KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Fort Hays State women’s soccer remains No. 21 for the second consecutive week in the NSCAA Division II Top 25 Poll, released on Tuesday (Nov. 1). The Tigers went 2-0 last week to earn a share of the MIAA Regular Season Championship with the nation’s No. 4 ranked team, Central Missouri.

The Tigers (14-3-1) and Jennies (16-1-0) are the only MIAA teams inside the top 25 in the latest poll. As far as region rankings are concerned, the Tigers look to continue to apply pressure on the No. 2 ranked team in the region, Minot State (15-1-1), which remains No. 11 in the latest national poll. Fort Hays State handed Minot State its only loss of the season back in September on a neutral field.

Fort Hays State begins MIAA Tournament play on Wednesday at home against Missouri Western. The Tigers are the No. 2 seed in the tournament, while the Griffons are the No. 7 seed. The highest seed remaining after Wednesday’s four first round matches will host the remainder of the conference tournament.

Below is the NSCAA Division II Top 25 Poll for November 1, 2016.

Rank	School	Prev.	W-L-T
1	Western Washington University	1	17-0-1
2	Grand Valley State University	2	16-1-1
3	West Chester University	3	17-0-0
4	University of Central Missouri	4	16-1-0
5	Columbus State University	5	15-2-0
6	Colorado School Of Mines	10	16-2-0
7	University Of Bridgeport	13	14-3-0
8	University of California-San Diego	8	16-2-0
9	St. Edward’s University	7	14-1-1
10	Saint Leo University	NR	12-3-1
11	Minot State University	11	15-1-1
12	Adelphi University	6	14-2-1
13	Kutztown University	14	15-3-0
14	Limestone College	16	15-1-0
15	Rockhurst University	15	16-1-2
16	Lee University	NR	13-3-1
17	University of North Georgia	19	12-1-3
18	Truman State University	18	14-1-3
19	Sonoma State University	20	12-2-2
20	Nova Southeastern University	9	8-2-3
21	Fort Hays State University	21	14-3-1
22	LIU Post	22	13-2-2
23	Colorado State University-Pueblo	24	12-3-1
24	Notre Dame College	25	14-1-2
25	Rollins College	12	9-2-3

Also receiving votes: Lenoir-Rhyne University (6), Barry University (5), Edinboro University (4), Azusa Pacific University (2), Minnesota State University-Mankato (2), Ashland University (1)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles is going back on injured reserve after developing swelling in his surgically repaired right knee, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity Tuesday because the Chiefs had not announced the move.

The designation means the four-time Pro Bowl running back will miss at least eight weeks, so he could return for the end of the regular season and the playoffs.

Charles only had 12 carries for 40 yards in three games this season.

The Chiefs, already thin at running back after Spencer Ware sustained a concussion Sunday, signed former Titans second-round pick Bishop Sankey on Tuesday.

They cut linebackers Sam Barrington and Sio Moore.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Fort Hays State men’s soccer is ranked No. 21 in the latest NSCAA Division II Top 25 Poll, released on Tuesday. The Tigers dropped just one spot in the poll, despite winning both of their matches last week.

Fort Hays State joins Lindenwood as the two teams from the MIAA and Central Region inside the top 25. Lindenwood is No. 12 this week, up one spot from last week’s poll. The Tigers and Lions will meet in the regular season finale on Sunday in St. Charles, Mo. FHSU is 12-3-1 overall and Lindenwood is 13-2-2 overall.

Below is the NSCAA Division II Top 25 Poll for November 1, 2016.

Rank	School	Prev.	W-L-T
1	Wingate University	1	14-0-0
2	LIU Post	2	15-0-1
3	Simon Fraser University	3	13-0-2
4	University Of Charleston	4	14-2-1
5	Lynn University	5	13-1-1
6	Rockhurst University	6	14-2-1
7	Adelphi University	9	14-1-1
8	Midwestern State University	11	15-2-1
9	Pfeiffer University	14	15-2-0
10	University of California-San Diego	10	13-2-2
11	Palm Beach Atlantic University	12	11-3-1
12	Lindenwood University	13	13-2-2
13	St. Edward’s University	15	15-2-1
14	Saginaw Valley State University	22	14-3-1
15	Urbana University	17	11-3-1
16	Colorado Mesa University	21	13-1-4
17	Cal Poly Pomona	18	12-4-2
18	Lander University	RV	12-3-0
19	Merrimack College	NR	13-4-0
20	University Of Southern Indiana	RV	12-2-3
21	Fort Hays State University	20	12-3-1
22	Florida Tech	RV	10-3-1
23	Regis University	7	13-3-1
24	Mercyhurst University	NR	13-4-1
25	Limestone College	8	13-2-0

Also receiving votes: Notre Dame College (4), Le Moyne College (4), Northwood University (Mich.) (3), Ouachita Baptist University (2), Dixie State University (2), University Of Tampa (1).

