LEBANON, Tenn.- Cumberland Men's Soccer earns an At-Large berth to the NAIA National Championship field as the No. 8 seed and will host the winner of Carroll (Mont.) and Wiley (Texas) on Saturday, November 22. 

This is the fifth time the Phoenix are making an appearance in the National Tournament field and the third time in five seasons. This is Cumberland's second at-large berth into the field. 

Cumberland finished the season with a 13-3-3 record and surged to a Top 10 ranking in the final poll at No. 9. Cumberland made a run to the MSC Championship match defeating Campbellsville and No. 6 Cumberlands on the way. 

Cumberland will take on the winner of Wiley College and Carroll on Saturday. The two sides will play at Cumberland on Thursday, November 20th. Carroll earned the No. 2 seed in the Lebanon Bracket after earning an at-large berth out of the Cascade Collegiate Conference, while Wiley took the automatic bid out of the HBCUAC for winning their post-season tournament.

The Phoenix received automatic berths into the national tournament field in 2015, 2017, and 2023 by virtue of winning the Mid-South Conference Championships and picked up an at-large berth in 2021. Cumberland has posted an 0-4 Opening Round record and is yet to advance to the final site in their program's history.

This is the third time the Phoenix will host the NAIA National Championships. Cumberland hosted Southeastern in 2015 and Madonna in 2017. 

The journey to Orange Beach, Ala., begins now as 40 teams have punched their ticket to the First and Second Rounds of the 2025 NAIA Men's Soccer National Tournament, taking place on Thursday, Nov. 20, and Saturday, Nov. 22, at campus sites across the nation. Teams that advance out of those rounds will pack their bags and head to Orange Beach, where final site action will commence on December 1 and continue through December 8, until one team stands alone and is crowned a champion.

Last season's champion, Dalton State (Ga.), will face Warner Pacific (Ore.) in the first round of the West Palm Beach bracket, with fourth-seeded Keiser (Fla.) awaiting the winner on Saturday. 

The Heart of America Athletic Conference, Mid-South Conference, Cascade Collegiate Conference, and Southern States Athletic Conference each have four institutions represented in the national tournament field. The most common mascot among participating teams is the Wildcats, appearing four times.

Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) makes its 32nd appearance in the national tournament, while Rio Grande (Ohio) will enter the field for the 25th time. La Sierra (Calif.) and Faulkner (Ala.) make their first-ever appearance, while Harris-Stowe (Mo.) qualifies for the first time in 25 years. 

Select first-and second-round games across the nation will be broadcast for free on the Urban Edge Network (UEN); others will be streamed on the host institutions' designated or traditional broadcast partner. All first and second-round streams are produced by the host institution.



Cumberland History in NAIA Championship Opening Round
2015 - lost Southeastern, 1-0 (2OT)
2017 - lost Madonna, 1-0
2021 - lost Vanguard, 1-0
2023 - lost Missouri Valley, 6-3