FHSU Athletics

The 23rd-ranked Fort Hays State Men’s Soccer team shutout South Dakota Mines in a 2-0 victory to close out the MIAA/GNAC Soccer Challenge in Rapid City, S.D., on Sunday (Sept. 14).

Austin Clifton led the way on offense, scoring two goals on four shots in just 54 minutes of action. Michael Cole added to his points total for the season with an assist on Clifton’s first goal.
 
The Tigers (2-1-1) tookr the lead less than 10 minutes into the game, when Clifton broke into the scoring column at 6:19.  Cole hit a low cross to Clifton in the box, who scored on a one touch shot from five yards out.

Kent Freund posted his first shutout of the season between the pipes, picking up seven saves.  One of those saves, a penalty kick save in the 84th minute, kept the Hardrockers off the board and prevented a tie score late in the game
 
Clifton’s second goal of the day followed Freund’s penalty kick save, solidifying the Tigers victory.  At 86:46, Clifton broke away from the SD Mines defense, finding the lower left corner of the net from 18 yards out.
 
Defensively, Eric Hymer, Drew Wilson, Luan Silva and Carlos Linares played all 90 minutes in the backfield, limiting the Hardrockers to 13 shots (7 on goal). 
 
Fort Hays State opens MIAA play this Thursday (Sept. 18) on the road against No. 7 Northeastern State.  Game time is set for 7 p.m., in Tahlequah, Okla.

FHSU Athletics

The Tigers’ women’s soccer team closed out its four-game season opening road trip with a 2-1 loss at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs. 
 
Fort Hays State (2-2), which put up 10 shots (six on goal), struck first with a goal in the opening three minutes, but were unable to hold off the Mountain Lions (1-2), who had 15 shots.

Kelsey Steffens got things started at 2:56 by scoring her third goal of the season, assisted by Mallory Diedrich. Steffens took a pass from Diederich and dribbled around a UCCS defender before chipping it over the oncoming goalkeeper, Grace Ramsden.
 
UCCS tied it in the 37th minute, as Michaela Mansfield hit the equalizer from the top of the box, assisted by Bailee Jameson. 
 
Tied 1-1 at the break, FHSU couldn’t slow down a UCCS attack that had 10 shots in the second half as the Mountain Lions hit an eventual game winner at 51:07, off a corner kick.  Hannah Levett was credited with the goal, capitalizing on a scramble in front of the net.

Hailey Davey and Kylee Loneker each had three shots (two on goal) for the Tigers, while keeper Kristen Thompson put up three saves in 90 minutes.
 
Fort Hays State returns to FHSU Soccer Stadium on Friday, Sept. 19, for its MIAA opener versus Nebraska-Kearney.  Game time is set for 6 p.m., in Hays, Kan.

By GERARD WELLBROCK
Hays Post

Treveon Albert threw for three touchdowns and ran for two others leading the Fort Hays State Tigers to a 48-13 win over Northeastern State Saturday afternoon at Doc Wadley Stadium in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Albert, who didn’t start the game at quarterback but took all of the snaps under center in the second half after Kevin Spain went down with an ankle injury, scored on touchdowns runs of four and nine yards. He hooked up with running back Kenneth Iheme on a 27-yard TD pass. Albert also hit Isaiah Maxi on an 11-yard strike and Ed Williams on a 12-yard TD pass.

Chris Brown Postgame Interview

 

Northeastern State grabbed the early lead with a 12-play 80-yard scoring drive on their first possession. Albert first touchdown run late in the first quarter tied the game. Drew O’Brien’s extra point gave the Tigers the lead for good. O’Brien would kick field goals of 41 and 38 yards to put the Tigers up 13-6 early in the second quarter. Albert’s strike to Iheme gave FHSU a 20-6 lead at the half.

Treveon Albert / Micheal Terry Postgame Interview

 

The Tigers finished with 408 yards of offense, 197 on the ground and 211 through the air and had the ball for 35:29, one week after having it for just over 19 minutes in their season opening loss to Central Oklahoma.

Game Highlights

 

Ed Williams had eight receptions for 113 yards and a touchdown. Edward Smith led the Tigers rushing attack with 70 yards on 10 carries and a touchdown. Kenneth Iheme, who didn’t play in the second half after an apparent shoulder injury, rushed for 62 yards on eight carries.

