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Tigers tabbed No. 15 in first installment of United Soccer Coaches Poll
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Fort Hays State men’s soccer team enters the United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division II Poll ranked No. 15 in the nation, released Tuesday (Sept. 4). The Tigers are coming off a week in which they went 2-0, including upsetting the No. 3 Rockhurst on Sunday (Sept. 2).
Fort Hays State now faces the No. 2 Midwestern State Mustangs on Thursday (Sept. 6) in a neutral site match in Shawnee, Okla. The Tigers then come back home to host Metro State on Sunday (Sept. 9).
Below is the United Soccer Coaches Men’s Division II Poll for September 4, 2018.
Rank School Prev. W-L-T
1 Lynn 2 1-0-0
2 Midwestern State 5 1-0-0
3 Ohio Valley 7 2-0-0
4 Simon Fraser 20 2-0-0
5 Young Harris College 11 2-0-0
6 Notre Dame College NR 2-0-0
7 Merrimack College 22 2-0-0
8 Northeastern State 17 2-0-0
9 Palm Beach Atlantic 9 2-0-0
10 Lander 12 1-0-0
11 Univ. of Charleston 1 1-0-1
12 St. Mary’s (Texas) NR 2-0-0
13 Western Washington NR 2-0-0
14 Univ. of Indianapolis 25 2-0-0
15 Fort Hays State NR 2-0-0
16 Univ. of District of Columbia NR 1-0-1
17 Limestone College NR 2-0-0
18 CSU-Los Angeles NR 2-0-0
19 Univ. of West Alabama 10 1-0-0
20 Northwood (Mich.) NR 2-0-0
21 Colorado Mesa 21 0-0-1
22 Mercy College NR 2-0-0
23 Bloomsburg NR 2-0-0
24 Saginaw Valley State NR 1-0-1
25 Rollins College NR 2-0-0
FHSU’s Villalba captures MIAA Co-Athlete of the Week after historic hat trick
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – After leading his team to a 4-2 upset of then-No. 3 Rockhurst alongside a historic hat trick, junior defender Sergio Villalba has been named this week’s MIAA Men’s Soccer Co-Athlete of the Week. The award was announced Tuesday (Sept. 4) by the conference office in Kansas City. This is Villalba’s first honor with the award.
Prior to the Rockhurst match, Villalba helped his Tigers start out the season on the winning foot with their 2-1 win over McKendree. Villalba provided the assist on the game-winning goal by Santiago Agudelo to seal the win.
Villalba’s highlights came during the Rockhurst win as he recorded the sixth hat trick in Fort Hays State men’s soccer history. Two of his three goals came from free kicks from outside the top of the box about 25-yards out. His first goal gave the Tigers a lead in the 24th minute. His next goal pushed the Tigers ahead 2-1 off an assist from Santiago in the box that snuck inside the right post to give the Tigers a halftime lead. In the 77th minute, Villalba completed his hat trick on a free kick, which proved to be the game-winning goal to pull off the upset at Rockhurst.
Villalba and the rest of the Tigers will see another tough test on Thursday (Sept. 6) as they travel to newly named No. 2 Midwestern State in Shawnee, Okla. Fort Hays State will be back at home on Sunday (Sept. 9) at 1 p.m. for a tilt against Metro State.
Tigers move up to No. 8 in D2Football.com Poll
Fort Hays State moved up one spot in the D2Football.com Top 25 Poll, released on Tuesday (Sept. 4). The Tigers held the No. 9 ranking in the D2Football.com preseason poll before moving up a notch following a win over Central Missouri in Week 1 of the season.
Central Missouri was also ranked in the preseason poll at No. 19, but slipped to No. 21 with the loss at Fort Hays State. Northwest Missouri State remains No. 5 in the poll, while Pittsburg State moved up six spots from No. 23 to No. 17. Pittsburg State is among the teams receiving votes in the weekly AFCA Poll released on Mondays, while FHSU, NWMSU, and UCM are all still in the Top 25 of the AFCA Poll.
