PAINESVILLE, Ohio – A pair of dramatic upsets on Thursday at Jack Britt Memorial Stadium set up an unexpected championship matchup in the 2026 Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) Men's Soccer Championship Tournament. Sixth-seeded Findlay and fifth-seeded Kentucky Wesleyan knocked out the tournament’s top two seeds to advance to Saturday's title match.


(6) Findlay 2, (2) Tiffin 1
Sixth-seeded University of Findlay punched its ticket to the championship game with a gritty 2–1 upset over rival and second-seeded Tiffin University.
 
Tiffin opened the scoring in the 29th minute when Callum Ellington flicked a header into the net off a throw-in sequence assisted by Freddie Oliver and Malick Sow. Findlay responded before the intermission, leveling the score at 1–1 in the 37th minute as Tyson Woodring calmly buried a penalty kick for his fourth goal of the season.
 
The second half turned into a battle of endurance, with senior goalkeeper Ethan Hensley coming up big between the posts for Findlay, stopping seven shots on the day. The decisive blow came in the 80th minute when senior forward Carson Oberski pounced on a defensive giveaway, beat the keeper one-on-one, and slotted home his ninth goal of the campaign to secure the 2–1 victory for the Oilers.

(5) Kentucky Wesleyan 1, (1) Lake Erie 1 (2OT, KWC advances 3–0 on PKs)
In the nightcap, fifth-seeded Kentucky Wesleyan College survived a relentless offensive attack from top-seeded and host Lake Erie College, advancing 3–0 in a penalty shootout after a 1–1 draw through two periods of extra time.
 
Following a scoreless first 45 minutes, Kentucky Wesleyan broke through in the 56th minute. National assist co-leader Jersey Lopez played a ball ahead to Mattie McNally, who converted a left-footed strike to put the Panthers in front 1–0. The lead was short-lived, however, as regular-season champion Lake Erie responded in the 64th minute when Fabio Juricko finished a cross from Lucas Howe at the back post to knot the score at 1–1.
 
Despite Lake Erie generating 21 shots and earning 11 corner kicks across regulation and overtime, the Panthers’ defense and goalkeeper Matteo Graniero held firm to send the match to penalties. In the shootout, McNally, Harrison Davey, and Cameron Bell each converted their kicks for Kentucky Wesleyan, while Graniero turned aside all three Lake Erie attempts to send the Panthers to their third consecutive G-MAC final.

Championship Matchup
No. 6 Findlay and No. 5 Kentucky Wesleyan will meet on Saturday, November 7, at Lake Erie College in Painesville, Ohio, with the 2026 G-MAC Men's Soccer Championship and the conference's automatic qualifying bid to the NCAA Division II Championship on the line.