HAYS, Kan. – On a sunny Saturday afternoon, Fort Hays State faced off against No. 15 Rogers State University — a match that resulted in a 2-0 victory. For the Tigers, this marks their 19th consecutive victory at home.

Senior forward Santiago Agudelo opened up the scoring in the 32nd minute for his third of the season after scoring two goals on Thursday night against Northeastern State University.

Defender Joey McCain intercepted a pass from the Hillcats and found Agudelo at the edge of the 18-yard box. With a one-touch turn, the forward struck ball into the lower left-hand corner of the net.

In the 46th minute, the Tigers found their back against the wall. With only a one goal lead, the referee awarded a penalty kick to the Hillcats. No. 10 Jordan Watson stepped up to the spot and began his run-up.

On the strike, Watson aimed for the bottom left corner of the goal but was denied by senior Cullen Fisch to keep Fort Hays State’s momentum intact.

30 minutes later, Agudelo had part in another Tigers goal, but this time he was not on the receiving end.

Agudelo, with the ball at his feet and three men to beat, saw a sprinting Rogelio Lopez making a run to the far post. With the outside of his right boot, he flicked the ball in on a grounded cross. Lopez ended the play with a sliding finish back across the goal for his first of the 2019 campaign.

The Tigers ended the day attempting four more shots than Rogers State. Fisch’s poise in net lead to his four crucial saves for Fort Hays.

Agudelo, finding the goal early in the contest, tallied his third goal of the season and the assist was his first of 2019.

The Tigers will hit the road to Arkansas for their next match against Ouachita Baptist, who are 1-4-1 on the season. The two teams have yet to meet in program history.

Fort Hays State (0-2, 0-2 MIAA) at
Washburn (1-1, 1-1 MIAA)
Saturday, Sept. 21 – 1 pm
Topeka, Kan. – Yager Stadium
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Fort Hays State Football looks for its first win of the 2019 season on Saturday when it takes on Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas at Yager Stadium. The Tigers enter the game at 0-2, while the Ichabods are 1-1. FHSU has not won in Topeka since 1987, looking to snap a string of nine-straight losses at Yager Stadium.

 

Fort Hays State is 0-2 to start a season for the first time since 2013, when it started 0-4. The Tigers won the last two meetings with Washburn, winning 37-20 in 2017 and 30-24 in 2018. Both of those contests were in Hays. FHSU has been very close to snapping its skid at Yager Stadium in its last two attempts. In 2016, the last meeting between the teams in Topeka, FHSU was just a touchdown short of a victory in a 30-24 loss. In 2014, FHSU forced overtime with a touchdown in the final minute of the game, but after FHSU settled for a field goal to start overtime, Washburn won the game 27-24 with a touchdown.

The home team in this series claimed the last six meetings. FHSU won all three meetings with Washburn in Hays since 2015, while Washburn has won all three meetings in Topeka since 2013. A Washburn win during the 2012 season in Hays was the last time the road team won. Washburn ranked No. 15 in the nation in that meeting.

Fort Hays State ranks seventh in NCAA Division II for passing yards per game so far this year, averaging 333 per game. Quarterback Chance Fuller threw for exactly 333 yards in each of the first two games this year. It marks the first consecutive 300-yard passing games for FHSU since the 2015 season when former Tiger Jacob Mezera threw for 446, 354, and 309 in three consecutive games. Harley Hazlett has been the top target for Mezera so far with 11 catches for 160 yards. Manny Ramsey and Layne Bieberle also have over 100 receiving yards this season.

The Tigers are still looking to establish a running game this season after struggling to just 75.5 yards per game on the ground so far. Charles Tigner leads the team in rushing so far with 109 yards, though he’s been valuable in the passing game as well with 71 yards on 11 catches.

Defensively, Tanner Hoekman leads the Tigers in tackles with 15, followed by Drew Harvey and Hayden Kreutzer each with 14. Sheldon Schmidt and Jonathan Williams share the only sack by the Tigers so far this season.

