Harding (2-6-1, 0-3-0 GAC) at
#7 Fort Hays State (7-0-2, 3-0-0 GAC)
Thursday, October 9 – 7 p.m.
Hays, Kan. – FHSU Soccer Stadium
 
Ouachita Baptist (1-5-2, 0-3-0 GAC) at
#7 Fort Hays State
Saturday, October 11 – 12 p.m.
Hays, Kan. – FHSU Soccer Stadium
 
The Fort Hays State men's soccer team, ranked No. 7 in the latest United Soccer Coaches Top 25, is set to host the two conference teams from Arkansas this week in Hays (Oct. 9 & 11). The Tigers, 7-0-2 overall and 3-0-0 in conference play, play Harding (2-6-1, 0-3-0 GAC) on Thursday at 7 p.m. before taking on Ouachita Baptist (1-5-2, 0-3-0 GAC) on Saturday at 12 p.m.
 
Fort Hays State climbed six spots in the latest national rankings following a dominant 4-0 victory over then No. 8 ranked Rogers State and a 2-1 win over Southern Nazarene, both on the road. The Tigers continue to shine both offensively and defensively. Fort Hays State owns the fourth-best scoring offense in NCAA Division II at 2.89 goals per match, while ranking second nationally in shutouts (6) and third in shutout percentage (.667).
 
Fort Hays State currently leads NCAA Division II in goal differential, sitting at +22 for the season. The Tigers have 26 goals as a team and have yielded just four for the season. West Florida and Queens (N.Y.) is the next closest at +18. FHSU has shutout its opponent in six of nine matches this year and has not given up more than two goals in a match. The Tigers are among the nation's best in several categories, also the national leader in corner kicks per match (8.56). They rank second in assists per match (3.22), total assists (29), and total points (81), third in points per match (9.0) and goals against average (.444), fourth in total goals (26), and fifth in save percentage (.875) and shots per match (18.33).
 
The Tigers had both the offensive and defensive players of the week in the GAC, announced on Tuesday. Elias Ovelar Semeniuk earned Offensive Player of the Week after totaling three goals and one assist last week. Dimitry Tchantcheu received Defender of the Week for the second time this season after helping the team yield just one goal for the week, which was a penalty kick. FHSU allowed just nine shots per match last week.
 
Ovelar Semeniuk is tied for sixth nationally in goals scored with eight for the season, just two back of the national lead, and he ranks third nationally in points with 19, also just two shy of the national lead. Payton Roehrich is among the nation's leaders in goalkeeping, ranking third in goals against average (.373) and save percentage (.897), and fourth in individual shutouts (5).
 
Harding is coming off a 1-0 loss to Northeastern State last week. The Bisons are led by Nojus Grudis, who has scored four of their eight goals on the season. Harding averages 10.2 shots per match and allows 15.3 to their opponents.
 
Ouachita Baptist also lost to Northeastern State last week by a 4-0 count. FHSU has an 8-0-3 record against OBU all time. Ouachita Baptist averages 9.3 shots per match and allows 13.6 on average.
 
Live stats and stream will be available for both contests at the links above.