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For the first time in nearly a month the Fort Hays State men's soccer team is playing a home game. The Tigers take on Oklahoma Wesleyan on Tuesday (Oct. 17) at 4 p.m. at the FHSU Soccer Stadium. Since FHSU's last home game the Tigers have been hot, winning four straight games and upping their record to 8-2-1 in their first season of soccer.
 
Since their last home game the Tigers traveled all over the Midwest, playing their four games in four different states (Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri and Kansas). FHSU also beat varying levels of competition, knocking off NAIA school Sterling College (2-0), NCAA Division I Nebraska-Omaha (3-1) and NCAA Division II schools Truman (4-0) and Upper Iowa (3-2).
 
The Fort Hays offense is hot lately, averaging three goals a game during the four-game win streak, led by junior Tomas Mares, who has four goals in the last three games. Another junior, Adrian Ramirez has chipped in three goals in the four-game win streak, including two in the Upper Iowa win. The two juniors combined for zero points before the last four games and now have 15 points between them. Not to be forgotten, leading scorer Ricardo Yeverino added three goals in the last three games, increasing his season total to 11 goals. Yeverino also totaled his first assist of the season at Sterling College, bringing his point total to 23 on the season.
 
Oklahoma Wesleyan, a NAIA school in the Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference (MCAC), comes to Hays with a four-game win streak of their own, their latest win via forfeit. In their three previous wins, OKWU recorded three shutouts of Dallas Christian (5-0), Central Baptist (Ark.) (4-0) and Central Christian (Kan.) (2-0). The Eagles are 10-4 overall and 2-0 in MCAC play. Tuesday's game is OKWU's only game against a Division II opponent this season.
 
The Eagle offense is led by sophomore midfielder Lucas Almeida, who scored 11 goals and added five in 12 games, which is a team-high in both categories. Another Lucas, Lucas Cordeiro, a freshman forward added eight goals for the Eagles in 13 games. Cordeiro also has five assists on the season.
 
Almeida and Cordeiro both hail from Sao Paulo, Brazil. The Eagle roster totals five players from Brazil, including four alone from Sao Paulo. Brazil isn't the only nation represented on the OKWU roster, as the roster also features players from England, Columbia and Mexico.
 
Freshman Jack Ord from Plymouth, England is the Eagles starting goalkeeper. Ord, who was last week's Defensive Player of the Week for the MCAC, has a 7-4 record this season, allowing 17 goals in those 11 games. His goal against average is 1.42 on the season with a 0.802 save percentage. Three other players have totaled time in goal: Jose Rodriguez, Hector Herrera and Omar Valencia.
 
After Tuesday's game, the Tigers play two home games this weekend on Friday (Oct. 21) and Sunday (Oct 23). On Friday, FHSU welcomes Truman to the FHSU Soccer Stadium at 7 p.m. and on Sunday West Texas A&M comes to town for a 1 p.m. contest.