Down 0-2 after the first half, Fort Hays State University rallied to force double overtime and used a game-winner from Hailey Davey to knock off Newman, 3-2, on Sunday afternoon.

FHSU (4-5-1, 0-2-1 MIAA) had 24 shots in the game, over-powering the Jets (2-4), who had just six.

Davey’s third goal of the season came in double overtime at 107:04, and was assisted by Dani Harris, who had her third goal of the season earlier in the game.  Ceynada Guzman had FHSU’s other score in the contest.

Nicole Barnaba started the game at goalie for the Tigers, allowing two goals. Kelsey Grey replaced Barnaba at half, notching two saves in the final 68 minutes.

The Jets scored first, when Mei-Mei Senthavy broke through the FHSU defense on NU’s first shot of the contest for a 1-0 lead.  Maricela Ruvalcaba would assist on the goal.

Later in the first half, NU stretched its lead to two, as Blair Terry’s free kick rebounded back to Olivia Hull, who scored.

FHSU would pull within one during the 62nd minute, when a Newman foul inside the box gave FHSU a penalty kick.  Harris nailed the PK for her third goal of the year.

Guzman’s shot with less than five minutes to go in regulation would erase the deficit completely.  The redshirt sophomore would fire a shot from the top of the box at 85:45, tying the match and eventually forcing overtime.

In the second extra-period, Harris found Davey in front of the goal for the win.

The Tigers start a three-game road swing through the MIAA next weekend, starting with Washburn on Friday, Oct. 8 at 4 p.m.

— FHSU Sports Information —

Fort Hays State University used 63 kills to dispel Northwest Missouri State University, 3-1, on Saturday afternoon inside Gross Memorial Coliseum.

FHSU (1-9, 1-4 MIAA) picked up its first win of the season by hitting .208 as a team, including five individual Tigers hitting above .200.  The Bearcats (6-7, 2-2 MIAA) hit just .157, and had a .033 hitting percentage in the final set.

Tayor Mares’ 18 kills led the team and hit .394, while Mallory Flagor had 14 kills.  Three other Tigers (Jenna Ulrich, Sara Hewson and Haley Corkill) had at least seven kills.

Using a two-setter lineup, FHSU’s Libby Ary and Raegan Vanderplas combined for 49 of the Tigers’ 56 assists.  Ary led the team with 31, while Vanderplas had 18.

Defensively, Ulrich returned to her All-MIAA form, totaling 9 block assists in the contest.  Mares added five block assists as well.

In the back row, Makenzie Weinmen dug out a season-best 28 attacks, including eight in the first and fourth sets.  Hewson had 13 digs for the Tigers.

Though they led 4-0 in the first set, the Tigers would fall behind by as many as four (10-6) until tying it, 15-15.  From there, both squads would trade points until 18-all, when a two-point rally put NWMSU up, 20-18.  After an FHSU timeout, the Tigers would answer back to take a 21-20 lead, setting the stage for a close finish.

NWMSU continued took one-point leads, but FHSU would side out to re-tie the match until 27-27.  Then, a service ace by Vanderplas gave FHSU a set-point opportunity.  The Bearcats would not go away, however, as an FHSU attack error tied the match again.  FHSU, though, used a Bearcat attack error and a kill by Samantha Ledy to take the game, 30-28.

FHSU would lead 2-0 in the second set, but again fall behind, 9-5.  The Tigers, though, showed resilience and broke off on a 6-0 run to grab an 11-9 lead.  With the score at 12-11, FHSU pulled out of reach, going on a 6-1 run that included two kills by Mares to lead, 18-12.  NWMSU would regain composure and cut the lead to four (21-17), but the Tigers would not relinquish the lead, taking the set 25-20 on Flagor’s fourth kill of the second frame.

Out of intermission, FHSU would again lead (1-0) in the third game, but trail by as many as three until a quick four-point burst for FHSU forced a Bearcat timeout.  Though the Tigers still trailed, 11-10, at that point, they would eventually tie it up, 13-13.  Later in the set, down 20-17, FHSU again fought back, taking a 22-21 advantage on a Corkill attack that found the floor.  FHSU would lose the set, however, 25-23.

The Tigers never trailed in the fourth set, tearing off a 5-1 run early in the final game to lead, 10-6.  After two quick points for the Bearcats, the Tigers put together a 10-2 run (20-10), including a spurt of five unanswered points.  Though NWMSU sparked a short rally and cut the lead to five (21-16), an ace by Keanu Bradley on match point (25-17) gave FHSU its first victory of the season.

FHSU will compete on Monday, Sept. 30, in a doubleheader with McPherson College.  The first match is scheduled for 5:30 p.m., followed by another at 7 p.m.

— FHSU Sports Information —

Coming off a draw with the No. 6 team in the nation, No. 21 Fort Hays State University picked up a 3-0 conference win over Harding on Saturday in Searcy, Ark.