— FHSU Sports Information —

TOPEKA, Kan. – The Fort Hays State volleyball team came up empty against No. 3 Washburn Friday evening (Sept. 20), falling in three sets (18-25, 24-26, 16-25). The Tigers committed a season-low nine attack errors in the loss, but it was not enough to overcome 49 kills and a .259 attack rate from the Ichabods. The Tigers move to 3-6 overall and 0-1 in MIAA play while the Ichabods are now 9-0 on the year and 1-0 in league action.

After dropping the first set, Fort Hays State led for nearly all of the second frame. The Tigers scored the first two points of the match and soon doubled up the Ichabods, 12-6, after a five-point run with Tatum Bartels serving. Washburn later closed within one, but three-straight kills from Mykah Eshbaugh pushed the FHSU advantage back to four, 19-15. The Ichabods continued to chip away at the lead, finally tying things up at 23-23. A kill from Bartels gave the Tigers a chance at set point, but WU rallied to score the final three points and take the set.

The freshman trio of Delaney Humm, Morgan Christiansen and Mykah Eshbaugh had a strong day on offense, combining for 21 kills and just three errors. Katie Darnell handled the setting duties, tossing up 20 assists while adding three kills and eight digs. Senior Abbie Hayes paced the team with 14 digs and tallied the fifth kill of her career.

Washburn posted four more attack errors than FHSU, but a sizeable 49-32 advantage in kills made the biggest difference in the match. The Ichabods also held a big lead in digs, 65-54, assists, 43-25, and aces, 7-2.

The Tigers return to Hays Saturday (Sept. 21) when they host Emporia State. First serve is set for 5 p.m. from Gross Memorial Coliseum.

EMPORIA, Kan. – The Fort Hays State women’s soccer team could not overcome Emporia State’s offense, falling to the Hornets 4-2 in a non-conference match Friday (Sept. 20). The Tigers move to 2-2 on the year, while ESU is now 4-1 this season.

Fort Hays State got on the board early in the first half when senior Nikita Woods put one in the back of the net at the 10-minute mark. Emporia State’s Gaby Crowell tallied the equalizer 10 minutes later before the teams went into the locker room tied 1-1.

Each side picked up the pace to start the second half until Crowell broke the tie with her second goal of the match in the 67th minute. The Hornets doubled their lead 12 minutes later with a goal from Joanie Westcoat.

Taryn Schnell got the Tigers back within one when she found the back of the net two minutes later, but ESU’s Hannah Woolery sealed the 4-2 victory with a goal in the 85th minute.

Emporia State held a 17-11 edge in shots, including 11 shots after halftime. The Hornets took four corners in the second half.

Deonna Wellbrock (1-1) made five saves after facing nine shots on goal. Woods, Cailey Perkins and Tessa Irvine all attempted two shots for the Tigers.

The road trip continues for Tigers on Sunday when they take on Nebraska-Kearney in another non-conference matchup. Kick off is set for 1:00 p.m.

HAYS, Kan. – In their first match in Great American Conference play, the Fort Hays State University men’s soccer program: ended a three-game losing streak, defeated rival Northeastern State University, and extended their run of victories in Hays to eighteen consecutive matches at the conclusion of their 2-1 win in overtime.

With just under six minutes left to play in the extra period, senior midfielder Sergio Villalba sent a ball down the sideline, just sliding around the defender in pursuit. Santiago Agudelo sprinted in behind the RiverHawks defense. Using shear pace and poise, the reigning National Player of the Year dribbled to the edge of the 18-yard box.

Behind the entirety of the Northeastern State outfield players, Agudelo only had one man to beat. Goalkeeper Justin Hinman jumped off his line and into action. The senior forward took one side step and slotted the ball into the back of the net for his second goal of the night to secure a Tigers victory.

Agudelo’s first goal came in the 19th minute. Forward Arsenio Chamorro controlled the ball off of a header won by Agudelo within the Tigers’ attacking third. He played a ground ball to midfielder Rogelio Lopez who played with a bit of skill and side stepped his defender. Lopez crossed the ball and found Agudelo at the far post and slotted the ball to the keeper’s right.

Before FHSU scored, the RiverHawks saw a screaming strike by Aaron Ugbah be goal-bound. Stepping into a swing, Ugbah drilled a ball into the top corner of the net on a near 25-yard strike.

