BETHANY, Okla. - The Fort Hays State men's soccer team clinched the GAC/MIAA Tournament Championship with a 2-0 win over Northeastern State Sunday afternoon (Nov. 14). The Tigers scored a pair of goals in the second half to clinch the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament, Fort Hays State's ninth-consecutive appearance in the tournament which will continue as the longest streak in the nation.

Though the teams went to the locker room scoreless, the Tigers had a clear advantage from the outset, outshooting the RiverHawks 7-3 in the first half. The Tigers were finally able to connect early in the second half when Blake Arndt tapped in a long pass from Alec Bevis in the 48th minute, Arndt's 10th goal of the year. The Tigers doubled the lead 20 minutes later when Ethan Doud sent a long pass into the box. Anders Sandsto redirected it into the back of the net with a header, tallying his first career goal in the 67th minute.

The Tigers finished with 11 shots compared to 13 by the RiverHawks, but were able to put two more shots on target. Keeper Kieran Brown added two saves to his career total. Brown and the rest of the Tiger defense recorded their eighth shutout of the season and their second in a row, as they did not allow a goal in either postseason match.

Nicolas Cortes was named the GAC/MIAA Tournament Most Valuable Player. Tigers joining him on the all-tournament team included Alec Bevis, Ethan Doud, Haruya Iwasaki, and Jonathan Gammelvind.

Fort Hays State will learn their seed and opponent on Monday (Nov. 15) when the bracket is released on NCAA.com at 5:30 p.m. CT. The Tigers have the longest active streak of appearing in the national tournament in Division II.

GAC/MIAA All-Tournament Team
Nicolas Cortes - Fort Hays State (MVP)
Alec Bevis - Fort Hays State
Ethan Doud - Fort Hays State
Haruya Iwasaki - Fort Hays State
Jonathan Gammelvind - Fort Hays State
Flynn Semmerling - Northeastern State
Scott Woods - Northeastern State
Luan Lamas - Northeastern State
Callum Hubble - Rogers State
Michael Turner - Rogers State
Juan Rodarte - Southern Nazarene
Harei Maeda - Southern Nazarene