Diego Cabral powered the Tigers (6-1-1, 2-0-1) with two second-half goals on the day.

FHSU took 22 shots in the match, out-dueling Harding (2-1-2, 1-0-0 MIAA), who managed just 12.

Jacob Rangel continued his hot play on offense, scoring his second goal in as many games, while Joe Albright had an assist.

In goal, Kent Freund earned his second start of the season, shutting out the Bison and recording three saves.

The Tigers took a 1-0 lead into half, as Rangel’s shot in the 39th minute found the net.  Albright crossed a ball into the right channel, finding Rangel, who put it through near the far post.

During the second frame, FHSU would launch 11 shots, and put the game out of reach.  After a Harding foul in the 85th minute, Cabral lined up for a free kick from 25 yards out and drilled the shot.

Soon after, at 87:06, Cabral would score again, launching another free kick from 25 yards out, hitting the near post and deflecting into the goal.

FHSU is at the mid-point of a four-game road trip, finishing with MIAA matches against Lindenwood (Oct. 3) and Southwest Baptist (Oct. 5) next weekend.

— FHSU Sports Information —

Men Take First
Fort Hays State men’s cross country emerged as the champion at the ESU Invitational in Emporia, Kan. on Friday evening. Isaac Mills and Cory Keehn paced the Tigers to the title by finishing fifth and sixth respectively as individuals, in a race with 171 runners and 19 teams. The Tigers defeated University of Saint Mary by 18 points to win.

Fort Hays State posted a score of 66, getting team-point placings of 5, 6, 15, 18 and 22. Mills led the way for FHSU in fifth overall, with a time of 26:36 on the 8K course. Keehn was five seconds back of Mills in sixth overall with a time of 26:41. Bernard Keter of Cloud County (Kan.) Community College won the individual title with a time of 25:43, over 30 seconds faster than the second place finisher.

Chris Ramsgard finished 17th overall with a time of 27:23 and Jonny Bernansky was 22nd in 27:42. Rounding out the team score for FHSU was Ryan Hopkins in 26th overall with a time of 27:49.

Fort Hays State and Saint Mary were the only two schools to post team scores under 100. Newman was third with 115 and Emporia State finished fourth at its home meet with 118.

Women Finish Second

The Tiger women finished second out of 16 teams. Hannah Robinson paced the Tigers by finishing 11th overall in a field of 154 runners. Fort Hays State finished just eight points behind team champion Baker University.

The Tigers packed together to stay near the top of the team standings. Even though FHSU did not have a top 10 finisher overall, Fort Hays State had four runners finish together in the 14th through 17th overall positions. A pair of runners were all that separated Robinson from the rest of her top five scoring teammates.

Robinson covered the 5K course in a time of 20:05, almost a minute off the winning pace of 19:08 by Lauren Jaqua from Baker University. Micki Krzesinski was the next Tiger to finish in 20:12. Kylie Gaughan was the third FHSU runner to cross the line, two seconds back in 20:14, while Marie Schaller and Ramsey McCarter were staggered just one second each behind that in 20:15 and 20:16 respectively.

Both teams take a week off before getting set to host their home meet, the FHSU Open, held at Sand Plum Nature Trail just outside of Victoria, Kan., about 10 miles east of Hays. The FHSU Open is slated for October 12.

— FHSU Sports Information —

Fort Hays State University drew a 1-1 tie with Missouri Southern on Friday night, as the match was called in double overtime due to weather.

FHSU (3-5-1, 0-2-1 MIAA) led 1-0 at half, but MSSU (2-3-2, 1-0-2 MIAA) would tie it in the second frame and force overtime.

The game was put in weather delay at 100:51, and called after lighting continued to strike in the area.

Hannay Jurgens had the Tigers’ lone goal, while Jordan Hester, who took three shots, had an assist. Amanda Talbott and Hailey Davey added two shots, while six others, including Jurgens, had one shot.

Nicole Barnaba played the entire game at goalkeeper for FHSU and had one save.

The Tigers had six shots (two on goal) in the first half, and broke the stalemate in the 45th minute.  Hester crossed a ball into the box from the right side, and Jurgens’ header found the net.  It was Jurgens’ first goal of the season, and Hester’s first assist.

In the 55th minute, FHSU’s Davey found the net, but was called offsides on the play, negating the score.

MSSU tied the game at 76:13, when a cross from Karley Thomas found Katelyn Roberson, who scored.

With the game appeared heading for overtime, FHSU would escape a near-goal for MSSU when Dani Harris stepped in front of an open net shot by Roberson, stopping the game-ending threat.

During the first extra period, FHSU had another near-miss on a game winner. Margaret Meier retrieved a ball from the top of the box after MSSU’s Beth Hammons dived after a pass, and fired on an open net, hitting the cross bar.

The Tigers travel to Wichita, Kan., on Sunday for a Newman on Sunday for a 2 p.m. matchup.

— FHSU Sports Information —