COLUMBIA, Mo. - The Columbia College men's soccer team (12-2-2, 4-0-1 AMC) enters the 2026 American Midwest Conference (AMC) Tournament as the No. 1 seed after going unbeaten in league play to claim its second consecutive and 12th overall AMC regular-season championship.

The Cougars earned a first-round bye and will host a semifinal on Saturday, Nov. 7, at 4 p.m. at R. Marvin Owens Field against the winner of No. 4 Central Baptist and No. 5 Hannibal-LaGrange. Columbia beat both teams at home during the regular season, topping Central Baptist 2-1 on Oct. 10 and Hannibal-LaGrange 1-0 on Oct. 27. The championship match is set for Tuesday, Nov. 10, at the higher seed.

Under second-year head coach Nathan Mason, Columbia is chasing its conference-best 12th AMC Tournament title and first since 2023. The Cougars have reached the championship match in each of the last four seasons. The tournament champion earns the AMC's automatic bid to the NAIA Championship, where Columbia last played in 2023. The Cougars fell 2-1 to Harris-Stowe in last year's final, but beat the second-seeded Hornets 2-1 in St. Louis on Oct. 24.

The Cougars have been unbeatable at home, going 8-0 at R. Marvin Owens Field this season. Columbia's only losses came on the road at Central Methodist in the season opener and at No. 21 Bellevue. The Cougars enter the postseason on a two-match winning streak and went 10-0-2 in a 12-match stretch between those losses.

Columbia has outscored opponents 42-14 this season, averaging 2.63 goals and 17.6 shots per match. The defense has allowed 0.88 goals per match with six shutouts.

Faraj Shee leads the attack with 12 goals, three assists and 27 points, including three game-winners. A second-team All-AMC pick last season, he has converted all five of his penalty kicks, recorded a hat trick against Central Bible on Sept. 12 and scored the second-half winner against Hannibal-LaGrange that clinched the regular-season title. Grant Buer adds eight goals, four assists and three game-winners with a team-high 51 shots. Josh Sutton, a first-team All-AMC selection last year, has four goals and five assists. Joshua Peterson, also a 2025 first-team All-AMC pick and a two-time AMC All-Tournament Team member, has started all 16 matches and leads the team with six assists. Drew Schlimme has three goals and four assists, and Parker Rainwater has four goals.

In goal, Mason Beck is 6-1 with a 0.62 goals-against average and an .833 save percentage. He has allowed one goal in three AMC starts. Ricardo Fischbach is 6-1-2 with 20 saves and two shutouts.

Tournament Schedule
Quarterfinals - Wednesday, Nov. 4

• No. 6 Mission at No. 3 Williams Baptist - 1 p.m.
• No. 5 Hannibal-LaGrange at No. 4 Central Baptist - 1 p.m.

Semifinals - Saturday, Nov. 7

• Hannibal-LaGrange/Central Baptist winner at No. 1 Columbia - 4 p.m.
• Mission/Williams Baptist winner vs. No. 2 Harris-Stowe -1 p.m.

Championship - Tuesday, Nov. 10

• Semifinal winners at higher seed - TBD