COLONIA, N.J. – The 2026 East Coast Conference Men's Soccer Championship bracket is set and the top six teams from the regular season will battle for the ECC title and the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Division II Championship. Highlighting the postseason field were No. 1 St. Thomas Aquinas and No. 2 D'Youville, which earned First Round byes, while No. 3 Molloy, No. 4 Mercy, No. 5 Queens, and No. 6 District of Columbia clinched berths and will compete in the First Round on Thursday, October 29.
 
All contest during the ECC Championships will be broadcast live on FloCollege. For more information and to subscribe, visit eccsports.org/FloCollege.
 
Ticket pricing is $10 for adults and $5 for students (with ID), senior citizens and children 5 and up; children under 5 are free of charge. To purchase tickets for ECC Championships, please visit tickets.eccsports.org.
 
St. Thomas Aquinas earns the No. 1 seed after ending the regular season with a 7-4-4 overall tally and an unbeaten 6-0-2 ECC record for 20 conference points. The Spartans closed out the regular season as winners of their final three matches overall and having won four straight ECC games, which included a 3-2 triumph over Daemen today at home to lock down the top seed. STAC garners its third ECC Regular Season Championship over the past six seasons, winning its last two titles in 2021 and 2023. The Spartans have never won an ECC Championship, but most recently made the Championship Final in 2021. St. Thomas Aquinas will begin its chase for an ECC Championship on Sunday, November 1 at 12:00 PM in Sparkill, NY during the Semifinals, and will welcome the winner of Thursday’s First Round match-up between No. 4 Mercy and No. 5 Queens. 

D’Youville finished at 7-4-4 overall and 4-1-3 in the ECC, collecting 15 conference points. The Saints closed out the regular season with a scoreless tie against Queens today and are unbeaten in ECC action over their last five contests. D’Youville, which has never won an ECC Championship or made a Championship Final, will start its postseason title hunt in the Semifinals by hosting the winner No. 3 Molloy and No. 6 District of Columbia on Sunday, November 1 at 7:00 PM.

First Round action will kick off on Thursday with No. 4 Mercy (11-4-3, 4-3-1 ECC), which is ranked #24 nationally, hosting No. 5 Queens (10-5-3, 3-3-2 ECC) at Mercy Field in Dobbs Ferry, NY at 1:00 PM and No. 3 Molloy (5-3-7, 3-1-4 ECC) entertaining No. 6 District of Columbia (8-5-4, 3-3-2 ECC) at RVC Sports Complex in Rockville Centre, NY at 7:00 PM. The Mavericks and the Knights have combined to be nationally ranked or receiving votes seven times during the 2026 stanza, with Mercy earning four national rankings, while Queens was nationally ranked once and were receiving votes twice. When the two sides battled earlier this week on October 21, Mercy shutout Queens, 2-0 at home. The Lions and the Firebirds played to a 1-1 tie in Rockville Centre, NY on October 10. While the top two seeds have never won an ECC Championship, seeds 2 through 4 have combined to win nine ECC trophies, including five out of the last six. Mercy leads all current ECC member institutions with five ECC Championships, winning its most recent two in 2019 and 2022. Molloy owns a pair of ECC Championships, with the last one coming in 2021. 2025 runner-up, Queens, was the 2023 ECC Champions and District of Columbia were crowned ECC Champions in 2024.

2026 ECC Men's Soccer Championship
First Round - Thursday, October 29
1:00 PM – No. 5 Queens vs. No. 4 Mercy
7:00 PM – No. 6 District of Columbia vs. No. 3 Molloy

Semifinals - Sunday, November 1
12:00 PM – No. 1 St. Thomas Aquinas vs. Winner No. 5 Queens/No. 4 Mercy
7:00 PM – No. 2 D'Youville vs. Winner No. 6 District of Columbia/No. 3 Molloy

Final - Sunday, November 8 (at Highest Remaining Seed)
Time TBD – Winners of the Semifinals
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Founded as the New York Collegiate Athletic Conference in 1989 and rechristened the East Coast Conference in July 2006, the ECC was formed to enhance intercollegiate athletic competition among member institutions and to assist them in integrating athletics into their academic program in a fiscally sound way. The ECC is committed to the highest standards of scholarship, sportsmanship, teamwork, and citizenship. Its mission is to promote the total person concept in its student-athletes, which stresses the abilities to excel in academic achievement, athletic competition, and positive character traits. East Coast Conference members include: Daemen University (Amherst, N.Y.); University of the District of Columbia (Washington, D.C.); D'Youville University (Buffalo, N.Y.); Mercy University (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.); Molloy University (Rockville Centre, N.Y.); Queens College (Flushing, N.Y.); Roberts Wesleyan University (Rochester, N.Y.); College of Staten Island (Staten Island, N.Y.); and St. Thomas Aquinas College (Sparkill, N.Y.). The ECC also is home to 13 associate members in the sports of women’s bowling (3), men’s and women’s indoor track & field (3), men's volleyball (2), field hockey (1), and men’s lacrosse (1).

The ECC sponsors the following championship sports: baseball; men’s and women’s basketball; women's bowling; men’s and women’s cross country; field hockey; men’s and women’s lacrosse; men’s and women’s indoor track and field; men’s and women’s outdoor track and field; men’s and women’s soccer; softball; and men's and women’s volleyball.
 
The East Coast Conference is a proud member of the NCAA and Division II. Division II is a dynamic and engaging group of colleges, institutions and conferences of varying sizes and educational missions. Division II members encourage and support diversity; value sportsmanship, fairness and equity; and place the highest priority on the overall educational excellence of the student-athlete.