Fort Hays State Weekly Football Press Conference
November 1, 2016

Fort Hays State head coach Chris Brown conducted his weekly press conference in advance of the Tigers final home game vs. defending national champion and No. 1 ranked Northwest Missouri State Saturday afternoon at Lewis Field. Brown and select players met with the media inside Lewis Field on Tuesday, a session that can be heard by clicking on the links below.

Head Coach Chris Brown

 

Senior LB Alex Schmidtberger

Senior CB Raheeme Dumas

Sophomore QB Jacob Mezera

LAWRENCE, Kan. – The Fort Hays State women’s basketball team put up a good fight against a tough opponent, but fell to Kansas Sunday afternoon in an exhibition contest, 98-71. A total of 2,412 fans were in attendance inside historic Allen Fieldhouse, many dressed in black and gold. The Tigers trailed by just six at the break before being outscored by 21 in the second half.

Tony Hobson Postgame Interview

Game Highlights

The Tigers took their only lead of the night two minutes into the contest when Nikola Kacperska knocked down the first bucket of the game. The Jayhawks scored 15 of the next 19 points to open up a nine-point lead and set the tone for the afternoon. A three-pointer from freshman Taylor Rolfs helped the Tigers close the gap to five later in the period, but KU rebounded to lead by eight after 10 minutes of play.

Head coach Tony Hobson called a timeout midway through the second quarter after KU scored seven of the first 10 points in the frame. Whatever Hobson said in the huddle was effective, as the Tigers went on a 10-0 run over the next two minutes to close the gap to one score, 28-26. After a Jayhawk miss, FHSU had two chances to tie or take the lead but a pair of long-range attempts from Rolfs and Kacey Kennett rimmed out. The Crimson and Blue outscored the Tigers 9-5 over the last two minutes and change in the second quarter to head into the locker room with a six-point lead, 37-31. The teams were level with 26 rebounds apiece in the opening frame, but a shooting percentage of just 27.8 percent kept the Tigers from taking the lead.

The Jayhawks came out of the locker room with a vengeance, scoring 13-straight to extend the gap to 19, 50-31. Layups from Kennett, Madison Mittie and Tatyana Legette helped the Tigers close within 13, but the home team bounced back to build the lead back to 19 points. A triple from Kennett in the waning seconds of the quarter narrowed the deficit to 16 with one quarter to play, 65-49.

Kansas made it a 20-point game early in the fourth quarter before Kacperska rattled in six-straight points, four coming after she was fouled on a made three-pointer. Kennett then hit a jumper after a KU turnover and in just 76 seconds the lead had been trimmed to 12, 75-63. However, the Jayhawks missed just five shots after the 8-0 Tiger run, outscoring FHSU 23-8 over the last six minutes of the ballgame to secure the victory.

The Tigers were led in scoring by Rolfs, who dropped in 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting. The freshman played 22 minutes off the bench, adding two boards, two steals, one assist and one block. Legette and Mittie also reached double-figures in scoring, posting 10 points each. Legette grabbed a team-high seven rebounds with Carly Heim and Mittie each adding six boards. Heim dished out four of the team’s 20 assists, while Kacperska made a team-best four steals. A year after being one of the top teams in the country at forcing turnovers, the Tigers forced KU into 19 turnovers on the day. In total, 14 Tigers saw the floor with nine placing their name on the scoresheet.

Fort Hays State will have one more tune-up game before the regular season opens in two weeks when it travels to Omaha, Neb. for an exhibition contest against Creighton Thursday. First tip is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

FHSU Sports Information

HAYS, Kan. – The No. 21 ranked Fort Hays State women’s soccer team earned a share of the MIAA Regular Season Championship with Central Missouri on Sunday with a 3-0 win over Washburn. The Tigers closed the regular season with a program-record eight consecutive wins, moving to 14-3-1 overall and 8-6 in the MIAA.

The 14 wins in the season ties the single-season record at FHSU as the Tigers will look to break that mark in the MIAA Tournament starting Wednesday at home. FHSU posted its sixth shutout in the last seven matches and 11th overall for the season.

The Tigers broke a scoreless tie in the 53rd minute when senior Dani Harris took a loose ball, headed it over the defense and tracked it down to bury a goal in the lower right corner of the net. From there, the Tigers would not be denied the program’s first conference regular season title.

Silvana Romero added to the lead at the 70:26 mark with her second goal of the season. About 35 yards out, Reagan Lawler rifled a free kick that the sprawling Ichabod keeper was able to deflect. But the ball deflected right to Romero who was waiting to tap it in from five yards out.