Fort Hays State improves to 1-1 both overall and in MIAA play. They are back at home next Saturday to host Lindenwood at 7pm.

The Fort Hays State men’s basketball team receives a verbal commitment. Scott City senior Trey O’Neil tweeting Wednesday night that he will be a Tiger next season.

O’Neil helped lead the Beavers to the 4A Division II state title game this past season. He scored 67 points while grabbing 16 rebounds and dishing out 18 assists in Scott City’s three state tournament games.

O’Neil joins Derby’s Aaron Nicholson who verbally committed last month.

FHSU Weekly Football Press Conference
September 9, 2014

Head coach Chris Brown

Matt Erbert

Kevin Spain

 

Daniel Lindsey

 

FHSU Athletics

Fort Hays State men’s golf opened its 2014-15 season on Monday and Tuesday (Sept. 8-9) at the Lincoln Invitational in Camdenton, Mo. The event, held at Old Kinderhook Golf Course, marked the first MIAA sanctioned event of four this year. After a tough opening round on Monday, Trey Herman made a charge up the leaderboard over the final two rounds to finish in a tie for seventh individually. FHSU finished ninth as a team.

Herman, tied for 34th individually after the first round, made a charge all the way to tie for seventh by the end of the tournament. He had an opening round of 80, but finished Monday strong with a second-round even par total of 71. That moved him up 10 spots in the standings heading into Tuesday. In the final round, he fired a 2-under par 69 to jump 15 more spots in the standings and tie for seventh overall.

The charge was huge for Herman, who finished second in the MIAA Individual Point Standings last year, just missing Player of the Year honors. By tying for seventh, he earned eight points in the individual standings. Only the top 15 individuals at each tournament earn points, so Herman went from possibly no points in the first tournament to eight with his 15-place leap on Tuesday. Reigning MIAA Player of the Year Travis Mays from Central Missouri finished in a tie for fifth, earning 10.5 points. Eric Kline of Central Oklahoma was the individual champion of the tournament, earning 15 points with an 8-under par total of 205. Herman finished with a total of 220.

The rest of the Tiger team struggled in the first event. Grant Storey was the only other Tiger to card a round inside 80 with a 79 in his second round. Storey bookended that round with an 80 and 86 to finish in a tie for 42nd. Nick VonLintel had rounds of 84, 80, and 82 to finish 45th. Kade Megaffin was 56th with rounds of 97, 86, 89. Billy Frey was 57th with rounds of 91, 94, and 91.

Central Oklahoma was dubbed the champion of the event, even though it tied with Central Missouri in total strokes. UCO won the playoff. Both teams shot 863. FHSU was ninth out of 11 with a total of 977.

FHSU Athletics

After a big opening weekend of knocking off the 21st-ranked team in the nation and scoring eight goals total, the FHSU women’s soccer team received votes in the first set of NSCAA Rankings for the regular season released on Tuesday (Sept. 9). Fort Hays State has opened the year 2-0 overall.

Fort Hays State scored four goals in each of its two road wins last week, defeating No. 21 Southwest Minnesota State on its home field 4-1, and then knocking off Sioux Falls 4-0.

Central Missouri is only MIAA school inside the top 25, currently at No. 21. FHSU was the only MIAA school receiving votes.

The Tigers look to further their hot start to the 2014 season on the road again this coming weekend at a pair of Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference schools, Colorado State-Pueblo (Fri., Sept. 12) and UC-Colorado Springs (Sun., Sept. 14).

Below are the first set of regular season rankings (Sept. 9).

 

1	Grand Valley State University		2-0-0
2	University Of West Florida		1-0-0
3	Western Washington University		2-0-0
4	St. Edward’s University		2-0-0
5	College Of Saint Rose		2-0-0
6	California Universityof Pennsylvania		1-0-1
7	Minnesota State University-Mankato		2-0-0
8	California State University Stanislaus		3-0-0
9	Rollins College		2-0-0
10	University of Noth Georgia		2-0-0
11	University Of Bridgeport		2-0-0
12	Colorado School Of Mines		1-0-1
13	Winona State University		2-0-0
14	Catawba College		2-0-0
15	University Of Tampa		0-0-0
16	University Of Wisconsin-Parkside		2-0-0
17	Gannon University		2-0-0
18	Metropolitan State University of Denver		2-0-0
19	California State University-San Bernardino		1-0-0
20	Columbus State University		1-0-0
21	University of Central Missouri		2-0-0
22	Saginaw Valley State University		2-0-0
23	West Chester University		2-0-0
24	Seattle Pacific University		1-0-0
25	Quincy University		1-1-0