Fort Hays State plays at Missouri Western on Thursday night (Sept. 6) in St. Joseph. Game time is set for 7 pm.
Below is the D2Football.com Top 25 for September 4, 2018.
Team Record Last Week
1 Minnesota State 1-0 1
2 Texas A&M-Commerce 1-0 2
3 West Florida 1-0 3
4 Indiana (Pa.) 1-0 4
5 Northwest Missouri State 1-0 5
6 Ferris State 1-0 7
7 Midwestern State 1-0 8
8 Fort Hays State 1-0 9
9 Harding 1-0 10
10 West Alabama 1-0 11
11 CSU-Pueblo 1-0 13
12 Grand Valley 1-0 14
13 Central Washington 0-1 6
14 Winona State 1-0 17
15 West Georgia 1-0 21
16 Sioux Falls 1-0 18
17 Pittsburg State 1-0 23
18 Ashland 0-1 16
19 Findlay 1-0 22
20 Ouachita Baptist 1-0 25
21 Central Missouri 0-1 19
22 Indianapolis 0-1 12
23 Minnesota Duluth 1-0 NR
24 Ohio Dominican 1-0 NR
25 West Chester 1-0 NR
HHS soccer wins opener in Wichita
WICHITA, Kan. – The Hays High boys soccer team won their second straight game Monday, defeating Topeka West 2-1 on the first day of the Wichita Titan Classic. The Indians improve to 2-1 on the season and will play Towanda-Circle in the semifinals Tuesday at 6 p.m.
Junis, O’Hearn lead KC past Indians 5-1 for 6th straight win
CLEVELAND (AP) – Jakob Junis allowed two hits in seven shutout innings, Ryan O’Hearn homered twice and the Kansas City Royals extended their winning streak to a season-high six games with a 5-1 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Monday.
Junis (8-12) gave up a two-out single to Francisco Lindor in the third and a leadoff single to Yonder Alonso in the fifth. The right-hander hit a batter, walked none, struck out six and retired the last nine hitters.
Junis was 0-2 with a 9.82 ERA in his first two starts against the Indians this season.
Brian Flynn pitched a scoreless eighth and Wily Peralta reliever began the ninth with a 5-0 lead. Lindor homered with one out, Michael Brantley singled and Peralta walked Jose Ramirez and Edwin Encarnacion on eight pitches.
Left-hander Tim Hill relieved and pinch-hitter Yandy Diaz hit a hard grounder that second baseman Whit Merrifield turned into a game-ending double play. Hill recorded his second save.
O’Hearn had the first multihomer game of his career. He led off the fourth with a home run and hit a two-run drive in the sixth. Jorge Bonifacio and Hunter Dozier hit solo homers for the the Royals, who have won eight of nine.
Adam Plutko (4-5) gave up three homers and allowed four runs in six innings. The right-hander had a career-high eight strikeouts.
Kansas City took two of three from Cleveland at Kaufmann Stadium last month and Junis made certain that trend continued. He retired the first eight batters before hitting Greg Allen with a pitch in the third. Lindor sent Allen to third with a single, but the inning ended with an out on the bases.
Lindor broke for second and was caught in a rundown when catcher Cam Gallagher threw to shortstop Adalberto Mondesi. The rundown continued until Allen finally broke for home, and Merrifield threw to Gallagher, who applied the tag.
NICE DEBUT
Josh Donaldson hit a grand slam in Triple-A on Monday after the Indians placed him on the disabled list to give him more time to rehab a calf injury in the minor leagues. Donaldson, playing for Columbus, also walked and lined out against Toledo. Donaldson, acquired from Toronto on Friday, will continue his rehab assignment for Double-A Akron in the Eastern League playoffs this week.
HEAR THE BUZZ
The Cleveland National Air Show, held at a nearby airport, ended Monday. Players and fans turned their attention to jets that flew around the ballpark in the early innings.