For Fort Hays, this marks their second victory of the 2019 campaign and their fourth consecutive victory over the RiverHawks.

Seven players played all 94 minutes on Thursday night for the black and gold. Senior goalkeeper Cullen Fisch added two saves on 11 shots in the victory.

The Tigers will remain at home on Saturday, Sept. 21 and take on No. 15 Rogers State for a 1 p.m. kickoff. The only time that the two sides have faced off was in 2017 in Claremore, Okla. which resulted in 1-0 defeat for FHSU.

HAYS, Kan. – Fort Hays State battled through windy conditions in Hays to defeat Sterling College 6-1 on Tuesday (Sept. 17). The Tigers swept doubles play and took five of six singles matches for the win. FHSU improved to 3-2 overall on the season.

The No. 1 team of Natalie Lubbers and Ellea Ediger, and No. 3 team of Grace Holgerson and Kimberly Stone cruised to victory to give FHSU the team point yielded from doubles play. The No. 1 Tiger team defeated Janae Ryan and Keeley Hipp 6-1, while the No. 3 Tiger team defeated Brooklyn Bauman and Cortney Blackburn 6-0. The No. 2 team of Macy Moyers and Sydney McAdoo battled to a 7-5 win over Nicole Marin and Maddie Thrasher.

All singles matches finished in straight sets with the Tigers on top in five of six. Lubbers turned in the most dominant performance of the six at the No. 1 position, defeating Thrasher 6-1, 6-0. Holgerson claimed a 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 6 over Bauman. Ediger (No. 3) and McAdoo (No. 4) put the match away for the Tigers. Ediger won 6-2, 6-3 over Hipp and McAdoo won 6-2, 6-4 over Blackburn. Moyers battled Ryan at No. 2, coming out victorious in scores of 6-4, 7-5. Stone was the only Tiger to drop a match, falling 7-6 (7-3), 7-5 to Marin at the No. 5 position.

Fort Hays State will scrimmage Barton (Kan.) Community College on Monday (Sept. 23) before returning to countable competition against Bethel (Kan.) College on Friday (Sept. 27) in Hays at 3:30 pm.

PUEBLO, Colo. – Fort Hays State Men’s Golf opened its 2019-20 season on Monday and Tuesday (Sept. 16-17) at the Farmers Insurance Samuel Proal Invitational, hosted by Colorado State-Pueblo. The Tigers finished 12th overall in the tournament, contested at Walking Stick Golf Course, a par-72, 7,243-yard layout. Cole Gritton led the Tigers in his first tournament as a Tiger.

Gritton, a senior transfer from Colorado Christian University, improved 10 places on the leaderboard in the final round, finishing in a tie for 13th at 3-over par overall. Seven players finished under par overall, led by an 11-under par effort from CSU-Pueblo’s Andrew Ni. Liam Duncan of New Mexico Junior College was right on his heels with a 10-under par finish. Gritton was a steady performer for the Tigers throughout the tournament, posting scores of 74 (+2), 73 (+1), and 72 (E).

The Tigers as a team tied for seventh after the first round, firing a 296, their best collective effort of the three rounds. FHSU followed that with rounds of 306 and 304.

Pete Carney led the Tigers in the first round with an even-par 72. He followed that with rounds of 79 and 78. He tied teammate Bryce Cowan for 44th overall at 13-over par. Cowan carded rounds of 74, 80, and 75. Chandler Roberts shot rounds of 76, 76, and 79, tying for 49th at 15-over par, and owned the second-best round of the Tigers in the second round. Isaiah Grover tied for 54th at 17-over par with rounds of 76, 78, and 79.

New Mexico Junior College claimed the tournament with a team score of 865, just 1-over par overall. CSU-Pueblo and Colorado School of Mines tied for second at 869, each 5-over par as a team.

Fort Hays State heads back on the road next week to the MSSU Fall Invitational, a mandatory MIAA event, held at Shangri-La Country Club in Monkey Island, Oklahoma.

