KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Fort Hays State men’s soccer team had five Tigers honored with United Soccer Coaches All-Central Region selections for the 2018 season. Forward Santiago Agudelo, midfielder Tobias Patino, defenders Raul Fierro and Luis Torres and goalkeeper Fernando Pina earned the distinction.

A junior forward, Agudelo claims his second all-region honor as a Tiger after being selected as the Central Region Player of the Year and earning D2CCA All-Central Region First Team honors. Agudelo was named the MIAA Player of the Year and earned First Team All-MIAA honors. He led the nation in goals (26), total points (58), shots per match (5.82), shots on goal per match (3.29), game-winning goals (eight), goals per match (1.53) and points per match (3.41). Agudelo set team records for all seven of these categories, including shots (100) and shots on goal (57) for the season. He converted a goal in a program-record seven-consecutive matches, breaking the previous record of six (Abdoulaye Cisse, 2017). In addition to these season records, Agudelo set the record for points in a match (10), goals in a match (five), shots in a match (13) and shots on goal in a match (eight). The Frisco, Texas native recorded four hat tricks throughout the season.

Patino, a senior midfielder, was named to the D2CCA All-Central Region Second Team and earned All-MIAA First Team honors. He leads the team in assists (ten). This is Patino’s first selection on the United Soccer Coaches All-Central Region team.

Fierro, a senior defender, was named to the D2CCA All-Central Region Second Team and earned All-MIAA First Team honors. He ranks fourth on the squad in minutes played on the pitch (1,603).

Pina, a senior goalkeeper, was a force in goal for the Tigers in 2018. He ranked 12th in the country in goals against average (.634) and save percentage (.829). Pina was named to the D2CCA All-Central Region First Team and earned All-MIAA First Team honors.

Torres, a senior defender, was named to the D2CCA All-Central Region First Team and earned All-MIAA First Team honors. He led the team in minutes played on the pitch this season (1,690). Torres scored five goals and added two assists for a total of 12 points. This is Torres’ third straight honor on the United Soccer Coaches (formerly NSCAA) All-Central Region team.

10 of the 11 members of the United Soccer Coaches All-Central Region team represent the MIAA. Northeastern State earned four spots, while Lindenwood garnered one spot on the team.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Following an 11-7-2 overall record and an appearance in the MIAA semifinals, two Fort Hays State women’s soccer student-athletes have captured another honor to cap off their season. Senior midfielder Vianei Sanchez and freshman forward Cailey Perkins were among the selections of this year’s United Soccer Coaches All-Central Region team.

Sanchez, a native of McKinney, Texas, earned a spot on the Second Team, while Perkins, from Manhattan, Kan. notched a place on the Third Team. With the mentions, the two athletes become just the sixth and seventh Tiger to land on the list. Last season, Eden Stoddard was the lone FHSU athlete mentioned on the list with her Third Team selection.

Sanchez made her name in the Central Region following a senior season, in which she accumulated five goals and three assists. She also attempted 23 shots with 12 on goal while starting in all 20 matches for the Tigers. Through her 1,645 minutes on the pitch this season, Sanchez was the third-highest scorer in 2018 for FHSU to finish out her career.

Perkins led all Tigers in goals this season, connecting on eight alongside seven assists. She attempted a team-high 39 shots with 24 hitting on frame. Perkins earned a start in all 20 matches for her freshman campaign to total 1,465 minutes in action. Two of her goals were accounted as game-winners to lead the Tigers to victory.

Earlier this season, Sanchez was named First Team All-MIAA, while Perkins captured a Second Team honor.

Alongside Sanchez and Perkins, 13 other MIAA performers notched a spot on the list. Central Oklahoma led the conference with five selections, all on the First Team.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Fort Hays State senior forward Brady Werth earned MIAA Men’s Basketball Co-Athlete of the Week honors on Monday (Nov. 19) for his efforts in Fort Hays State’s two non-conference wins this past weekend in Hays.

Werth helped Fort Hays State to a pair of non-conference victories last week, nearly averaging a double-double at 18.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. He scored a season-high 27 points in a 75-71 overtime win against Colorado School of Mines, while pulling down 11 rebounds for his first double-double of the season. In a 67-51 win over UC-Colorado Springs, he had 10 points and 8 rebounds.

Werth joins Grant Lozoya of Pittsburg State for the weekly honor from the conference office. Lozoya had 25 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists in Pittsburg State’s 79-71 win over Arkansas-Fort Smith.

HAYS, Kan. – Fort Hays State improved to 2-2 overall on the season with a 67-51 win at home on Sunday afternoon against UC-Colorado Springs. The Tigers built a nine-point lead by halftime and did not receive any resistance from the Mountain Lions in the second half.

