AUGUSTA, GA – The Peach Belt Conference has released the bracket for the men’s soccer tournament, presented by Select Sport. The top six teams in the PBC standings advance to tournament play with the top two seeds receiving byes into the semifinal round. The tournament will begin on Saturday, Nov. 6, with two quarterfinal games hosted by the higher seeds. The winners of those two will advance to join the top two seeds at Blanchard Woods Park in Evans, Ga., which hosts the semifinals and the finals Nov. 12 and 14. It will be the 14th time the PBC finals have been held at Blanchard Woods.
Young Harris earns the top seed at the PBC Tournament for the sixth time. The four-time champions will be looking for their first title since 2018 after blazing through the PBC regular season with an 11-0-1 league record, 15-0-1 overall. Young Harris is one of two teams in NCAA Division II (Davis & Elkins, W.V.) without a loss on their records this season and are ranked #3 in last week’s United Soccer Coaches Top 25.
Clayton State is the #2 seed and will also receive a first-round bye. The Lakers have their highest tournament seeding since 2010 and finished 7-4-1 in conference play this season. The Lakers have won four of their last six entering the tournament.
Lander and Flagler were tied for third in the standing with 21 points and identical 7-5 records. Lander takes the tiebreak thanks to a pair of wins over the Saints, including a 3-1 victory on Saturday, to take the #3 seed. Lander has won five PBC Tournament titles and appeared in the championship game 17 times, including in 2019. Lander will host #6 seed North Georgia on Saturday in the quarterfinals. The Nighthawks defeated Lander 4-2 in Greenwood on Oct. 27.
Flagler will be the #4 seed for the PBC Tournament. The Saints are the defending tournament champions, having won the COVID-moved spring edition last April as the #3 seed. The Saints were mired with a 4-6 record before going on a five-match winning streak that shot them up the standings to host the quarterfinal game. Flagler will host #5 Georgia Southwestern on Saturday. The Hurricanes will be making their first appearance in the PBC Tournament after their best regular season as a part of the conference with a 4-7-1 league record which includes a win over Clayton State and a tie against Lander.
Tickets for all rounds of the PBC Tournament are only available online here through Hometown Tickets. Students from PBC schools with a valid student ID and children under five will be admitted for free.
2021 Peach Belt Men’s Soccer
Tournament Championship
Saturday, Nov. 6 – Hosted by Higher Seed
#6 North Georgia at #3 Lander, 4:00 pm
#5 Georgia Southwestern at #4 Flagler, 7:00 pm
Friday, Nov. 12 – Blanchard Woods Park, Evans, Ga.
4/5 winner vs. #1 Young Harris, 11:00 am
3/6 winner vs. #2 Clayton State, 2:00 pm
Sunday, Nov. 14 – Blanchard Woods Park, Evans, Ga.
Championship Game – 12:00 pm