DENVER – The No. 12 Fort Hays State University men’s soccer team faced off against the Regis University Rangers on Sunday afternoon. The Tigers entered into the matchup on a two-game skid and that form continued as the match resulted in a 3-0 loss.

Fort Hays State found themselves behind early in the match. Just one minute into the contest, Regis’ Ben Shepherd slid a ball past goalkeeper Cullen Fisch to begin the score tally.

With only five minutes remaining in the first half, the Rangers struck again. Parker Klein ripped his shot to Fisch’s left-hand side for a 2-0 lead.

Following halftime, the Rangers marched down the field. Defending inside of their own 18-yard box, the Tigers were backed into an uncomfortable position. Mariano Benitez made contact within the box and was called for a foul. Shepherd stepped up to the spot for the Rangers and tucked his shot away to mark the third goal of the contest.

Fort Hays State took 10 shots through the duration of the match. Goalkeeper Cullen Fisch was kept busy in net as he faced 15 shots and made six saves.

Within the 90 minutes, six yellow cards were handed out. The Tigers’ Santiago Agudelo, Alec Bevis, and Alonso Rodriguez all had bookings.

For the Tigers, this marks their second-worst start to a regular season in program history, with 2017 being the only one to top this in those ranks. FHSU started 0-4-2 in 2017, but went on an 11-1 tear over its next 12 and made the NCAA Tournament, finishing the year at 11-6-2.

The black and gold were knocked out of the NCAA Championship tournament in 2017 by Northeastern State University, but FHSU defeated Northeastern State in all three meetings last year (NCAA Tournament included). On Thursday, Sept. 19 the Tigers square off with their long-time conference rival, but this time playing as members of the Great American Conference. The Tigers are 9-7-5, all-time against Northeastern State.

This will be FHSU’s first game played in Hays since its victory over Rockhurst in the season-opener and its first game in Great American Conference play. The men’s soccer program still holds a 17-game home win streak and will look to keep that alive.

HAYS, Kan. – The Fort Hays State volleyball team wrapped up a busy weekend with a come-from-behind victory against Northwestern Oklahoma State Saturday evening (9/14). The victory came after the Tigers opened the day with a three-set loss to Western Colorado.

After splitting two matches for the third-straight day dating back to last week, the Tigers wrap up non-conference play with a 3-5 record. The Mountaineers of Western Colorado moved to 3-4 following the win, while the NWOSU Rangers are now 5-4 on the season.

With the MIAA down to 11 volleyball schools, the Tigers will play each team twice in an expanded 20-game conference schedule beginning next week. FHSU will travel to Topeka, Kan. to take on No. 4 Washburn on Friday at 6 p.m. (Sept. 20) before returning home to host Emporia State one week from today (Sept. 21). First serve is set for 5 p.m. from Gross Memorial Coliseum.

Fort Hays State 3, Northwestern Oklahoma State 1 (20-25, 19-25, 19-25, 18-25)
The Tigers head into league play on a high note after a gritty win over Northwestern Oklahoma State. The Rangers appeared to be en route to their fourth win of the weekend after a 25-20 victory in the first set, but FHSU rallied to send the Tiger faithful home with a win.

The Black and Gold could not get out of their own way in the first set, giving the Rangers 12 points on 10 attack errors and two setting miscues. The teams traded the lead for much of the set until NWOSU used a 9-4 run to turn a 16-16 tie into an opening-set victory.

The Tigers turned things around in the second set, swinging at a .359 clip (17-3-39) to overpower a .289 swing rate by the visitors. Morgan West made the most of her opportunities in the frame, dropping in five kills on six attempts. Taylor White tallied three service aces in a five-point stretch late in the set to help the Tigers pull away and level the match.

Delaney Humm was a consistent presence in the Tiger offense, recording six kills in three sets and four in the other. The freshman helped FHSU pull away in the third set after breaking a 10-10 tie with a big kill. Humm followed that up with a service ace, leading to a five-point Tiger run. The Rangers closed within two later in the set, but three NWOSU errors and one final kill from Mykah Eshbaugh handed the Tigers a 2-1 lead in the match.

