No. 23 Fort Hays State at No. 15 Northeastern State Thursday, Sept. 18 | 7 p.m. Tahlequah, Okla. | DeLoache Field  Live Stats No. 23 Fort Hays State at Southern Nazarene Saturday, Sept. 20 | 2 p.m. Bethany, Okla. | Wes Harmon Field (Wanda Rhodes Soccer Complex) Live Stats

No. 23 Fort Hays State opens MIAA play on the road this weekend at No. 15 Northeastern State and Southern Nazarene.  FHSU will play its first ranked opponent of the 2014 season on Thursday (Sept. 18) at NSU, and travel to SNU on Saturday (Sept. 20).

The Tigers (2-1-1) are coming off the MIAA/GNAC Soccer Challenge in Rapid City, S.D., where they drew with the University of Mary, 1-1, before picking up a 2-0 victory over South Dakota Mines in the finale.

Offensively, MIAA Athlete of the Week Austin Clifton had two goals for the Tigers last week against SD Mines, and leads the team in goals (two) and points (four) for the year.  Michael Cole, Diego Cabral and Damion Cooper each have an additional goal, while Cole has an assist to his name and is second on the team with three points.

Between the posts, Kent Freund and Jason Babyak have split time thus far, limiting opponents to a 0.95 goals against average combined.  Freund has allowed two goals in three appearances (two starts) with 19 saves, while Babyak has allowed two goals in two starts, picking up seven saves.  Freund has one shutout this season.

Northeastern State (2-2-0) is led offensively by Jordan Schmoker, who is second in the MIAA thus far in points (eight), scoring three goals and adding two assists.  His brother, Adam Schmoker, is tied with Juan Peralta for second on the squad with three points (one goal, one assist).

In the net, Jackson Biles has started four games for the RiverHawks and allowed three goals (0.86 goals allowed per game) with 12 saves.  

Southern Nazarene (1-4-0) boasts the MIAA's points leader in Edgar Pineda, who has four goals and one assist (nine points) in five starts.  Blake Rodgers is second on the team with four goals and seven points.  

Goalkeeper Jeff Ray has allowed 13 goals in 402 minutes of playing time for the Crimson Storm, racking up 28 saves with a 2.91 goals against average.