FHSU Athletics

No. 25 Fort Hays State closed out a weekend of MIAA play with its second consecutive shutout and eighth straight victory, defeating Harding, 2-0, on Saturday (Oct. 18) in Searcy, Ark.

FHSU (10-3-1, 7-2-0 MIAA), which hasn’t lost since Sept. 20, matched the Bison with 12 shots apiece for the afternoon, though the Tigers held a 5-3 advantage in shots on goal.

Tanner Brock scored his team-leading sixth goal of the season just before the break, giving FHSU a 1-0 lead.  After a penalty called on HU inside the box, Brock’s penalty kick beat the keeper at 37:20.

After the break, the Tigers extended the lead at the 57:00 mark.  Brock, looking for his second goal of the day, took aim at the net before his shot was deflected by an HU defender. Austin Clifton, however, recovered the blocked shot and scored from the left side of the box towards the far post.  The goal was Clifton’s fifth of the season, while Brock had his sixth assist of the year on the play.

Brock’s four shots was a team-high for the game, while Diego Cabral (two shots on goal) and Clifton (one shot on goal) each tallied two shot attempts.

Kent Freund had three saves on the afternoon, playing all 90 minutes between the pipes for FHSU and improving to 9-2-1 at goalkeeper.

Next time out, the Tigers travel to St. Charles, Mo., on Thursday (Oct. 23) for a road contest versus Lindenwood.  FHSU’s 8-0 win over the Lions last month started the Tigers’ current win streak.

FHSU Athletics

Fort Hays State women’s cross country finished fifth out of 17 teams at the FHSU Tiger Open on Saturday (Oct. 18) at the Sand Plum Nature Trail, just outside Victoria, Kan. Micki Krzesinski led the way for the Tigers in 24th individually.

The Tigers competed in the Gold Division race, which had 143 competitors. The 5K course was very fast on a beautiful sunny morning. The women’s course record was shattered by 26 seconds with Jenna Thurman of Adams State running a time of 17:14, averaging 5:32 per mile. That topped the mark of 17:40 set by Brittany Poole of Northwest Missouri State in 2012.

The Tigers were topped by four Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference teams, three of which are nationally ranked. The rankings held true as No. 2 Adams State won the race with 33 points, No. 4 Western State finished with 83, and No. 10 UC-Colorado Springs finished with 116. Colorado Mines was fourth with 128 and FHSU was fifth with 159.

Krzesinski covered the course in 18:19, scoring 21 team points. Chelsea Jackson was right with her, finishing 25th overall in 18:20 and scored 22 team points. Alex Keehn was 37th overall in a time of 18:37, scoring 34 points. Ramsey McCarter finished 44th in a time of 18:43, scoring 40, and Amanda Morgan was 46th in 18:47, scoring 42.

Winning the Black Division race as a team was Dodge City Community College. Grasiela Navarro of Pratt Community College won the Black Division individually in a time of 18:38.

FHSU men finish 11th
The Fort Hays State men’s cross country finished 11th at its home meet, the FHSU Tiger Open, on Saturday (Oct. 18) at the Sand Plum Nature Trail, just outside of Victoria, Kan. Ryan Hopkins led the way for FHSU in 45th overall as an individual.

The Tigers competed in the Gold Division race, which had 201 competitors. The course was very fast on a beautiful sunny morning. The men’s course record was shattered by 45 seconds with Ian Butler of Western State running a time of 23:33, averaging 4:44 per mile. That topped the mark of 24:18 set by Naseem Haje of Adams State in 2013.

Hopkins covered the 8K course in a time of 24:53, scoring 32 points in the team standings. Troy Wineinger was 78th overall in 25:31, but scored 49 team points. Seth Parres was 107th in a time of 26:04, scoring 68 team points. Isaac Williams finished 116th in 26:11 and scored 74 team points. Brock Elgin was 125th in a time of 26:17, scoring 82 team points.

Colorado Mines won the Gold Division with a team score of 33. Western State finished second with 45 and Nebraska-Kearney was third with 110. Fort Hays State scored 305 points as a team.

Winning the Black Division race as a team was Allen County Community College. Unattached runner Josh Eberly won individually with a time of 24:11.

FHSU Athletics

25th-ranked Fort Hays State pushed its win streak to seven matches with a 5-0 dismantling of Southwest Baptist on Thursday afternoon.