The Rangers managed to keep the fourth set close for the first few rallies, but the Tigers took the lead for good when a Tatum Bartels kill put them in front 8-7. Humm later gave Fort Hays State a chance at set point with a kill and an assisted block with fellow freshman Morgan Christiansen before the match came to a close on a Ranger attack error.

Humm matched her season high with 22 kills, adding 11 digs, one block, one service ace and one assist. Bartels was also sharp on offense, adding 17 kills with a .364 attack percentage. Abbie Hayes led the team with a career-best 32 digs, the most for a Tiger since the 2015 season (Ari Jacobsen, 39 vs. MWSU, 11/6/15). Katie Darnell’s career-high 61 digs were the most for an FHSU setter in over three years (Hannah Wagy, 61 at Westminster, 9/10/16).

White added 21 digs to her three service aces, while Madison Miller totaled 10 digs and one kill.

After a rough first set, the Tigers finished the match with a .241 attack percentage while holding NWOSU to a .184 swing rate. Fort Hays State had a sizeable lead in back row statistical categories, putting up 80 digs to just 57 from NWOSU and recording three more service aces (FHSU 5, NWOSU 2). The Rangers won the blocking battle, 8-3.

Western Colorado 3, Fort Hays State 0 (18-25, 19-25, 23,25)
The Tigers had trouble with Western Colorado in the opener, allowing the Mountaineers to record their best swing rate of the season at .300. Western Colorado also had a big advantage in blocks, totaling nine team blocks to just four for the Tigers.

Fort Hays State recorded an impressive .300 attack percentage in the opening set, but had no answer for a swing rate of .484 by the visitors.

Tatum Bartels made just one error on 15 swings in the first match of the day, leading the team with 10 kills and a .600 swing rate. Bartels also led the team with four block assists. Katie Darnell led the team with 22 assists with Haley McCorkle adding 13.

HASTINGS, Colo. – Fort Hays State accomplished the feat of posting a perfect score to win the Bronco Stampede hosted by Hastings College on Saturday. The Tigers swept the top five placements in the race for a perfect score of 15, topping a field of 10 teams. The top four Tigers nearly crossed the line all at the same time, led by Israel Barco.

Barco edged teammate Justin Moore for the individual title by just 0.2 seconds. Barco covered the 8K course in 26.35.7, while Moore posted 26:35.9. Reed Rome was just 0.3 seconds off Barco’s winning pace, hitting 26:36 flat. Robbie Schmidt was just 0.3 seconds behind Rome in 26:36.3. Only 0.6 seconds separated first through fourth.

Kaleb Crum gave the Tigers a perfect team score by crossing the line in 26:56.8. He was still nearly 10 seconds faster than sixth-place finisher Nelson Kemboi of Southeast (Neb.) Community College.

The Tigers still would have dominated the team scoring with their second wave of runners. Abraham Garcia finished eighth, Peter Franklin was ninth, Robert Loeffler was 11th, Seppe van ‘t Westende was 12th, and Michael Eisenbarth was 13th. Even Caleb Carrasco, Guillaume Plagneaux, and Jorge Gallegos were in the top 20.

Friends University was the closest competitor to the Tigers, finishing with 88 team points. Concordia (Neb.) was third with 123.

Fort Hays State returns to action in a couple of weeks at the Emporia State Invitational on Friday, September 27.

HASTINGS, Neb. – The Fort Hays State women’s cross country team claimed first at the Bronco Stampede, hosted by Hastings College on Saturday (Sept. 14). The Tigers topped a field of 11 teams and won by 11 points over Concordia University (Neb.). Abigail Stewart paced the Tigers with a second-place overall finish.

Stewart covered the 5K course in 19:41.7, finishing just six seconds behind individual champion Aileen Gurrola of Friends University. Teammate Brooke Navarro joined Stewart as one of six runners in the field that broke the 20-minute mark. Navarro finished fourth in a time of 19:48.1.

Tessa Durnell and Averi Wilson also turned in top-10 finishes. Durnell finished seventh in 20:02.2 and Wilson covered the course in 20:13.8. Emily Salmans was 14th overall, but scored 13 team points since one runner in the top 15 was unattached. She rounded out the top five for FHSU with a time of 20:31.9.