Also receiving votes: Sonoma State University (15), Belmont Abbey College (12), Fort Lewis College (11), Adelphi University (10), Angelo State (6), Barry University (6), Fort Hays State University (5)

FHSU Athletics

The first set of NSCAA Rankings for the 2014 regular season were released on Tuesday (Sept. 9). Fort Hays State men’s soccer held steady in the national poll at No. 23, after being picked in that spot in the preseason poll. Fort Hays State opened the season 1-1 last week.

The Tigers are one of three MIAA teams listed in the rankings. Northeastern State jumped all the way to No. 7 in the nation after not being listed in the preseason poll. The RiverHawks opened the year 2-0, which included a win over preseason No. 4 ranked Rockhurst. Lindenwood went 1-0, but dropped from No. 7 in the preseason poll to No. 13 in the first regular season poll. Fort Hays State held steady, despite the loss.

Fort Hays State heads to Rapid City, S.D., this coming weekend for two matches at the GNAC/MIAA Shootout. The Tigers face University of Mary on Friday (Sept. 12) and then South Dakota School of Mineson Sunday (Sept. 14).

Below are the first set of regular season rankings for 2014 (Sept. 9).

1	Southern New Hampshire University		1-0-0
2	Simon Fraser University		1-0-0
3	Rollins College		1-0-0
4	Saginaw Valley State University		2-0-0
5	Limestone College		3-0-0
6	Texas A&M International University		2-0-0
7	Northeastern State University		2-0-0
8	University Of Charleston		2-0-0
9	California State University-Los Angeles		2-0-0
10	Southern Connecticut State University		2-0-0
11	Saint Leo University		1-0-0
12	Lander University		1-0-0
13	Lindenwood University		1-0-0
14	Ohio Dominican University		2-0-0
15	Metropolitan State University of Denver		1-0-0
16	California State University Chico		1-0-0
17	Shippensburg University		2-0-0
18	University Of West Florida		1-0-0
19	Barton College		2-0-0
20	Fort Lewis College		1-1-0
21	University of the District of Columbia		2-0-0
22	Quincy University		2-0-0
23	Fort Hays State University		1-1-0
24	Young Harris College		1-0-0
25	Post University		1-0-0

Also receiving votes: Wheeling Jesuit University (15), Midwestern State University (13), Lynn University (11), Drury University (8), Seattle Pacific University (7), Shepherd University (3), LIU Post (2), Mercyhurst University (1), Nova Southeastern University (1), Mount Olive College (1)

MIAA Media Relations

Kansas City, Mo. – The first Athletes of the Week for the 2014 campaign came out as football was announced today. Central Oklahoma’s Chas Stallard earned Offensive Athlete of the Week, Emporia State’s Deshawn Dinwiddie earned Defensive Athlete of the Week and UCO’s Seth Hiddink was named Special Teams Athlete of the Week. 

MIAA Offensive Athlete of the Week
Chas Stallard, QB, Central Oklahoma 
Stallard shined in his first-ever college game, rushing 17 times for 107 yards and a touchdown in addition to hitting 15-of-23 passes for 204 yards and a score leading UCO to a 26-7 road win over Fort Hays State. The redshirt freshman threw a 28-yard TD pass on a flea-flicker to give the Bronchos a 7-0 lead on the first play of the second quarter, then led an 80-yard TD drive hitting 4-of-4 passes for 42 yards before scoring on an 11-yard scramble late in the period to give UCO a 14-0 halftime lead. Stallard had runs of 29 and 44 yards during third-quarter field goal drives as UCO won its first season-opener since 2007. The 6-0 redshirt freshman quarterback is a native of Cleveland, Okla. where he competed at Cleveland High School. 

Others nominated: Anthony Abenoja, Pittsburg State; Phil Jackson, Northwest Missouri; Michael Nelson, Missouri Southern; Raphael Spencer, Missouri Western; Austin Willis, Emporia State. 