The shutout was FHSU’s sixth of the season, and came in dominant fashion, as the Tigers (9-3-1, 6-2-0 MIAA) allowed just three shots all afternoon (none of which were on goal) while firing 26 shots and putting 18 on goal. FHSU has now outscored Southwest Baptist 10-0 in the two games this season, completing the regular season sweep over the Bearcats.

David Lucio got things going for the Tigers early on, netting his third goal of the season off an assist from Tanner Brock. After a corner played short to Brock, who crossed the ball to the back post, Lucio headed it in from five yards out.

Six minutes before the break, Mauricio Castorino found Anthony Hernandez with a through ball, and Hernandez’s pass to Austin Clifton brought him to an open net score from 12 yards away.

Just 1:26 before halftime, Hernandez scored a goal of his own on Castorino’s second assist of the day. Castorino crossed from the right side of the field, where Hernandez fired the ball to the back post from inside the box.

Up 3-0 after the break, Castorino’s scored his first career goal at 59:53. Addison Pauler’s cross found the head of Castorino, who found the net to give FHSU a 4-0 advantage.

Inside 20 minutes to play, the Tigers scored their final afternoon off the head of Joe Albright. Tobias Patino fired a corner to the near post in the 74th minute, where Albright capitalized on a header from six yards away.

Castorino led the Tigers with five shots on the afternoon, while Diego Cabral (four shots on goal) and Clifton (two shots on goal) had four shots each.

Kent Freund played all 90 minutes, facing just three shots and lowering his goals against average to 1.03 per contest.

The Tigers continue MIAA play on the road this weekend with a Saturday matchup at Harding. FHSU defeated the Bison, 3-0, earlier this season in Hays. Game time for Searcy, Ark., is 1 p.m.

Fort Hays State Weekly Football Press Conference
October 15, 2014

Head Coach Chris Brown

Center Colby Hamel

Wide Receiver Isaiah Maxi

Bandit Back Nathan Lindsey

FHSU Athletics

Fort Hays State saw its recent woes continue on Tuesday evening at Gross Memorial Coliseum, falling in three games (26-24, 25-15, 25-13) to Emporia State.

The loss was the Tigers’ sixth straight, dropping them to 7-12 overall and 2-9 in conference play.

Kurt Kohler Post Match Interview

FHSU fought back from an early deficit in the first to force set point, but couldn’t complete the comeback and fell behind, 1-0, in the match. At 9-9, ESU pulled away on a six-point run to lead, 15-9, but after a timeout, FHSU recovered to slowly climb back, taking a 20-19 lead after a five-point burst of its own. 

Soon after, the Tigers grabbed a 23-21 lead off kills from Taylor Mares and Sara Hewson, before trading points to get to 24-22. ESU called a timeout at set point, however, and regrouped to score four straight points and take the set, 26-24.

ESU started the second frame on an 8-0 run and never looked back. The closest FHSU came in the set was a five-point deficit (19-14) late, but a 6-1 run ended the set for ESU, 25-15.

Tied 6-6 in the third set, a kill from ESU’s Katie Deutschmann set the Hornets on a 6-0 run that provided separation for the final time. ESU closed the match on a 4-0 run for a 25-13 set win.

Taylor Mares led the Tigers with 10 kills for the game (her eighth double-digit kills performance), while Mallory Flagor had nine kills. 

Libby Ary (14 assists) and Kristin Conor (12 assists) shared time in a setter rotation, as Ary added eight digs to rank second on the team. Keanu Bradley‘s 19 digs paced the team.

The Tigers showed improvement on the defensive side of the net, tallying eight blocks as team after two straight matches with just three team blocks. Rebekah Spainhour led the team with five block assists, while Flagor added four blocks and Mikalah Hughes and Mares each had two block assists.

FHSU hits the road this weekend for three games, starting with Missouri Southern on Friday (Oct. 17). The Tigers then travel to Central Oklahoma on Saturday (Oct. 18) for a doubleheader with the Bronchos and Bacone College

FHSU Athletics

Fort Hays State’s Trey Herman was just one stroke shy of a five-way tie for first place at the Holiday Inn Express Classic, hosted by Missouri Western in St. Joseph, Mo. He tied for sixth individually at 5-over par overall with a total of 147. The Tigers finished 19th as a team.