Fort Hays State was the only team in the field to place four in the top 10 of the race.

The team will take a week off before returning to action at the Emporia State Invitational on Friday, September 27.

HAYS, Kan. – The Fort Hays State volleyball team opened the 2019 Tiger Classic with one win and one loss Friday inside Gross Memorial Coliseum. The Tigers were unable to solve Chadron State, falling in three sets, before taking down Southern Arkansas in a three-set sweep in the nightcap. FHSU moves to 2-4 on the year with the split, while the Eagles improves to 4-1 and the Muleriders dip to 1-4 overall.

The action continues with six more matches beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday. The Tigers will take to the court at 1 p.m. against Western Colorado before wrapping up their non-conference schedule with Northwestern Oklahoma State at 7:30 p.m. A full schedule for day 2 of the 2019 Tiger Classic can be found here.

Fort Hays State 3, Southern Arkansas 0 (25-10, 25-17, 26-24)
The Tigers came out of the gates on fire in the second match of the day, posting a .391 attack percentage to win the opening set in convincing fashion. FHSU was equally as efficient on defense, blocking four shots and holding the Muleriders to a -.120 swing rate in the opening frame.

After leading the first set wire-to-wire, the Tigers once again never trailed in the second frame. Fort Hays State took advantage of 10 SAU attack errors, building a lead and never letting go.

The Black and Gold seemed poised to run away with the third set after capturing the first six points. But the Muleriders slowly chipped into the lead, ultimately earning a chance at set point with a 24-23 lead. Tatum Bartels leveled the score with a booming kill out of a timeout before another SAU miscue gave the Tigers a serve for the match. Delaney Humm finished things off with one final kill and secured the first home win of the season.

Humm led the team with 13 kills, posting an impressive .476 swing percentage. Katie Darnell tossed up a team-high 18 assists while Haley McCorkle added 12. Kayla Vitztum dropped in three service aces in addition to four kills and two blocks.

The Tigers finished the match with a season-best .277 attack percentage to go along with six blocks and three service aces. FHSU held the Muleriders to a -.012 swing rate on the day.

Chadron State 3, Fort Hays State 0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-23)
The Tigers had kept pace with the Eagle offense all afternoon, recording 38 kills to Chadron’s 40. But the discrepancy in errors made a big impact, with FHSU recording 23 attack errors and Chadron State putting up just 12 miscues. The Eagle front line was a big cause of the headache, recording nine team blocks.

The Tigers recorded a .140 attack percentage in the loss, while Chadron countered with a .264 attack percentage. Delaney Humm led the team with 11 kills, Tatum Bartels added six and Kayla Vitztum totaled six.

HAYS, Kan. – Fort Hays State notched its second straight 1-0 shutout of an opponent, winning its home opener over CSU-Pueblo. The Tigers moved to 2-1 overall on the season.

The first half saw persistent offense from both sides. Only three shots were on goal for the half (all by Fort Hays State) and there were 14 total shots taken. Scoring chances were plentiful, and it seemed either side was poised for a breakthrough at some point in the second half.

That breakthrough came in the 76th minute for the Tigers. Sophomore forward Jordan Thompson found herself with just the goalie between her and the net. She dribbled in from the left side of the penalty box, put a nice move on goalkeeper Rylie Martin, and hit the wide-open shot for her first goal of the season. The ThunderWolves put a couple of shots on target in the final six minutes, but the Tigers held on for the victory with a pair of saves from Megan Kneefel.

Head Coach Blake Reynolds was proud of his team’s performance tonight. “CSU-Pueblo is a great team and it was a back-and-forth game for both teams. I told the girls at halftime that it feels like a one goal game. Whoever gets that one goal would be the one to win this game. It took one special moment and Jordan Thompson made a fantastic individual effort. We grinded out another 1-0 win just like last week in Sioux Falls. This was a good win for us.”

Kneefel (1-1) picked up the win in a shutout performance. CSU-Pueblo’s Rylie Martin (1-2) took the loss.

The Tigers get a week off and are back on the road for a matchup with Emporia State (Sept. 20). The match is set for 3:00 p.m.