Exactly 1:01 later Thaya Dwyer sealed the match, extending the lead to 3-0. After a sequence of events that resulted with the Washburn goalkeeper 20 yards away from the net, Jasmine Beaulieu gave a pass to Dwyer who sent long shot from 40 yards out into the back of the net.

The Tigers will be the No. 2 seed in the MIAA Tournament after Central Missouri defeated Missouri Western on Sunday to claim a share of the regular season crown. Both FHSU and UCM finished 10-1 in MIAA play, but UCM will be the No. 1 seed due to its win over FHSU in conference play. The Tigers will play host to No. 7 seed Missouri Western at 6 pm on Wednesday. The highest seed remaining after the first round matches hosts the remainder of the MIAA Tournament.

The FHSU women now have two MIAA Championships in the program’s sixth year of existence. The Tigers also won the MIAA Tournament title in 2012.

FHSU Sports Information

HAYS, Kan. – The 20th-ranked Fort Hays State men’s soccer team picked up a 2-0 win over Northeastern State on Sunday to improve to 12-3-1 overall and 5-1 in the MIAA. The RiverHawks fell to 5-9-1 overall and 1-5 in the conference.

Mauricio Castorino put the Tigers up 1-0 in the 55th minute when he tallied his fourth goal of the season. Drew Wilson and Michael Cole used some quick one-touch passing to open up playing space then Cole sent the ball to Castorino who rifled a shot from 10 yards out to beat the diving keeper.

Maurizio Costa added an insurance goal in the 71st minute, extending the Tiger lead to 2-0. Tobias Patino sent a sent a ball to Costa who squared up and launched a missile from 25 yards out placed in the top right corner.

Micheal Yantz picked up the win between the pipes for FHSU, now 7-3-1 on the season. He stopped all five shots on goal from the RiverHawks to record his third shutout of the season.

The Tigers wrap up the regular season with two road matches next week when they head to Upper Iowa on Friday and Lindenwood on Sunday.

FHSU Sports Information

By GERARD WELLBROCK
Hays Post

EMPORIA, Kan. – No. 10 Emporia State scored on two big pass plays and held Fort Hays State to 160 yards in the second half and defeated the Tigers 24-16 Saturday afternoon and Welch Stadium. It’s the Hornets (8-1) eighth straight win as they remain alone in second place in the MIAA. The Tigers (6-3), who had won two straight over their in-state rival, fall into a tie with Washburn for fourth place.

Chris Brown Postgame Press Conference

 

Layne Bieberle Postgame Interview

 

Jose Delgado Postgame Interview

 

Game Highlights

The Hornets took advantage of Jacob Mezera interception on the Tigers first possession and scored a touchdown to grab the early lead. Brandon Brown connected on a 37-yard field goal on the next possession to pull FHSU to within 7-3 which would be the score at halftime.

Braxton Marstall hit Mitchell Foote on a 65-yard touchdown pass with 6:32 to play in the third quarter to push the Hornet lead to 14-3.

The Tigers took advantage of a taunting penalty to score on a 10-yard Shaquille Cooper run to pull within 14-9 early in the fourth quarter. Cooper led the Tigers with 79 yards on the ground on 17 carries.

Emporia State answered with a 38-yard TD pass to Morris Williams to push their lead to 24-9 with 5:13 to play.

Jacob Mezera, who completed 27 of 43 passes for 218 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions and was sacked five times, hit Layne Bieberle on a 36-yard strike with 0:17 to play but the Hornets recovered the on-side kick and ran out the clock.

The Tigers had only 317 yards of offense and converted on just three of their 17 third down plays.

Jose Delgado recorded a game-high 16 tackles including two for a loss. Sie Doe, Jr. recorded the Tigers only sack, his 13th of the season which sets a new FHSU single-season record.

HAYS, Kan. – The 20th-ranked Fort Hays State men’s soccer team improved to 11-3-1 overall and 4-1 in the MIAA on Friday with a 4-1 win over Southwest Baptist. The Bearcats dropped to 0-14-2 overall and 0-6 in the conference.

The game served as Senior Night for the six FHSU seniors, who were celebrated at halftime with a brief ceremony. The six seniors honored on the night were Jose Aguilar, Michael Cole, Damion Cooper, Maurizio Costa, Tyler VanCamp and Drew Wilson.

Luis Mendez gave the Tigers the lead late in the first half when he recorded his seventh goal of the season at the 33:52 mark. Mendez settled a ball from Arsenio Chamorro, put a move on a defender and rifled the shot from 15 yards out to beat the diving keeper.

