HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The 2026 Men's Soccer season came to a close over the weekend for Mobile with a 1-0 defeat at the hands of William Carey University. The Rams would travel over to Hattiesburg, Mississippi to face the Crusaders in a meeting of the #3 and #6 seeds in the SSAC Men's Soccer Championship First Round. On the final scoreline, the only thing that could separate the two sides after 90 minutes would be a 7th minute goal for the Crusaders that ended the Rams season earlier than hoped for.
The Rams finished the 2026 regular season with an overall record of 9-4-4 while finishing 5-3-3 in conference play. Their performance in the regular season was enough to earn them the #6 seed in the SSAC Men's Soccer Championship tournament where they would face the #3 seed William Carey University. When the two side met during the regular season back on September 17th, it would end in a 0-0 stalemate as Mobile became the first team to hold the Crusaders scoreless in the 2026 season.
With the regular season over and the postseason seeding sorted, the two sides would face off once again with the Crusaders getting to play host this time around. While the Rams would put on a solid defensive performance, a lone blip in the 7th minute would sink them at the end of the 90 minute contest as the Crusaders booked their place in the next round of the SSAC Men's Soccer Championship tournament in Montgomery. The Rams would put up 7 shots throughout the contest as Guido Solaro and Paolo Conti provided the only efforts on target for the Rams. Manuel Cordeviola had 4 shots of his own in the contest, but he was unable to beat the keeper with any of them. Tanner Boxberger made 3 saves in the loss, denying the Crusaders the opportunity to put the Rams further behind after the early goal.
2026 Season Recap
It was year of growth for the Rams as they improved on the woes of the 2025 season by winning 4 more games and losing 5 less. Mobile's biggest win of the season would come against UT Southern as they took down the #3 Fire Hawks on the road with a final score of 3-0. Mobile would score 47 goals during the season while conceding just 19 for a goal difference of +28 on the year. Individually, Tanner Boxberger would earn Mobile's only SSAC Defensive Player of the Week award during Week 8 while also being named the NAIA National Defensive Player of the Week during the same week. The Rams also celebrated their 8 graduating seniors who have all made an impact on the program during their time at the University. Joaquin Rivera, Joe Delaney, Guido Solaro, Yusuke Higuschi, Fernando Jimenez, Maximo Romagnoli, Joao Gago, and Mateus Pereira all recieved recognition during senior day back on October 17th prior to the final home game against Point University.
The Rams will return in 2027 for a short spring training season before returning in the fall for the start of the 2027 campaign!
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About the University of Mobile
The University of Mobile is a Christ-centered university pursuing excellence "For the Kingdom. To the World." With a vision to multiply Kingdom leaders for the glory of God and the good of the world, the university equips students through Christ-centered learning and community to pursue God's calling with courage, purpose and Kingdom impact.
The university was founded in 1961 and is affiliated with the Alabama Baptist State Convention. Located 10 miles north of Mobile, Alabama, on a campus of over 880 acres, UM offers associate, bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in over 75 academic programs. Learn more at umobile.edu/um-info and connect with UM on social media @univofmobile, or call Enrollment Services at 1.800.WIN.RAMS or 251.442.2222.