Five players tied for first place with a 4-over total of 146, including Travis Mays and Sam Migdal of Central Missouri, Russ Purser of Central Oklahoma, Ryan Buerk of Missouri Southern, and Ryan Hand of Missouri Western.

Herman shot rounds of 73 and 74 to lead the Tigers. Nick VonLintel tied for 80th with rounds of 83 and 81. Billy Frey was 96th with rounds of 89 and 86. Kade Megaffin was 97th with rounds of 90 and 87. Grant Storey finished 98th with rounds of 93 and 85. FHSU as a team shot 661.

Central Missouri won the tournament with a team score of 597, followed by Arkansas Tech at 601 and Northeastern State at 602.

This tournament closed out the fall portion of the 2014-15 schedule for men’s golf. Action will resume in the spring.

FHSU Athletics

Despite pushing their current win streak to six and outscoring their opponents 11-5 over the weekend, the Fort Hays State men’s soccer team slipped one spot to No. 25 in the latest NSCAA National Rankings, released Tuesday. The Tigers picked up two wins last weekend, grabbing a 3-2 overtime victory over Upper Iowa and defeating Southern Nazarene, 8-3.

FHSU (8-3-1, 5-2-0 MIAA) is joined by MIAA opponent Northeastern State in the national poll. NSU remained at No. 15 for the third week in a row. FHSU dropped a 2-1 contest to the RiverHawks earlier this season, but welcome the rival school to FHSU Soccer Stadium on Oct. 25 for a rematch.

FHSU hits the road this week to begin a three-game stretch of away games. FHSU takes on Southwest Baptist at 1 p.m. on Thursday (Oct. 16) in Bolivar, Mo., then travels to Harding for a Saturday (Oct. 18) matchup at 1 p.m.

The complete NSCAA Top 25 is listed below…

Also receiving votes: Metropolitan State University of Denver (20), Regis University (20), Northwest Nazarene University (10), West Virginia Wesleyan (8), University Of Tampa (8), Concordia College (NY) (6), University of South Carolina-Aiken (6), Bloomsburg University (5), Florida Tech (5), Slippery Rock University (2)

FHSU Athletics

Fort Hays State’s Kristen Thompson was named the MIAA Women’s Soccer Co-Goalkeeper of the Week, sharing the award with Central Oklahoma’s Brandi Bartley, announced Tuesday (Oct. 14) by the conference office.

Thompson posted two shutouts last weekend, helping the Tigers go 1-0-1 in conference play. Thompson played all 200 minutes in goal, saving 11 shots and lowering her goals against average to 0.70. Sunday’s shutout draw versus Central Oklahoma was Thompson’s seventh clean sheet of the year, breaking the school record for individual shutouts in a season. A Manhattan, Kan., native, Thompson has played every minute in goal for FHSU this season, compiling a 6-4-2 record while recording 58 saves and allowing just nine goals through 12 games. Thompson’s 0.70 goals against average ranks fourth in the MIAA this season.

The award is the first career MIAA Athlete of the Week for Thompson, and the second MIAA Athlete of the Week award for FHSU this season. Jordan Hester was named MIAA Offensive Athlete of the Week on Sept. 9.

FHSU Athletics

Fort Hays State Women’s Soccer played to a 0-0 draw with Central Oklahoma in double overtime on Sunday (Oct. 12) afternoon at FHSU Soccer Stadium.
 
A physical battle where 38 total fouls were called, neither team could break through offensively, though the Tigers outshot the Bronchos, 19-13, putting nine on goal compared to UCO’s eight shots on goal.

Defenders Mallory Diederich (110 minutes) and Jamie Babyak (110 minutes) put together complete performances, and Baylie Schmidtz nearly matched that, recording 106 minutes.
 
FHSU goalkeeper Kristen Thompson posted her seventh shutout of the season in impressive fashion, saving eight shots on goal in 110 minutes of play.  With the draw, Thompson broke the school’s individual record for shutouts in a season, passing the previous mark of six, set by Nicole Barbana in 2012.
 
Just into the 27th minute of the game, UCO’s Sarah Purcell broke away from the defense into a one-on-one situation with Thompson, who challenged her mid-box with a deflection on a diving save.  After Purcell rebounded the ball, she fired a second shot in quick fashion, but Thompson got to her feet and flicked the ball out of bounds, keeping the Bronchos out of the net.
 