MIAA Defensive Athlete of the Week
Deshawn Dinwiddie, LB, Emporia State 
Dinwiddie had a game high ten tackles, two forced fumbles and returned a defensive PAT for a score as Emporia State held Missouri Southern to just 212 rushing yards in the Hornets 53-28 victory. His first forced fumble was on the Lions Michael Nelson two yards behind the line of scrimmage and was scooped up and returned for a touchdown by Kadeem Satchell to give the Hornets a 21-7 lead with 6:00 left in the half. It was the first defensive score for the Hornets since Sept. 8, 2012 at Neb.-Kearney and was followed 14 seconds later by another fumble return for a touchdown and a 27-7 Emporia State lead. After the Lions scored to cut the lead to 27-13 Deshawn returned the extra point that was blocked by his brother Deveon for a defensive PAT and 29-13 Hornet lead with2:12 left in the half. He then forced a fumble on MSSU’s first possession of the second half that the Hornets would eventually score off of for a 36-13 lead. The 6-2 senior linebacker is a native of Hutchinson, Kan. where he competed at Hutchinson high school before playing two season’s at North Dakota State. 

Others nominated: Tyler Disney, Pittsburg State; Arbanas Elliot, Missouri Western; Connor Harris, Lindenwood; Tyke Kozeal, Nebraska-Kearney; Matt Pruitt, Central Oklahoma; Tevin Teamer, Central Missouri. 

MIAA Special Teams Athlete of the Week
Seth Hiddink, K, Central Oklahoma 
Hiddink scored 14 points in UCOs 26-7 road win over Fort Hays State, hitting all four field goal tries and both extra point attempts. He made two first-half PATs as the Bronchos took a 14-0 lead and then scored all 12 UCO points in the second half with field goals of 18, 37, 38 and 48 yards. Hiddink has made 13 consecutive field goals dating back to last season. The 6-4 sophomore kicker is a native of Wylie, Texas where he competed at Wylie High School. 

Others nominated: Davis Brendel, Nebraska-Kearney; Deveon Dinwiddie, Emporia State; Connor Frazell, Pittsburg State; Kyle Goodburn, Northwest Missouri; Scott Groner, Missouri Western; DeAndre James, Fort Hays State; Lavorrie Johnson, Lindenwood.

FHSU Athletics

Fort Hays State dropped a 2-0 contest to Drury in the Days Inn Soccer Classic finale on Sunday (Sept. 7).
 
FHSU fired 15 shots on the day, including four on goal, though none found the net. 
 
After a scoreless first half, Drury took a 1-0 lead less than four minutes out of the break.  Ben Bruce fired a pass to Matt Clarkin at the top of the box.  FHSU’s Jason Babyak got a hand on Clarkin’s attempt, but the shot deflected into the net for the first points of the day.
 
The Tigers’ closest scoring opportunity came in the 58th minute, when a shot from Michael Cole appeared to cross the goal line off a deflection, but it was ruled a non-goal by the officials. 
 
Soon after (66:00), Drury’s David Cross scored the final goal of the day to put the game out of reach for FHSU, using an assist from Alec Nagel.
 
Babyak played all 90 minutes in goal for the Tigers, tallying four saves.  Offensively, Diego Cabral fired six shots, followed by Maurizio Costa’s three attempts.
 
FHSU returns to action next weekend at the GNAC/MIAA Shootout in Rapid City, S.D.  The Tigers are scheduled to play the University of Mary on Friday (Sept. 12) and South Dakota Mines on Sunday (Sept. 14). 

FHSU Athletics

Fort Hays State continued its impressive start to the season with a 4-0 victory over Sioux Falls on Sunday, Sept. 7.  It was the second straight four-goal performance by the Tigers, and was the second regional victory in as many games. 
 
Freshman Kelsey Steffens had two goals for the Tigers, while Jordan Hester and Jordan Shaw scored as well. Hailey Davey assisted in three of the goals, setting a new school record for assists in a single game.
 
Hester carried over her strong play from Friday, scoring her third goal of the young season to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead at 19:38.  Davey’s cross pass tipped off Cougar goalkeeper Cheyanne Carpenter’s fingers towards Hester, who finished from 10 yards out.
 
FHSU extended its lead to 2-0 just before half on Steffens’ first career goal as Davey picked up her second assist of the game.  In the 45th minute (44:28), Davey’s cross found Steffens waiting, who dribbled it in for the score.
 
In the 66th minute, Shaw took a free kick from 30 yards out, driving a shot to the top right side of the net and pushing the lead to three.
 
