GREENVILLE, S.C. – UNC Pembroke has earned the top seed in the 2026 Conference Carolinas Women’s Soccer Championship that begins on Wednesday, October 28.
The Braves won the Conference Carolinas East Division with a record of 7-0-3 and finished the regular season with a Conference Carolinas record of 9-0-4, and overall record of 10-1-5. The three-time Conference Carolinas Women’s Soccer Tournament champions earned the top seed with an NPI of 60.4. East division runner-up and 2024 tournament champion, Francis Maroin University wasn’t far behind, taking the second seed with an NPI of 59.9. The Patriots are 12-4-1 overall and 10-2-1 in conference play.
Conference Carolinas Northwest Division champion, Lees-McRae College earned the third seed with an NPI of 57.5 after posting a conference record of 8-4-1 and overall record of 9-2-5. The final bye into the quarterfinals goes to southwest division champion Young Harris College. The Mountain Lions finished with an NPI of 56.8 and own an overall record of 11-3-2, going 10-1-2 in Conference Carolinas contests.
Those four teams have a bye into the quarterfinals that are set for Saturday, October 31.
The final eight teams will all be in action in the first round on Wednesday, October 28 at campus sites. Fifth seed Belmont Abbey College, sixth seed University of Mount Olive, seventh seed Barton College, eighth seed Converse University and will all serve as hosts.
Belmont Abbey finished with an NPI of 55.8 going 10-3-3 overall and 8-2-3 in league play. The Crusaders will face 12th seeded Southern Wesleyan University (7-8-2, 5-6-2) at 7:00 p.m. Mount Olive finished with an overall record of 6-6-6, going 4-3-6 in conference play and will host 11th-seed Chowan University (5-10-1, 5-7-1) at 7:00 p.m.
Chowan and Emmanuel both finished with NPI values of 48.4. Both teams finished with a points average of 1.23 points per game, the first tiebreaker. The tie was broken on the next tiebreaker, results against teams from the top of the standings moving down. It came down to the result against Barton as Emmanuel earned three points with a win and Chowan earned zero points.
Barton (9-5-3, 6-4-3) hosts 10th-seed Emmanuel University (4-8-5, 4-5-4) at 4:00 p.m. Converse (4-6-6, 4-5-4) takes on ninth-seed North Greenville University (3-8-5, 3-5-5) at 5:00 p.m.
Fans can watch every game of the tournament live via the Conference Carolinas Digital Network powered by Hudl at ConferenceCarolinas.com/watch. Fans can purchase an all-tournament pass for $25 or a daily pass for $10.
Information regarding the championship schedule, bracket and the Truist Soccer Complex at Bryan Park are available at the links below.
CHAMPIONSHIP PAGE | BRACKET | LIVE VIDEO | FINAL SITE TICKETS
2026 Conference Carolinas Women’s Soccer Championship
First Round – Wednesday, October 28 (Higher Seed Hosts)
No. 9 North Greenville at No. 8 Converse, 5:00 p.m.
No. 12 Southern Wesleyan at No. 5 Belmont Abbey, 7:00 p.m.
No. 11 Chowan at No. 6 Mount Olive, 7:00 p.m.
No. 10 Emmanuel at No. 7 Barton, 4:00 p.m.
Quarterfinals – Saturday, October 31 (Higher Seed Hosts)
Winner of 8-9 at No. 1 UNC Pembroke, 4:00 p.m.
Winner of 5-12 at No. 4 Young Harris, 4:00 p.m.
Winner of 6-11 at No. 3 Lees-McRae, 3:00 p.m.
Winner of 7-10 at No. 2 Francis Marion, 2:00 p.m.
Semifinals – Thursday, November 5 (Truist Soccer Complex at Bryan Park – Browns Summit, N.C.)
Winner of 1-8-9 vs. Winner of 4-5-12, 3:30 p.m.
Winner of 3-6-11 vs. Winner of 2-7-10, 6:30 p.m.
Final – Saturday, November 7 (Truist Soccer Complex at Bryan Park – Browns Summit, N.C.)
Winner of Semifinal 1 vs. Winner of Semifinal 2, 2:00 p.m.