After over 92 minutes of scoreless play, FHSU nearly won the game on a golden goal in the first overtime, but a blocked shot and save from UCO’s Brandi Bartley forced a continuation of play. Gabrielle Makatura fired a shot in the middle of the box, and after gathering a deflection from a Broncho defender, took aim at the net just three seconds later, but Bartley spoiled the possible game-winner with a save.
 
Makatura led the offense with four shots, while Schmitz, Diederich, Kylee Loneker and Cenayda Guzman added two shots apiece. 
 
FHSU (6-4-2, 4-2-2 MIAA) finished the homecoming weekend 1-0-1 after a win on Friday versus Northeastern State, and is fourth in the conference standings, one game behind the Bronchos.
 
The squad continues its home stand with two games next weekend, hosting Northwest Missouri State on Friday (Oct. 17) at 7 p.m., and Missouri Western in a Sunday (Oct. 19) contest at 2 p.m.

By GERARD WELLBROCK
Hays Post

Despite having more yardage and first downs, the Fort Hays State Tigers lose their second straight, 26-7 to Missouri Western in front of 5,076 on homecoming at Lewis Field Saturday night. FHSU turned the ball over three times and were just 1-for-4 in the redzone as they fall to 3-3. The Griffons improve to 4-2.

Chris Brown Postgame Interview

Ed Williams / Michael Jordan Postgame Interview

The Tigers fell behind 10-0 in the first quarter when Treveon Albert engineered a 10 play 80-yard scoring drive capped by a four-yard touchdown catch by Isaiah Maxi to pull within 10-7. The Griffons responded with an 11-play six-minute drive that ended with a 35-yard field goal late in the second quarter. FHSU gain just 25 yards of offense in the third quarter.

Game Highlights

Missouri Western opened the second half  with a 10-play touchdown drive to go up 19-7. They would add another touchdown early in the fourth for the final margin.

Treveon Albert completed 29-of-48 passes for 329 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. Ed Williams had a career night with 14 catches for 201 yards. Safely Michael Jordan recorded 19 tackles, 12 of them solo.

FHSU Athletics

No. 24 Fort Hays State pushed its winning streak to five matches with a comeback effort against Upper Iowa on Thursday evening, using a golden goal in overtime for a 3-2 victory.

FHSU (7-3-1, 4-2-0 MIAA) fired 18 shots for the game, controlling the match for much for the second half and overtime periods, firing 13 shots over the final 52 minutes of play. UIU (6-4-1, 3-3-0 MIAA) had 11 shots on the night and were unable to get a shot off in overtime.

FHSU struck first, capitalizing on a long cross from Luan Silva that found Tanner Brock in the 16th minute. After UIU originally cleared FHSU’s offensive efforts, Silva recovered the ball and fired a pass from 25 yards out towards the backside of the box, where Brock flew with a header from five yards out.

Soon after, however, the Tigers had a letdown defensively where the Peacocks struck with two goals in less than a minute.

Off a corner from Johnny McBeth in the 31st minute, Ryan Pinkerton won the ball off a scramble in the box to score and tie it, 1-1. Just 53 seconds later, Fausto Ordenana gathered a deflection off Hugo Alves’s shot that hit the cross bar, and scored from inside the box to give UIU a 2-1 lead.

FHSU nearly tied it in the 60th minute, as Micheal Cole and Anthony Hernandez fired back-to-back shots seven seconds apart, but the ball ran right along the goal line for a moment before UIU goalkeeper Connor Rortvedt pounced on it.

Inside 10 minutes to play in regulation, though, FHSU finally capitalized after controlling play for a majority of the half. Brock dished a quick pass to Diego Cabral on a corner kick, and Cabral crossed the ball to the back post for Drew Wilson, where his header beat the keeper. It was Wilson’s first goal of the season.

Headed for overtime after the equalizer, Brock put the game away at 97:18. Mauricio Castorino beat two men on the left side of the box before crossing it to Brock, who gathered it mid-box and after beating his man, put the game away on a golden goal that went just past a diving keeper.

Brock led the way for the Tigers with two goals and an assist on the evening, hitting FHSU’s first goal and the game-winner while contributing in the equalizer. It was the third and fourth goal of the season for Brock. Wilson had the Tigers’ other goal, with Silva, Cabral and Castorino picking up assists.

The Tigers return to FHSU Soccer Stadium on Saturday (Oc