Mark Johnson Postgame Interview

Marcus Cooper Postgame Interview

Game Highlights

The teams played to a 13-13 tie early with the lead changing seven times, but a Freddy Bitondo tip in bucket at the 12:11 mark of the first half started the point where the Tigers would keep the lead for good. FHSU worked its way to an 11-point lead twice in the latter part of the opening half before leading 35-26 at the break.

Marcus Cooper started the scoring for FHSU in the second half with a layup 20 seconds in, pushing the lead to double figures once more. The Tigers held their double-digit lead the rest of the night, seeing it grow to 24 points by the 2:53 mark on a layup by Kyler Kinnamon. The Mountain Lions scored the final seven points of the game to make the final margin 16 points.

The Tigers held the Mountain Lion offense in check all evening, holding them to just 24.1 percent shooting from the field and 20 percent beyond the 3-point line. UCCS missed 12 free throws in the game, but still made 20 for a 62.5 percent mark at the line.

Fort Hays State hovered around the 40 percent shooting mark throughout the game, finishing at 41.5 percent. FHSU hit only two 3-point field goals, but made 21 free throws. The Tigers outscored the Mountain Lions by one at the line and made nine more field goals overall. Both teams were sloppy with ball control, FHSU with 22 turnovers and UCCS with 18. The Tigers dominated the glass, outrebounding the Mountain Lions 49-35.

Cooper finished with a team-high 17 points for the Tigers, while Brady Werth and Devin Davis added 10 each. Jared Vitztum had a team-best 11 rebounds, while Kinnamon dished out a team-high four assists.

Blend Avdili led UCCS in scoring with 16 points, while Elijah Ross and Dalton Walker each chipped in 10.

Fort Hays State returns to the floor Tuesday night in Wichita when they face Newman University at 7:30 pm inside Fugate Gymnasium.

HAYS, Kan. – It took five extra minutes, but the Fort Hays State men’s basketball team escaped with its first win of the season Saturday afternoon (Nov. 17), knocking off Colorado School of Mines 75-71. Both teams are now 1-2 through three games this season.

The teams were evenly matched all afternoon, with the lead changing hands 19 times and neither side leading by more than six. After Brady Werth tied the game with a put-back layup with 80 seconds left in regulation, the senior gave the Tigers the lead for good after nailing a pair of free throws early in the extra period.

Fort Hays State hit 10-of-11 from the charity stripe in overtime to hold on to the victory, including a perfect 4-for-4 effort from Werth and Kyler Kinnamon. Mines poured in a 3-pointer to close within one on two occasions, but the Tigers had an answer on the offensive end each time. Marcus Cooper made an acrobatic and-one after the first Oredigger triple and Kinnamon drilled a pair of free throws with 13 seconds left after the second. Mines had a shot to tie it with less than 10 seconds to go, but the long-range attempt came up well short.

Werth posted his third career double-double in the victory, totaling 27 points and 11 rebounds. The senior took over in the second half, scoring 17 points on 8-of-15 shooting. Fort Hays State trailed by as many as six midway through the second half, but a 7-0 run put the Tigers right back in it. Devin Davis hit a jumper in the paint to open the run before Werth went up strong with a layup. Trey O’Neil poured in a triple after Nyjee Wright found him with a perfect pass, putting the Tigers in front and prompting a CSM timeout.

The lead changed hands nine times in the final 11 minutes, with neither side leading by more than three. After Werth tied the game with 80 seconds to go, both sides made two turnovers with a chance to take the lead. The Orediggers had the ball last, with a game-winning three-pointer bouncing off the back iron.

The Tigers spent much of the first half playing from behind before clawing back in front late in the period, leading at the break 31-30. Both sides hit 11-of-26 shots in the opening frame, with the lone difference being an extra free throw for the Tigers.

Cooper opened the scoring for the Tigers with a thundering breakaway dunk after Kinnamon found him with an outlet pass. Davis led all scorers at the break, tallying 11 points in his first half as a Tiger inside Gross Memorial Coliseum.

Three Tigers joined Werth in double figures, including Davis (15 points), Kinnamon (12) and Cooper (11). Fort Hays State finished the game 27-of-60 from the field (45.0 percent) to go along with hitting 75 percent of its free throws (18-of-24).

Mark Johnson postgame interview

Brady Werth postgame interview

The teams were also evenly matched on the boards, with CSM grabbing one more rebound than the Tigers, 35-34. Fort Hays State held a 10-point advantage in the lane, 40-30, while turning 18 Oredigger turnovers into 20 points.

