NEWARK, DE (Nov. 7, 2026) - Almost 10 years to the day of their first CACC Tournament Title, Georgian Court Men's Soccer is back on top of the CACC. The No. 6 seed Lions downed defending champion and No. 5 seed Bridgeport, 2-1 on Saturday afternoon at the WU Athletics Complex.
Gijs van Eif and
Noa Aasheim scored for a Lions squad that trailed 1-0 just 10:14 into the match when CACC Player of the Year Kristians Prieditis found the back of the net. With the come-from-behind win, the Lions (12-6-3) grabbed the CACC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, a program first as the automatic qualifier did not exist in the league until 2017.
How it Happened
• GCU outshot the Purple Knights, 17-9.
• The Lions placed nine shots on target while UB managed to put only three shots on frame.
• Pierre Coat was shown his second yellow card of the first half at 37:54, reducing the defending champions to 10 men for more than 52 minutes.
First Half
• Simone Ciancaglini fired a shot from about 25-yards out that forced
Lennox Blue Lebelt to make a diving save to his right. The rebound found the foot of Prieditis who tapped in his NCAA Division II leading 19th goal of the season to give UB an early 1-0 advantage (10:14).
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Jack Pollintine-Smith and
Sander Rynning teamed up to help GCU draw a penalty kick in the 29th minute. Pollintine-Smith put the pressure on Goalkeeper Dany Hernandez and blocked his clearance attempt before sliding a pass to Rynning who was taken down in the box. For the second straight match,
Gijs van Eif calmly stepped up and converted the penalty kick (11th goal of the season) to tie the match.
• The big development in the Championship Match occurred in the 38th minute when Pierre Coat was sent off after picking up his second yellow card of the day. Coat, who was already playing on a yellow, went studs up on Rynning near midfield, leading to his sending off.
Second Half
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Noa Aasheim scored the game-winning goal in the 56th minute (55:15). After
Alexander Forsyth's header hit the cross bar, Bridgeport's attempted clearance was one timed in from the top of the box by Aasheim. It was the first goal of the season for the sophomore who returned from injury down the stretch to key the playoff run.
• The Lions clamped down defensively after the goal, allowing only three shots the rest of the way.
Lions Stat Leaders
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Gijs van Eif scored one goal.
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Noa Aasheim scored one goal.
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Lennox Blue Lebelt made two saves.
For the Purple Knights
• CACC Player of the Year Kristians Prieditis scored his NCAA leading 19th goal of the season.
• Dany Hernandez did all he could in his first start of the season, stopping 7 shots.
All-CACC Tournament Team
Tye Haley, Post
Francisco Pinochet, Post
Sven Henneberg, Wilmington
Mylan Le Baut, Wilmington
Davide Luppi, Bridgeport
Pablo Marques, Bridgeport
Joao Miranda, Bridgeport
Kristians Prieditis, Bridgeport
Noa Aasheim, Georgian Court
Yanis Achouri, Georgian Court
Lennox Blue Lebelt, Georgian Court
Nicholas Damiano, Georgian Court
Bryan Sanchez, Georgian Court
Gijs van Eif, Georgian Court
MVP: Gijs van Eif, Georgian Court
News and Notes:
• This is the second CACC Tournament Title in program history and first since the Lions advanced on penalty kicks over Post in 2016.
• The Lions claimed the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, guaranteeing them their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance (There was no AQ back in 2016).
• GCU downed defending champion Bridgeport, making them the fourth different champion in the past four seasons (Post, Felician, Bridgeport, Georgian Court).
• Georgian Court has only faced off with schools based in Connecticut in the Title Match (Post, Bridgeport).
• Today was the first ever No. 5 vs No. 6 in CACC Tournament history (Division II era, 2004).
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Gijs van Eif was named the CACC Tournament MVP after converting penalty kicks in the Semifinals and the Finals.
Up Next
• The NCAA Selection Show on Monday, November 9 at 6:30PM. Watch live on NCAA.com to see where the Lions are headed.
