The Tiger women’s soccer team picked up its first conference win of the season with a 1-0 victory over Central Oklahoma on Friday evening in Hays, Kan.

Fort Hays State University improves to 4-6-2 (1-3-2 MIAA) while UCO drops to 5-6-1 (2-3-1 MIAA).

Amanda Talbott  was the main catalyst for the Tiger offense, firing five shots, four of which were on goal.  Talbott also scored the game-winner in the waning minutes of regulation.

Nicole Barnaba was force in the net as she saved a season-high 12 shots to shutout the Broncho offense.

Less than five minutes before half, FHSU’s Hannah Smith fired a shot that goalie Brandi Bartley misplayed, but the ball bounced up to hit the crossbar and deflect back to Bartley.

At the half, FHSU had fired four shots, just behind UCO’s five attempts.  The Tigers had one shot on goal compared to the Bronchos’ two.

In the second half, FHSU was out-shot, 10-2, by UCO, but capitalized when it counted to clinch the win.

In the 85th minute, UCO was called for a handball near the upper right corner of the goalie box, setting up a free kick for FHSU.  Talbott took the shot from 30 yards out and fired it past a diving Bartley for the game’s only score.

FHSU returns to action on Sunday, Oct. 13 at 1 p.m. for a conference matchup with Northeastern State.

— FHSU Sports Information —

No. 24 Fort Hays University knocked off Eastern New Mexico, 3-0, on Friday evening at home.

The Tigers (7-2-1) were led offensively by Ricardo Yeverino, who had two goals, and Diego Cabral, who had an assist and a goal.  Daniel Peralta and Jaccob Rangel also had assists on the night.

The Greyhounds (7-4-2) would control the offense for the opening 28 minutes of the game, firing four attempts (one on goal) before FHSU finally recorded a shot – a header from Yeverino that was saved by Severin Niessen.

The Tigers though, began to solve the Greyhound defense and fired four more shots in the final 17 minutes of first half action, including a head by Yeverino that gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead 10 minutes before the end of the first.  Rangel took a shot in the 35th minute from 30 yards out, which was deflected by Niessen, but Yeverino was waiting for the header from two yards out.

Less than four minutes into the second half, Yeverino would strike again, this time getting help from Peralta.  Peralta crossed the ball to Yeverino on the right side of the box, and the Dodge City, Kan., senior executed a near-perfect bicycle kick for the score.

Tigers came close to scoring again in the 61st minute, as Yeverino crossed to Peralta inside the net, but the shot went wide.

FHSU continued the strong offensive performance soon after, as Yeverino looked for a hat trick from the center of the box.  After his shot hit the right post, though, Cabral retrieved the deflection and netted the ball at 64:32 for his sixth goal of the season.

The Tigers head to Bolivar, Mo., on Monday for a make-up match with Southern Baptist after last week’s game was rained out.  Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.

— FHSU Sports Information —

Fort Hays State men’s golfer Trey Herman leads the MIAA Individual Point Standings at the midway point for the four designated MIAA men’s golf events in 2013-14. Through two events, Herman is atop the standings with 26 points, with his next closest competitor at 23.

Herman, who made waves earlier this summer at the 103rd Kansas Amateur by winning the individual stroke play competition and finishing as a semifinalist in the 64-man match play bracket, continued his steady play throughout the fall. He finished in a tie for second at the first designated conference event in Axtell, Neb., hosted by Nebraska-Kearney, earning 13.5 points, then tied for third among MIAA golfers in the second event in Warrensburg, Mo., earning 12.5 points.

So far this fall, Herman has a stroke average of 72.2 through nine rounds of competition. He shot under par in three of those nine rounds, posting 69 twice this year. He has been no more than 2-over par in seven of the nine rounds. His lowest round in relation to par was a 3-under effort at the Nebraska-Kearney Invitational to start the year. Overall, Herman is a combined 5-over par for his nine rounds, a mere average of 0.56 over par for the entire season.

Herman leaped into the lead in the point standings with his steady effort. Lance Lawson of Nebraska-Kearney, the winner of the first designated MIAA event, fell back to second in the point standings, after finishing in a tie for seventh among MIAA golfers in the second event.

Fort Hays State, which made a big charge in rounds two and three at the UCM Invitational, kept its hopes alive for a conference regular season title. The Tigers were third in the standings after the first event and their rally in the second designated event kept them in third at the midway point with 18.5 points in the team standings. Central Missouri jumped into the lead by winning the second event on its home course, now with 21 points overall. Nebraska-Kearney is crowding the Mules for the top spot at 20.5.

— FHSU Sports Information —

Individual Standings
1. Trey Herman, Fort Hays State (26.0)
2. Lance Lawson, Nebraska-Kearney (23.0)
3. Ryan Dyck, Lindenwood (22.5)
4. Michael Colgate, Nebraska-Kearney (20.0)
5. Travis Mays, Central Missouri (20.0)
6. Max Lazzo, Washburn (15.0)
7. Sam Migdal, Central Missouri (14.0)
8. Jake Smock, Lindenwood (13.5)
9. Brian Lillevold, Lincoln (11.5)
10. Cy Moritz, Central Missouri (11.0)

Team Standings
1. Central Missouri (21)
2. Nebraska-Kearney (20.5)
3. Fort Hays State (18.5)
4. Lindenwood (17.5)
5. Northeastern State (17.0)
6. Washburn (15.0)
7. Central Oklahoma (12.0)
8. Missouri Southern (11.5)
9. Missouri Western (9.0)
10. Lincoln (7.0)
11. Pittsburg State (5.0)
12. Southwest Baptist (2.0)

The Fort Hays State men’s soccer team is ranked No. 24 in the latest NSCAA Division II National Poll, released on October 8. The Tigers slipped 10 spots in the poll after a close 4-3 loss at No. 19 ranked Lindenwood this past week.

