#16 Fort Hays State (11-3-3) - #3 Seed vs.
Rogers State (8-5-5) - #2 Seed
Thursday, November 14 - 3 PM (Semifinals)
Bethany, Okla. - Wes Harmon Field (Wanda Rhodes Soccer Complex)
Winner FHSU/RSU vs. Winner SNU/NU
Saturday, November 16 - 1 PM (Championship)
Bethany, Okla. - Wes Harmon Field (Wanda Rhodes Soccer Complex)
Fort Hays State Men's Soccer is geared up for the GAC Tournament this week, where they will face Rogers State in the semifinals on Thursday (Nov. 14) at 3:00 p.m. in Bethany, Okla. The Tigers enter as the No. 3 seed with a strong record of 11-3-3 overall, while Rogers State is the No. 2 seed with an 8-5-5 overall record. The tournament will be hosted on the home pitch of Southern Nazarene, the top seed in the tournament, which faces No. 4 seed Newman in the other semifinal match on Thursday.
The Tigers have been a dominant offensive force this season leading the conference with an impressive 51 goals. Their well-rounded attack has seen contributions from 15 different players. Leading the charge are forwards
Bastian Carlman and
Elias Ovelar Semeniuk, who have combined for 16 goals (8 each). Midfield maestro
Tadhg Walsh has been a driving force behind the team's attacking play, tied for the national lead in assists with 14 and totaling a team-best 22 points. FHSU's offensive prowess is further highlighted by their status as national leaders in shots per match (19.18), while averaging 8.18 shots on goal per game.
Defensively, the Tigers have been equally strong, conceding just 19 goals throughout the season, the second fewest in the GAC. They have limited opponents to an average of only 7.7 shots per match.
The Tigers seek to level their results against Rogers State this season, which comes into the match as the No. 2 seed with an 8-5-5 record. The Hillcats narrowly defeated the Tigers 1-0 in Hays before the teams played to a 1-1 draw in Claremore. Leading the Hillcats' attack is Marcos Vasallo with eight goals, while Brandon O'Rourke has added six. The all-time series slightly favors RSU 6-4-6. FHSU is looking for its first win over RSU since 2021 after the teams have tied three of the last eight matches.
FHSU and Rogers State are meeting in the semifinals of the tournament for the fourth-straight year. Rogers State won the 2022 and 2023 meetings, while FHSU won back in 2021 en route to the GAC Tournament Championship that season.
If the Tigers are victorious on Thursday, they will advance to the tournament championship on Saturday (Nov. 16) at 1 p.m., where they would face either No. 1 seed Southern Nazarene or No. 4 seed Newman. FHSU was 0-1-1 against Southern Nazarene in the regular season, but 2-0 against Newman.
With an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament on the line, the stakes are high for the Tigers as they look to extend their season further.
