When and Where: November 7, 2026 – Hooksett, N.H. (Mark A. Ouellette Stadium)
Score: #8/#1 seed Southern New Hampshire University 3, #2 seed American International College 0
Records: SNHU 13-1-4, AIC 10-6-4
Fifth year goalkeeper Alvaro Garcia (Barcelona, Spain) notched a five-save shutout to backbone the eighth-ranked and top-seeded Southern New Hampshire University men's soccer team's 3-0 victory against second-seeded American International College in the NE10 Championship final Saturday afternoon at Ouellette Stadium. The win secured the ninth NE10 title in school history for the Penmen, who have now brought home two of the last three.
KEY MOMENTS
- Southern New Hampshire snapped a scoreless deadlock with just 3:02 on the clock in the first half when junior Gabriel Castro (León, Spain) sent a ball across the 6-yard box that deflected off the goalkeeper and out to senior Inigo Iriarte (Pamplona, Spain) who finished it off to make it 1-0.
- SNHU doubled its lead 9:04 into the second half when senior Alex Pons (Castellón, Spain) delivered a ball in front that was headed in by fifth year Miguel Gimeno (Pamplona, Spain).
- Castro sealed it with 2:12 to go, heading in a long ball from Pons to extend the lead to 3-0.
NOTES
- Southern New Hampshire, ranked eighth in the latest United Soccer Coaches Division II Top 25, is unbeaten in 17 of 18 this season.
- The Penmen claim their league-best ninth NE10 title (2000, 2002, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2024), including their second in the last three years. This is the fifth time SNHU has won the NE10 Championship as the No. 1 seed (2013, 2014, 2015, 2024). The Penmen also won a share of the NE10 Regular Season Championship in 2008 when it won the tournament crown as the No. 2 seed.
- SNHU improves to 31-11-7 (.704) all-time in 26 appearances in the NE10 Championship, including 3-0-0 against American Int'l. The Penmen knocked the Yellow Jackets out in the first round a year ago with a 4-1 victory at home. SNHU is now 26-3-4 at home in the NE10 postseason, including 20-1-3 over its last 24. The Penmen are also 7-1-1 over their last nine NE10 Championship tilts.
- The Penmen secured their 24th shutout all-time in the NE10 Championship, including their sixth in the finals.
- Castro was named the United States Marines Most Outstanding Player of the 2026 NE10 Men's Soccer Championship and was joined on the NE10 All-Championship Team by Gimeno and senior Eduardo Maia (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil).
- Junior Jack Toolin (Bedford, N.H.) collected the NE10's prestigious Elite 24 Award. The honor is bestowed on the student-athlete with the highest GPA at each of the conference's 24 Championships. Toolin is an accounting major with a perfect 4.0 GPA.
- Southern New Hampshire leads the all-time series with AIC, 28-2-1, and extends its unbeaten streak against the Yellow Jackets to 22 (21-0-1) dating back to the 2007 campaign. SNHU is outscoring AIC, 49-12, during the 22-match unbeaten streak. The Penmen have won nine straight in the series. The Penmen are also 17-1-0 at home and have won 14-in-a-row there, including a 2-1 victory back on Sept. 19. The last AIC win in the series came Sept. 30, 2006 (2-0) at home, while its last victory at SNHU came Oct. 1, 2005 (2-1).
- Garcia's clean sheet is his eighth of the season and the 16th in his two years with the Penmen. It is SNHU's 11th shutout of the year, putting it four shy of the program record.
- Iriarte, who missed 10 matches with an injury, came off the bench in the regular-season finale and NE10 semifinal, before drawing his first start since Sept. 12 in the final and finding the back of the net for the second time in 2026. It was the fourth goal of his Penmen career.
- Gimeno recorded his eighth goal of the season – the second most on the team.
- Castro also now has eight goals on the season, including two in the NE10 Championship, and 17 in his three-year Penmen career.
- Castro's goal and assist moves him into second on the team with 19 points.
- Pons collected the two assists to give him four on the year.
- The Penmen are now 175-43-33 (.763) over their last 251 matches dating back to the beginning of the 2013 National Championship season. SNHU is also 47-7-10 (.812) over its last 64 matches dating back to 2023.
- The Penmen improve to 119-16-19 (.834) over their last 154 contests at home, including 57-9-12 (.808) at Ouellette Stadium. SNHU is now 28-2-4 (.882) at home over its last three seasons, including 9-0-1 this year, and is unbeaten in 28 of its last 29 at Ouellette (24-1-4).
UP NEXT
- The Penmen will now await the NCAA Selection Show, which airs Monday (Nov. 9) at 6:30 p.m. on NCAA.com, to learn where they will be seeded in Super Region 1, as the NCAA Division II Championship gets underway Friday, Nov. 13.
