Spartans knocked off second-seeded Embry-Riddle to secure their spot in the semifinal round.
All tournament matches are streamed live on the SSC Digital Network at SunshineStateConference.tv.