Fort Hays State will look to even its record at 2-2 Sunday (Nov. 18) when it hosts UC-Colorado Springs at 4 p.m. inside Gross Memorial Coliseum.

Game highlights

NOTABLE: This is the second year in a row the Tigers and Orediggers have needed overtime to find a winner, with Mines winning in double OT last season in Colorado.

HAYS, Kan. – The No. 11 ranked Fort Hays State men’s soccer team prevailed in windy conditions inside FHSU Soccer Stadium, knocking off Ohio Valley University in the NCAA Division II National Quarterfinal match on Saturday, 2-0, to advance to their first National Semifinal match in program history. The Tigers improved to 17-2-1 on the season, while the Fighting Scots completed their 2018 campaign with an 18-6-1 record. Head Coach Brett Parker and the Tigers earned their 100th victory in program history with the win.

A defensive battle from the start, the Tigers and Fighting Scots accumulated only seven shots total in the first 45 minutes of play. FHSU and OVU ended the first period scoreless.

Out of the break, the atmosphere was bitter from the cold weather, inducing the competitive nature from both sides. After possessions were cut short due to fouls and offside calls, Rogelio Lopez found an opening in the Fighting Scots’ defense and flipped the ball ahead to Tobias Patino. Patino then fed the through ball to Moises Peralta, who took a shot around the diving OVU keeper and connected on his first score of the season in the 66th minute of the contest.

After a string of five aggressive attempts at trying to find an insurance goal, Mauricio Etcheverry picked up the pace and faced a one-on-one opportunity against the Fighting Scots’ keeper. Etcheverry triumphed and scored his first goal of the season in the 89th minute, giving the Tiger faithful a reason to celebrate. The score stood when the buzzer sounded and the Tigers qualified for their first National Semifinal match in program history.

Etcheverry led the Tiger offensive attack with five shots in the match, two of which were on frame. Peralta led the Tigers with three shots on goal, while Fernando Pina earned the victory in goal and improved his overall record to 12-0-1 on the season.

The Tigers have now won 14 consecutive matches and are on a 15-match unbeaten streak.

The final four teams will be reseeded and with the No. 1 seed and No. 4 playing at 2 p.m. inside Highmark Stadium, while the No. 2 seed and No. 3 seed will face off starting at 11 a.m. The National Semifinals is set for November 29th with the Championship Match set for December 1st. Stay tuned to fhsuathletics.com for more updates.

JOPLIN, Mo. – The Fort Hays State women’s cross country team claimed an eighth place finish at the 2018 installment of the NCAA Division II Central Regional Championships. Among MIAA programs, FHSU finished fourth. The event was hosted by Missouri Southern University in Joplin, Mo on Saturday (Nov. 17). FHSU finished the day with 292 total team points in the 237 runner 6K race.

Leading the charge for the Tigers was Yessenia Gonzales who navigated the course with a time of 21:56.1 to finish in 17th place. That time was strong enough for Gonzales to earn All-Regional Honors for the first time in her Tiger career.

Mirena Goncalves crossed the finish line in 42nd place while boasting a time of 22:48.4, followed closely by Abigail Stewart who swept across the line in 44th place with a time of 22:52.1.

Tessa Durnell earned 88th place on the day with her time of 23:34.6, while Grace Buessing clocked a 101st place finish at 23:48.3. Rounding out the day for the Tigers was Averi Wilson in 114th place at 24:02.4 and Rebeca Avelar with a 24:50.9 mark and 149th place finish.

For the second-straight year, the University of Mary took home the team title after finishing with 29 points three of the top five individual placers. Two MIAA programs locked in a top-five team finish as Pittsburg State took third place with 122 points and Southwest Baptist claimed fifth following a total of 176 team points.

JOPLIN, Mo. – The Fort Hays State men’s cross country team finished the NCAA Division II Central Region Championships on Saturday (Nov. 17). The Tigers finished third among MIAA teams and completed the event with 209 team points. There were 189 individuals who competed in the 10K race.

Israel Barco completed the race in 31:19.2 and finished 29th individually. Alex Barbosa crossed the finish line 39th in 31:37.1. Justin Moore finished the race 40th with a time of 31:38.6. Brett Meyer navigated the course in 32:00.3 and finished 50th. Reed Rome rounded out the scoring for the Tigers with a time of 32:02.8 while finished 51st.

Missouri Southern took the team title after three of their competitors finished inside the top 10. They finished the event with 55 team points. Augustana finished runner-up with 73 total points, while Sioux Falls (113 points) came in third.