FEEL THE HEAT
Temperatures for the three-game series will be near 90 degrees each day, a stark contrast from the first time the Royals were in town. The gametime temperature of 32 degrees on April 8 set a Progressive Field record.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Royals: C Salvador Perez (sprained left thumb) sat out his fifth straight game, but manager Ned Yost said he is improving and remains day-to-day. The six-time All-Star last played on Aug. 28 against Detroit.
UP NEXT
Royals LHP Danny Duffy (8-11, 4.72 ERA) takes on Indians RHP Mike Clevinger (10-7, 3.17 ERA) in the second game of the series. Clevinger has made three starts against Kansas City this season, going 1-0 with a 2.57 ERA.
🎥 FHSU football holds weekly football press conference
Fort Hays State Weekly Football Press Conference
September 3rd, 2018
Fort Hays State head coach Chris Brown conducted his weekly press conference in advance of the Tiger’s game with Missouri Western State Thursday night in St. Joseph, Missouri. Brown and select players met with the media inside Lewis Field on Monday, a session that can be seen by clicking on the video below.
(00:00 Linebacker Jose Delgado, 02:00 Wide Receiver Layne Bieberle, 4:08 Head Coach Chris Brown)
Brown named MIAA Special Teams Athlete of the Week
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Fort Hays State junior kicker/punter Dante Brown earned MIAA Special Teams Athlete of the Week honors for his efforts in the 20-16 win for No. 5 ranked Fort Hays State over No. 18 Central Missouri. Brown was solid for the Tigers in all facets of the kicking game, making both of his field goal attempts and averaging 47.6 yards per punt.
Brown had a big impact on the win over Central Missouri last Thursday. He made a pair of field goals from 30 and 31 yards to account for Fort Hays State’s points through three quarters. He tacked on a pair of PATs in the fourth quarter to help No. 5 FHSU to a comeback, 20-16 win over No. 18 UCM.
Brown was also huge in the punting game for FHSU, averaging 47.6 yards on seven attempts. He tied the school record for longest punt in the first quarter, booming a ball 84 yards from the FHSU 6 to the UCM 10. He matched the 84-yard punt produced by Adam Ryan during the 1997 season. Four of his punts resulted in drives starting inside the 20 and two were fair catches. Brown also averaged 60 yards on his two kickoff attempts in the game.
Brown joins Darrius Webb of Nebraska-Kearney (Offensive Athlete of the Week) and Parker Bass of Emporia State (Defensive Athlete of the Week) as the weekly honorees from the conference for football.
Tigers remain No. 5 in AFCA Top 25 Poll
WACO, Texas – Fort Hays State remained No. 5 in the first regular season edition of the AFCA Division II Top 25 Poll, released on Monday. The Tigers shared the No. 5 ranking with fellow MIAA member Northwest Missouri State in the preseason poll, but now hold the spot alone. The Tigers are coming off a thrilling 20-16 win at home over then No. 18 ranked Central Missouri.
Fort Hays State, Northwest Missouri State, and Central Missouri continue to represent the MIAA in the Top 25. The Tigers will play Northwest Missouri State’s opponent from last week, Missouri Western, this coming Thursday (Sept. 6). The Bearcats defeated the Griffons 28-6 at home to open the season. Central Missouri slides down only three spots after its loss to Fort Hays State this past week.
The Tigers have now seen their name in the Top 5 of the AFCA Poll four times going back to last season. The Tigers entered the final week of the regular season No. 5 last year before moving up to No. 4 entering the NCAA Playoffs. The Tigers held the preseason No. 5 spot this year and retain the position after one week of play.
The top seven teams in the poll remained unchanged, just with the exception of Northwest Missouri State slipping to No. 6 alone.
The AFCA Top 25 Poll for Sepetember 3, 2018 is below.
