Dalton State College to host opening bracket of NAIA men’s soccer tournament

Published 2:00 pm Tuesday, November 19, 2024

Since Dalton State College’s men’s soccer program began in 2015, the Roadrunners have made five appearances in the NAIA Men’s Soccer National Championships. This year’s team will make a sixth as the No. 1 overall national seed.

As part of the first and second rounds of the 2024 tournament, Dalton State will host a three-team opening bracket Thursday and Saturday, with the winner advancing to the tournament’s championship finals in Wichita, Kansas, starting Dec. 2.

Thursday’s 7 p.m. game, which takes place at Dalton Stadium at 1275 Cross Plains Trail, has Eastern Oregon University against Lakeland, Florida’s Southeastern University, with the winner facing Dalton State in the second round on Saturday at 3 p.m. at Dalton Stadium.

The Roadrunners are undefeated with a 17-0-2 record.

“Our overall season was very good,” said Dalton State Soccer Director Saif Alsafeer. “I think the boys worked very hard. They tried to stick to the plan and they’ve built a great culture amongst themselves inside and outside of the locker room, on campus and in the community. We’ve had a tremendous amount of community support from a variety of sponsors and a variety of people in general inside and outside of the soccer community. We’ve been a community-based program for years and I think that we’re climbing the ladder to hopefully reach the pinnacle.”

On Nov. 9 the team won its first Southern States Athletic Conference tournament championship with a 1-0 victory against the University of Mobile in Montgomery, Alabama. The Roadrunners hope to win their first national championship.

“The season’s been great from a community standpoint and from a team standpoint,” Alsafeer said. “The boys worked really hard and the staff has been exceptional. Overall, we’re just very proud of our athletics department and the things that we’ve been able to accomplish this year.”

A driving force behind the team’s success, Alsafeer said, is the “culture” of the program.

“Our culture has been our top priority,” he said. “(That includes) trying to get the processes right for developing people first and then developing those people to have relationships. That’s been the priority and I think that we’ve reaped the benefit of that on the field to a large degree.”

The tournament has 40 teams. The first and second rounds will be played at 16 host sites across the country Thursday through Saturday. Dalton State hosts first- and second-round games for the third consecutive year.

Jon Jaudon, Dalton State’s executive director of athletics, said the success of the men’s team has been reassuring year after year.

“I think it helps motivate and reinforce our knowledge that we’re doing things the right way,” Jaudon said. “When you can have that level of consistency and performance over that period of time, it encourages you to continue in the direction that you have set.”

Jaudon said he believes the Roadrunners have the opportunity to bring home the national championship this year.

“In the last two years we’ve been able to get to the final site,” he said. “Two years ago, there were 10 teams at that final site (in Dothan, Alabama) and we lost in the first round. Then, the format changed and last year there were 16 teams at the final site. We won our first game (against California-Merced), got to the quarterfinal round and lost in penalty kicks (to St. Thomas). We’re just hoping to build on our past success and take the program to the next level.”

Jaudon said hosting two NAIA National Championship games in Dalton would “not be possible” without the college’s partnership with Dalton Public Schools.

“We have a great relationship,” he said. “Without them building Dalton Stadium on the campus of The Dalton Academy and Dalton (Junior High) School, we would not be in a position to even bid to host these rounds, so it’s really just a community partnership that’s made this possible for us and we’re proud to represent all of Dalton in our quest to win a national championship.”

Alsafeer said welcoming other teams to the city is a great opportunity.

“It unearths what we all believe is a very special part of the country, here in Dalton,” he said. “It allows us to expose the great things that are being done here across all sports, not just with soccer. It’s a great community for families, for commerce and for athletics. This just allows us to continue to expose those things which we all believe in, so we’re very excited and honored to be able to continue to host in Dalton.”

Individual game tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students and children. Admission is free for anyone with a current Dalton State College ID. Tickets can be purchased online at dsroadrunners.com or at the gate.