No. 21 Fort Hays State University used two goals in the second half to earn a 2-2 draw with No. 6 Northeastern State on Thursday night in Tahlequah, Okla.

The Tigers (5-1-1) fell behind 2-0 in the opening frame, but would answer back with two second half goals to force overtime with NSU (3-0-2).

Down 2-0, Daniel Peralta picked up his second goal of the season for FHSU when he nailed a penalty kick to put the Tigers within one.  Then, in the 75th minute, Jaccob Rangel scored his first goal of the year when he took a pass from Ricardo Yeverino and scored.  It was Yeverino’s first assist of the 2013 campaign.

Goalie Jason Babyak had nine saves in the contest and played the entire 110 minutes.

NSU started the game in an offensive fever, recording four shots in the opening eight minutes, and though three were saved by Babyak, Juan Peralta’s shot found the goal at 8:12.

The Tigers would pick up the offensive pace soon after, taking four shots in the first half, but NSU would push the lead to 2-0 in the 38th minute, as Brandon Carter scored for the RiverHawks.

In the 59th minute, NSU’s Eric Crawford was called for a foul on his slide tackle on Yeverino inside the goalie box, forcing a penalty kick that Peralta netted, cutting the RiverHawks’ lead to one (2-1).

At 74:59, Yeverino would cross the ball to Rangel inside the box, and Rangel found net from six feet out to tie the match, eventually sending it to extra time.

FHSU would take five shots in the overtime periods, but was unable to nab a victory, and earned its first draw of the 2013 season.

One-game into their four-game road trip, the Tigers play next at Harding in Searcy, Okla., on Saturday at 1 p.m.

— FHSU Sports Information —

Fort Hays State tennis improved to 3-2 on the season with an 8-1 win over Hastings College on Thursday (Sept. 26) at the FHSU Tennis Courts in Hays, Kan. The Tigers swept the doubles competition, then went 5-1 in singles matches.

The No. 2 doubles team of BrittneyRicci and Katie Hipp held their opponents scoreless in doubles action, winning 8-0 over Baver and Bridger. At No. 3, Michelle Miller and McKenzie Haynes defeated Christy and Schmitz 8-2. The No. 1 team of Camille Caron-Bedard and Reinette Strydom had a bit of a challenge on their hands, winning 8-4 over Parde and Harlow.

The Tigers left no doubt in five of six singles matches. Caron-Bedard blanked Parde in the No. 1 match, 6-0, 6-0. Ricci surrendered just three points to Harlow at No. 2, winning 6-2, 6-1. Hipp breezed to a 6-1, 6-0 win over Baver at No. 4 and Strydom posted a 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 5 over Bridger. Raven Dick represented FHSU at No. 6 and won 6-1, 6-0 over Schmitz. Miller was the only Tiger to struggle in singles on the afternoon at No. 3. She won the first set 6-0, but then struggled the rest of the way losing 6-2 and 10-5 to Christy.

The Tigers close out the fall portion of the season next Friday against Newman University in Hays.

— FHSU Sports Information —

Fort Hays State volleyball is still in search of its first win in 2013 after a 3-1 loss at Missouri Western on Tuesday evening in St. Joseph, Mo. The Tigers fell to 0-9 overall and 0-4 in the MIAA, while the Griffons improved to 4-7 overall and 2-1 in the MIAA.

The Tigers limited runs by the Griffons throughout the night, a problem against opponents in recent matches, but could not find enough runs of their own to grab their elusive first win. The Tigers dropped the first two sets by scores of 25-22 and 25-20 before taking set three 25-21 to force a fourth.

The Tigers were down 11-5 after a slow start to the fourth, but showed fight by clawing their way back into the set. The Tigers pulled within two points six times up to 22-20 in favor of MWSU. The Tigers pulled within one on the next point, but three straight kills by the Griffons sealed the set and match.

Taylor Mares led FHSU in kills with 13, followed by Mallory Flagor with 11. Flagor led FHSU with a .276 hitting percentage in the match. Raegan Vanderplas led in assists with 22, while Libby Ary added 18. Four players reached double figures in digs, led by Makenzie Weinman and Madison Schwartz each with 11. Jenna Ulrich had a team-high five blocks in the match to go with seven kills.

Jessie Thorup had a huge night for MWSU with 21 kills, while hitting .410. Jordan Chohon led the Griffons with 30 assists and Sarah Faubel had a team-high 25 digs.

The Tigers look to snap their losing streak at home on Saturday when they host Northwest Missouri State at 3 pm.

— FHSU Sports Information —

The Fort Hays State University women’s soccer team put together a strong defensive performance in a 2-1 victory over Bethany College on Tuesday night.

The Tigers (3-5, 0-2 MIAA) snapped their four-game losing streak by limiting the Swedes (2-4) to just three shots on the night.

Dani Harris and Ceynada Guzman scored for the Tigers, while Kylee Loneker assisted on both goals, and Hannah Jurgens assisted in Harris’.

The Tigers had eight shots in the first half, and just under the halfway mark of the first period, FHSU broke the stalemate on Harris’ second goal of the season.  Harris scored at 23:21, and was assisted by Loneker and Jurgens on the play.

Coming out of halftime, FHSU’s offense sprang into action once more.  A throw-in from Loneker found Guzman alone in front of the net, where she executed a near-perfect bicycle kick for the goal, putting the Tigers up, 2-0, just one minute and 21 seconds into the second half.

BC would answer back in the 64th minute on a Jeana Russell breakaway, but it wasn’t enough as the Tigers held on for the win.

FHSU will host Missouri Southern on Friday evening at the FHSU Soccer Stadium.  The game is slated for 7 p.m.

— FHSU Sports Information —

Fort Hays State men’s golf finished 10th at the Northeastern State Classic at Emerald Falls Golf Course in Broken Arrow, Okla. on Tuesday. Trey Herman turned in his second consecutive second-place finish in a tournament as an individual, finishing with a three-round total of 222 (6-over par).

Herman sat in second place after two rounds and remained in that slot at the end of the tournament. He was just one stroke back of the lead going into the final round, but Michael Hearne of Southern Nazarene captured the individual medalist honors by shooting 1-under par in the final round. Herman shot rounds of two-over, even, and four-over par (74-72-76). Tommy Sterling of Southwestern Oklahoma State had the lead after two rounds at 1-over par, but shot 13-over par in the final round.

Central Missouri emerged as the team champion with a total of 897. Tournament host Northeastern State was seven strokes back with a 904. FHSU finished with a 937.

The Tigers were unable to climb the standings as a team, despite Herman’s solid individual effort. Mark Cunningham II was the next highest finisher for the Tigers in a tie for 42nd, 13 strokes back of Herman with a 235 total (79-82-74). Jeff Heptig tied for 61st with a total of 241 (80-81-80). Grant Storey tied for 64th with a 243 (84-81-78). Nick VonLintel also competed with a total of 249 (82-80-87). VonLintel’s first two rounds figured into the team scoring for FHSU.

The Tigers return to action in two weeks at the UCM Heart of America Invitational in Warrensburg, Mo. It is the second sanctioned MIAA event of the 2013-14 season.

— FHSU Sports Information —