Rank School (1st votes) Record Pts. Prev. Season Opener Next Game
1. Texas A&M-Commerce (21) 1-0 797 1 D. Texas A&M-Kingsville, 37-36 2OT Sept. 8 at William Jewell (Mo.)
2. West Florida (6) 1-0 775 2 D. No. 22 Carson-Newman (Tenn.), 19-9 Sept. 8 at No. 10 Midwestern St. (Tex.)
3. Minnesota St. (4) 1-0 753 3 D. Southwest Minnesota St., 49-13 Sept. 8 at Augustana (S.D.)
4. Indiana (Pa.) (1) 1-0 719 4 D. No. 15 Ashland (Ohio), 21-17 Sept. 6 vs. Millersville (Pa.)
5. Fort Hays State (Kan.) 1-0 676 5t D. No. 18 Central Missouri, 20-16 Sept. 6 at Missouri Western St.
6. Northwest Missouri St. 1-0 633 5t D. Missouri Western St., 28-6 Sept. 6 at Washburn (Kan.)
7. Harding (Ark.) (1) 1-0 625 7 D. Henderson St. (Ark.), 41-17 Sept. 8 vs. Southern Arkansas
8. Grand Valley St. (Mich.) 1-0 588 10 D. No. 13 Indianapolis (Ind.), 30-7 Sept. 8 at Delta St. (Miss.)
9. Ferris St. (Mich.) 1-0 551 8 D. East Stroudsburg (Pa.), 49-17 Sept. 8 vs. No. 19t Findlay (Ohio)
10. Midwestern St. (Texas) 1-0 516 11 D. Humboldt St. (Calif.), 55-12 Sept. 8 vs. No. 2 West Florida
11. West Alabama 1-0 466 12 D. Lenoir-Rhyne (N.C.), 36-32 Sept. 6 vs. Miles (Ala.)
12. Colorado St.-Pueblo 1-0 450 14 D. Dixie St. (Utah), 56-14 Sept. 8 vs. Chadron St. (Neb.)
13. West Georgia 1-0 412 19 D. Catawba (N.C.), 34-3 Sept. 8 vs. Limestone (S.C.)
14. Sioux Falls (S.D.) 1-0 312 20 D. Concordia-St. Paul (Minn.), 27-24 Sept. 8 at No. 15 Winona St. (Minn.)
15. Winona St. (Minn.) 1-0 276 21 D. Wayne St. (Neb.), 41-28 Sept. 8 vs. No. 14 Sioux Falls (S.D.)
16. Central Washington 0-1 261 9 Lost to Eastern Washington, 58-13 Sept. 8 at Western Oregon
17. Ohio Dominican 1-0 229 23 D. California (Pa.), 28-23 Sept. 8 vs. No. 18 Ashland (Ohio)
18. Ashland (Ohio) 0-1 216 15 Lost to No. 4 Indiana (Pa.), 21-17 Sept. 8 at No. 17 Ohio Dominican
19t. Findlay (Ohio) 1-0 197 25 D. Kentucky Wesleyan, 69-19 Sept. 8 at No. 9 Ferris St. (Mich.)
19t. Ouachita Baptist (Ark.) 1-0 197 24 D. Northwestern Oklahoma St., 29-21 Sept. 8 vs. Southwestern Oklahoma St.
21. Central Missouri 0-1 124 18 Lost to No. 5t Fort Hays St. (Kan.), 20-16 Sept. 6 vs. Northeastern St. (Okla.)
22. Indianapolis (Ind.) 0-1 118 13 Lost to No. 10 Grand Valley St. (Mich.), 30-7 Sept. 8 vs. Wayne St. (Mich.)
23. West Chester (Pa.) 1-0 114 NR D. Bentley (Mass.), 44-6 Sept. 8 vs. Gannon (Pa.)
24. Minnesota-Duluth 1-0 91 NR D. Minot St. (N.D.), 49-3 Sept. 8 vs. Minnesota St.-Moorhead
25. Colorado Mesa 1-0 82 NR D. South Dakota Mines, 36-33 Sept. 8 at Eastern New Mexico
Zuber named Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week
Kansas State Athletics
MANHATTAN, Kan. – With an 85 yard punt-return touchdown that changed the momentum of the game in addition to a 10 yard game-winning touchdown reception, Kansas State junior Isaiah Zuber was named Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week, the conference office announced Monday.