Inside 10 minutes to play in regulation (81:05), Steffens netted her second goal of the day, gathering a cross from Davey in the middle of the box, hitting a shot past goalkeeper Jordin Crosby.
 
FHSU controlled the ball most of the contest, firing 28 shots and allowing just two USF attempts, neither of which were on goal. The Tigers’ Kristen Thompson recorded her first shutout in goal, playing all 90 minutes.
 
The Tigers travel to Colorado next weekend for matches against Colorado State-Pueblo (Friday, Sept. 12) and UC-Colorado Springs (Sunday, Sept. 14).  FHSU will make its home debut Sept. 19 against Nebraska-Kearney.

FHSU Athletics

Fort Hays State volleyball split its two matches on Saturday (Sept. 6) at the Henderson State Classic in Arkadelphia, Ark. The Tigers fell in five sets to Union University (Tenn.) to open the day, but immediately bounced back to knock off tournament host Henderson State in straight sets. Fort Hays State finished 3-1 overall at the tournament after a pair of wins on Friday.

Union 3, Fort Hays State 2
A lack of defense early led to Fort Hays State (2-1) struggling to its first loss of the season against Union (1-2). Though the offense was running on all cylinders in the first set, it sputtered in sets two and three, while Union kept its offensive efficiency up through the first three sets. That resulted in a 2-1 lead for Union in the match.

Fort Hays State took the opening set 25-20, swinging an extremely hot .429 as a team. That was a good thing, considering Union was impressive as well on the attack at .323. But, that rate would not continue for the Tigers, as they struggled to hitting percentages of .195 in the second set and .077 in the third. Meanwhile, Union hit .293 in the second and .229 in the third to take the sets by scores of 26-24 and 25-19.

Fort Hays State got the offense clicking once again in the fourth and defended well, which resulted in a 25-15 blowout to even the match 2-2. However, the Tigers showed inconsistency again with six hitting errors (four unforced) and a couple of ball handling errors in the fifth, while Union went errorless on the attack. Union took the final set 15-10.

The Tigers put down more kills than Union, 66 to 57, but had 10 more hitting errors, 29 to 19. Mallory Flagor led FHSU in kills with 19, swinging .326 for the match, and Taylor Mares added 17 kills. Rebekah Spainhour reached double figures in kills with 13, while Haley Corkill had a double-double of 10 kills and 11 digs. Kristin Conor and Libby Ary split assists nearly down the middle, Conor with 24 and Ary with 23. Ary added 12 digs for a double-double. Keanu Bradley racked up a team-high 32 digs.

Deja Moorer led Union with 14 kills, Lydia Wright had 45 assists, and Elise Seufert had 27 digs.

Fort Hays State 3, Henderson State 0
The Tigers responded well to their first loss of the season immediately by knocking off the tournament host Henderson State in straight sets. The Tigers hit .266 as a team for the match, while holding Henderson State (0-3) to .140. FHSU (3-1) won by set scores of 25-15, 25-17, and 25-20.

Tied 5-5 in the first set, the Tigers went on an 8-1 run to seize control and cruise in the first set. Taylor Mares had the hot hand with five kills in the set.

The second set was similar as the Tigers went on a 7-1 run after the score was tied 2-2 early, building a six-point lead. Henderson State cut the lead back to three at 9-6, but FHSU opened it back up and cruised the remainder of the set. Teresa Wade had four kills in the second set.

The Tigers had a rash of attacking errors early in the third set, which caused them to trail by four several times, the latest at 12-8. But the offense started to click and Keanu Bradley helped the Tigers run off six straight points with three service aces as FHSU blew past Henderson State for a 17-14 lead. The Tigers would not look back from that point on, taking the set by five points. Rightside hitters Mallory Flagor and Mares were the offensive catalysts in the third, Flagor with six kills and Mares with five.

Mares finished the match with a team-best 12 kills, while Flagor added 11. Mares hit .400 for the match and Flagor hit .450. Rebekah Spainhour was also efficient in the middle at .438 on nine kills. Libby Ary had 22 assists, while Kristin Conor added 13 assists and 10 digs for a double-double. Keanu Bradley led FHSU in digs with 11 and service aces with four.

Fort Hays State heads to Sioux Falls, S.D., next week for the NSIC/MIAA Crossover Tournament. The Tigers face four NSIC teams at the tournament, which includes Minnesota State-Moorhead, Sioux Falls, Augustana, and Bemidji State.