Just 22 seconds into the second half, Derick Gonzalez extended the Tiger lead to 2-0 when he scored his team-leading ninth goal of the season. After a loose ball landed at his feet, Gonzalez blasted a shot from 12 yards out that found the back of the net.

Gabriel Gaviolli cut the Tiger lead in half at the 63:57 mark. Tiger keeper Jose Aguiler deflected a ball that bounced high into the air and Gaviolli launched himself towards the ball and headed it over the goal line.

Just over two minutes later at 65:59, Dylan Kintner again made it a two goal game in favor of the Tigers with his third goal of the season. Tobias Patino set up Kintner perfectly with a through ball about eight yards out, at which point Kintner sent it easily into the net.

Michael Cole wrapped up the scoring for FHSU when he recorded his fifth goal of the season. After gaining possession of a ball just inside SBU territory, he turned on the afterburners and it was off to the races. Cole sprinted beyond the last line of the Bearcat defense for a breakaway and sent the ball in to the bottom right hand corner of the net.

Aguilar picked up his first win in goal, making the first start of his career at FHSU. He made two saves on the night, one was a huge save on a breakaway to help keep the Bearcats at bay.

The Tigers hit the home pitch one last time in the regular season on Sunday (Oct. 30) when they battle Northeastern State at 1:30 pm.

FHSU Sports Information

KEARNEY, Neb. – The 21st-ranked Fort Hays State women’s soccer team will look for its first MIAA Regular Season Championship in two days thanks to a 3-0 win at Nebraska-Kearney on Friday. With the win the Tigers improved to 13-3-1 overall and 9-1 in the MIAA. The Lopers dropped to 6-8-3 overall and 3-5-2 in the MIAA and the result eliminates them from a chance for a spot in the MIAA Tournament.

The win for the Tigers also ties the program record for consecutive wins in a season with seven, and it puts them one win shy of their overall program record of 14 wins in a season.

After an uneventful first half that saw just a single shot on goal from either team, the Tiger offense stepped up and delivered. Jasmine Beaulieu gave the Tigers the 1-0 lead in the 65th minute when she recorded her second goal of the season. Kelsey Steffens and Beaulieu connected to execute a successful give-and-go that resulted with Beaulieu alone in front of the net 10 yards out.

Thayla Dwyer made it a 2-0 game with her sixth goal of the season in the 74th minute. A pass from Silvana Romero set up Dwyer with a breakaway and Dwyer chipped the ball over an aggressive goalkeeper 15 yards out.

Steffens added late insurance with just under a minute and a half remaining in the match. About 10 yards out she took a shot that the UNK keeper was able to deflect but quick on her toes, Steffens was able to win the race to the rebound and send the ball across the goal line for her sixth goal of the season.

The Tigers recorded their fifth shutout in the last six games. Abbie Flax earned her ninth shutout of the season between the pipes, stopping three shots on net.

The final match of the regular season will be Sunday when the Tigers look to claim at least a share of the MIAA regular season title on Senior Day. Washburn will be the final MIAA team standing in their way. Kickoff is set for 11 am at FHSU Soccer Stadium in Hays.

After wins over the former No. 3 and No. 4 ranked teams in the region last week, Fort Hays State jumped two spots to No. 3 in the second release of the NCAA Central Region Rankings released Wednesday (Oct. 26).

Fort Hays State, now 12-3-1 overall, was No. 5 in the first release of the rankings last week, but defeated then No. 3 Northeastern State and No. 4 Central Oklahoma in Hays to make the move in the latest release. The Tigers also are the only team to defeat Minot State, the current No. 2 ranked team, this year. Minot State is 12-1-1 overall.

Central Missouri remains the No. 1 ranked team in the region with an overall record of 14-1. Minnesota State made a big move in the rankings this week, jumping four spots to No. 4. Northeastern State and Central Oklahoma dropped to No. 5 and No. 6 respectively. Bemidji State remained No. 7 and Missouri Western moved into the rankings at No. 8.

Fort Hays State and Central Missouri are tied for first in MIAA play, both at 8-1. The conference regular season title will be determined this week as FHSU plays at Nebraska-Kearney and returns home to face Washburn in the regular season finale. Central Missouri plays Lindenwood and Missouri Western at home.

Below are the NCAA Division II Central Region Rankings for October 26, 2016.

Rank	Team	In-Region Record	Division II Record
1	Central Missouri	14-1-0	14-1-0
2	Minot State	12-1-1	12-1-1
3	Fort Hays State	12-3-1	12-3-1
4	Minnesota State	11-3-2	11-3-2
5	Northeastern State	12-3-1	12-3-1
6	Central Oklahoma	10-5-1	10-5-1
7	Bemidji State	12-4-0	12-4-0
8	Missouri Western	10-6-0	10-6-0

FHSU Sports Information