It was Zuber’s first-career player of the week honor and the 49th by a Wildcat since 2011 to rank second the Big 12. Of those, K-State has a conference-best 27 of the special teams variety.
With K-State trailing South Dakota, 24-12, early in the fourth quarter, Zuber energized the team and the crowd with an 85-yard punt return touchdown on the attempt of his career to cut the deficit to five. It was the 10th-longest punt return in K-State history and the longest since Tramaine Thompson went 89 yards for a score against Missouri State in the 2012 season opener.
The score was the 48th by the Wildcat via either a kickoff or punt return since 2005 and the 112th non-offensive touchdown since 1999, both of which lead the nation.
Five minutes later, Zuber hauled in a 10-yard pass from Skylar Thompson in the back of the end zone to give the Wildcats the lead. After grabbing a touchdown reception in 2016 at Stanford and last year against Central Arkansas, Zuber became the first Wildcat in school history with a touchdown catch in three-straight season openers.
Kansas State hosts Mississippi State on Saturday in an 11 a.m., game that will be televised nationally on ESPN and serves as both Harley Day and a Stripe Out. A Wildcat 4-Pack is on sale for $99, while view level group tickets are just $20 each when purchasing 20 or more. Tickets can be purchased online at www.k-statesports.com/tickets, by phone at 1-800-221-CATS or at the main ticket office inside Bramlage Coliseum.
Villalba’s hat trick leads Tiger soccer past No. 3 Rockhurst
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Fort Hays State men’s soccer team upset third ranked Rockhurst with a 4-2 victory behind the spectacular hat trick from junior Sergio Villalba on Sunday. The Tigers improved to 2-0 on the young season, while the Hawks began their 2018 campaign 0-1.
Looking for revenge from the past two years of going 0-2-1 against Rockhurst, the Tigers were able to put a number in the win column as Sergio Villalba (sixth hat trick in program history) and Arsenio Chamorro produced all four goals in the victory over the Hawks at Bourke Field.
FHSU struck first as Villalba scored his first goal of the season by converting a free kick from 25 yards, giving the Tigers a 1-0 lead in the 24th minute of the contest. This was Villalba’s first goal since the 5-0 victory against Southern Nazarene (Sept. 9) last season.
Rockhurst settled down and Federico Verlichi connected on the equalizer, inside the left post from six yards out, knotting the match 1-1 in the 35th minute. The Tigers acted quickly as Santiago Agudelo broke through the Hawks defense and set up Villalba for his second score of the contest as he banked the ball off the right post from six yards, putting the Tigers out front once more.
At the break, the Tigers led the Hawks 2-1. Rockhurst came out firing in the second half and tied the game 2-2 in the 49th minute on a goal from Gianluca Bottoni. In a span of the next 28:35, the teams combined for two yellow cards and 12 fouls.
The Tigers were able to forge ahead once more in the 77th minute as Villalba completed the hat trick on another free kick from about 20 yards. Things got a little interesting in the closing minutes as both the Tigers and Hawks were forced to play with only 10 men for the final six minutes.
Chamorro put the finishing touch on the match with his first goal of the season in the 90th minute, accepting a pass from Tobias Patino and connecting on a chip shot to the left side of the net from 10 yards out.
Tempers flared throughout the match as a total of 37 fouls were called between the teams. Cullen Fisch picked up the victory in goal for the Tigers as he moved to 2-0 on the season.
Fort Hays State is back in action Thursday (Sept. 6) when they face No. 5 Midwestern State on a neutral pitch match in Shawnee, Okla. The Tigers and Mustangs are slated to kick off at 5 p.m.
Jorge Lopez shuts down Orioles as Royals roll
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Meibrys Viloria trotted into the dugout after the sixth inning Sunday, and Royals manager Ned Yost told his recently recalled rookie catcher to help get pitcher Jorge Lopez through one more inning.