Fort Hays State plays one match this week at home, a non-conference tilt with Eastern New Mexico. The Tigers defeated ENMU earlier this year on the road by a score of 3-0. The Tigers are currently 6-2-1 overall.

The Tigers are one of three MIAA schools in the national rankings, which includes Northeastern State at No. 5 and Lindenwood at No. 14. The Tigers tied Northeastern State earlier this fall on the road and play the RiverHawks again this season at home on October 24. The Tigers also have two non-conference matches ahead against West Texas A&M, which is No. 23 in the latest poll.

— FHSU Sports Information —

Below is the national poll for October 8, 2013…

1	LIU Post	2	10-0-0
2	Rollins	3	10-0-0
3	Lander	5	6-0-1
4	Notre Dame	7	9-1-0
5	Northeastern State (Okla.)	6	5-0-2
6	UC San Diego	10	8-1-0
7	St. Edward’s	9	5-1-0
8	Rockhurst	16	8-1-1
9	Simon Fraser	1	9-1-0
10	Saint Leo	13	6-1-0
11	Lewis	8	7-0-3
12	Young Harris	11	7-1-1
13	Post	15	8-1-0
14	Lindenwood	19	9-0-1
15	Slippery Rock	17	6-1-1
16	Colorado Mines	RV	7-1-1
17	Cal State Los Angeles	18	7-1-2
18	Southern New Hampshire	20	8-1-0
19	Limestone	22	7-1-0
20	Tiffin	25	7-1-1
21	West Florida	21	7-3-0
22	Millersville	23	6-2-1
23	West Texas A&M	12	7-2-0
24	Fort Hays State	14	6-2-1
25	Drury	4	9-2-0

Fort Hays State University used a record-setting night from Jenna Ulrich to pick up two road wins at the Oklahoma-Panhandle State Triangular on Tuesday in Goodwell, Okla.  FHSU defeated OPSU, 3-0 (25-17, 25-23, 25-17), and then topped Northwestern Oklahoma State, 3-1 (25-20, 24-26, 25-17, 25-16).

The Tigers improve to 5-11 on the season while OPSU drops to 3-13 and Northwest now sits at 1-12.

Against Northwestern, Ulrich set new school records for total blocks in a four-set match (11), solo blocks in a four-set match (five) and tied a rally-scoring era record for solo blocks (five) in a match (of any length).

FHSU 3, Oklahoma-Panhandle State 0
FHSU was led on offense by Sara Hewson with 12 kills and Mallory Flagor with 10.  Hewson hit a season high .611 and added a team-high eight digs for the match. Chelsea Payne had 19 assists for contest, followed closely by Kelsey Broadwell’s 17.

Defensively, Madison Schwartz and Raegan Vanderplas had six digs, while Ulrich added five blocks (two solo) and Flagor had three blocks.

The Tigers never trailed in the first set, and at 10-6, tore off on a four-point run to take control, 14-6, sparked by two Flagor kills.  FHSU would lead by as many as eight on three different occasions, ending the set at 25-17.

Down 3-0 to start the second frame, but at 8-8, broke out on a stretch of six unanswered points to lead, 14-8.  The Tigers would lead by as many as seven, but an OPSU rally tied the match, 21-21.  FHSU, though, clinched the set, 25-23.

FHSU would again trail in the third set, but at 6-9, FHSU started an 11-1 run (including a streak of seven unanswered points) to jump ahead, 16-10.  The Tigers would close out the match, 25-17.

FHSU 3, Northwestern Oklahoma State 1
Ulrich’s record-setting performance in blocks keyed the Tigers, as she added six kills in the effort.  Schwartz had 12 kills for the game while Taylor Mares added 11 kills and five block assists.

Vanderplas and Broadwell again led the way in assists, with 23 and 20, respectively.

Hewson’s 18 digs were a team best, though she was closely followed by Mackenzie Weinman (16) and Broadwell (12).

FHSU jumped out early in the first set, leading 4-0, and eventually stretching the lead to eight (14-6).  Northwestern, though, would rally to tie the match, 17-17.  After back-and-forth play until 20-20, the Tigers rolled off five unanswered, including two service aces by Chelsea Payne, to nab the set point, 25-20.

Although they lead by as many as six late in the second frame, FHSU couldn’t pick up the second set, allowing Northwestern to rally from 22-16 to 24-24.  The Rangers would then capitalize on two FHSU attack errors to snag the second set.

After dropping a disappointing second set, the Tigers roared out to a 9-0 lead in the third, sparked by three block assists by Ulrich and Mares (and one solo block by Ulrich).  Though Northwestern would rally to within three (11-8), FHSU would not relinquish the lead, using spurts of four and five unanswered points to take the third set, 25-17.

Down 0-2 in the fourth game, the Tigers rattled off a 12-1 run (including a 10-0 stretch) to regain the advantage, 12-3.  FHSU would lead by as many as 11 in the set (20-9), and take the match, 25-16.

The Tigers are off the remainder of the week before heading to Stephens College on Oct. 17 for a 7 p.m. matchup.

— FHSU Sports Information —