The long anticipated start of men’s soccer at Dalton State is right around the corner and Coach Kerem Daser is looking forward to competing against many of the best soccer programs that the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics has to offer.
Like other Roadrunner teams, soccer will be competing in the Southern States Athletic Conference.
“The SSAC is the premiere NAIA men’s soccer conference in the country,” said Daser. “Many of the SSAC men’s soccer programs have won national championships. I am sure the majority of the conference teams will be ranked nationally.”
Soccer fans will have 11 chances to see Dalton State play at home this year. Nine matches will be on the road. “We hope to have great soccer crowds for our home Dalton State soccer matches,” said Daser. “Many of the teams we will play have squads filled with juniors and seniors. I think we will be the youngest team in the conference and one of the youngest in the country.”
“We will open with preseason scrimmage matches against the U18 Concorde Fire DA Academy team and then Berry College,” Coach K announced. Roadrunner home matches will be played at the school’s home field, located at Lakeshore Park in Dalton.
The Concorde Fire scrimmage will start at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 15th with Berry College beginning at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, August 19th.
After the Berry contest the Roadrunners will hop on a team bus and travel to Florida College in Temple Terrace (adjacent to Tampa) for a 7:00 p.m., August 20th game.
The next game on the Florida swing will take Dalton State soccer to the Greater Miami area. The Roadrunners will play Florida National University at Goodlett Park in Hialeah on Saturday, August 22nd. The Conquistadors will also be in their first season of soccer.
Dalton State soccer returns home for four straight at Lakeshore Park. The competition will be Milligan College, Cumberland University, Fisk University and Brescia University. Back on the road, DS will travel to Lee University in Cleveland, Tn., Brescia University in Owensboro, Ky. and Fisk University in Nashville.
The Roadrunners return to Dalton for four consecutive games. Bob Jones University comes to Lakeshore Park on September 25th for the final non-conference match of the season. SSAC foe Auburn Montgomery visits on Thursday, October 1st at 7:00 p.m. followed by Faulkner University on Saturday, October 3rd at 7:00 p.m. The University of Mobile will visit on Thursday, October 8th at 7:00 p.m.
William Carey University hosts Dalton State in Hattiesburg, Ms. on Saturday, August 10th at 7:30 p.m. CT.
The final home game of the season will be on Brewton-Park Wednesday, October 14th at 7:00 p.m. when Brewton-Parker visits Lakeshore Park.
The Roadrunners end the regular season with three on the road. They go to Cochran, Ga. on Saturday, October 17th to play Middle Georgia State at 3:00 p.m. Martin Methodist hosts the Birds in Pulaski, Tn. on Saturday, October 24th at 7:30 p.m. CT (8:30 ET).
The final regular season contest will be in McKenzie, Tn. on Halloween afternoon. Bethel University entertains DS at 2:00 p.m. CT on October 31st. The SSAC Championships will be held November 13-15 at Emory Folmar YMCA Soccer in Montgomery.
Dalton State will be eligible for post season consideration this year. Women’s soccer will begin next fall.