So when Viloria headed to the bench after the seventh, that task successfully complete, he plopped down and began to relax. Puzzled, Yost looked at him and asked, “What are you doing?”
“You said,” Viloria replied, “get him through one more inning.”
Yost didn’t mean Viloria’s day was done, though. And when he went to bat in the eighth, Viloria came through with his first big league hit, a two-run double that put a nice cap on a game Lopez and the Royals dominated. The 9-1 rout of the Baltimore Orioles wrapped up a three-game sweep of the only team in the majors with a worse record than Kansas City’s own.
“It feels great,” said Lopez, who allowed Jonathan Villar’s home run in the first inning but little else while striking out a career-high eight. “The defense was good and the offense has been hot.”
As for Viloria, the kid behind the plate who had just arrived from Class-A Wilmington?
“That kid’s something special,” Lopez said. “Communication, the game plan, we were right on it.”
It was the first win for Lopez, who was part of the late-July deal with Milwaukee for third baseman Mike Moustakas, since Sept. 29, 2015, when he was still with the Brewers.
“That’s why he was so well-thought-of and sought-after in trade,” Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. “The things David (Hess) has done when he’s successful, that young man did today.”
Alcides Escobar also had three hits and an RBI as Kansas City piled up 14 hits, its sixth straight game with at least 10 and the longest such streak since June 24-29, 2016.
Most of the damage came against Hess (3-9), who allowed five runs on nine hits and a trio of errors — all of which came after the Baltimore pitcher’s own mistakes during a dreadful third inning.
The first error came with nobody out, when Hess threw the ball away trying to pick Merrifield off first base. Then, with two down, Hess tried to chase Jorge Bonifacio back to second and the ball squirreled away again. Bonifacio headed for third and second baseman Breyvic Valera tried to throw him out there, but the ball bounced away for yet another error that allowed Bonifacio to score.
“The toughest thing is giving them extra bases and extra outs to work with,” Hess said. “That’s something that I’ve prided myself on throughout the minor leagues and up here as well. I’ve been able to field my position well and do what we need to do to keep guys honest out there.
“I mean, they beat me at that today,” he said. “It’s something that we’re going to learn from.”
STATS AND STREAKS
The Royals have won five straight, all in come-from-behind fashion, their best stretch since July 19-28, 2017. … Merrifield reached base for a career-best 22nd straight game. He also stole his 30th base, matching Seattle’s Dee Gordon for the AL lead. … The Orioles were swept for the third time in four series. … Baltimore has lost seven straight road games.
FIRST PITCH
Royals vice president Mike Swanson threw out the ceremonial first pitch to honor his 40 years in baseball. Swanson’s mother, Betty, spent nearly four decades working for the Royals and Chiefs, while her son has worked for the Rockies, Padres and Diamondbacks along with his time in Kansas City.
CLOSER CONCERNS
Showalter said he will try several options in the closer role after Mychael Givens blew another save Saturday night. “You’ve got to get people out, and pitch when you’re asked and take advantage of the opportunity,” Showalter said, “including Mike and some other guys.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Orioles: RHP Pedro Araujo (right elbow strain) will not pitch again this season. He’s been on the DL since June 11. “He’s going to be fine, I think, for next year,” Showalter said, “but I don’t think he’ll pitch in September. I don’t see any of the feedback that fits that scenario.”
Royals: OF Jorge Soler (fractured left toe) experienced a setback in his rehab and will likely shut down for the remainder of the season, Yost said. Soler went on the DL on June 16, when he was hitting .265 with nine homers and 28 RBIs.
UP NEXT
The Orioles head to Seattle for three games beginning Monday night, when LHP Josh Rogers (1-0, 5.40 ERA) is on the mound. The Royals begin a trip to Cleveland and Minnesota with RHP Jakob Junis (7-12, 4.53) taking the hill against the Indians on Monday night.