Northeastern State (8-7-3, 5-6-1 GAC) at
Fort Hays State (15-0-3, 11-0-1 GAC)
GAC/MIAA Tournament Semifinals
Thursday, November 13 – 3 p.m.
Hays, Kan. – FHSU Soccer Stadium
 
Championship Match (Winners of Semifinals)
Saturday, November 15 – 1 p.m.
Hays, Kan. – FHSU Soccer Stadium
 
Fort Hays State is ready to host the GAC/MIAA Tournament this week at FHSU Soccer Stadium. The Tigers face Northeastern State in the first semifinal match on Thursday (Nov. 13) at 3:00 p.m. FHSU enters as the No. 1 seed at 15-0-3 overall, the national leader in wins, while Northeastern State is the No. 4 seed with an 8-7-3 record overall. Rogers State (No. 2 seed) and Newman (No. 3) seed will play in the other semifinal match on Thursday at 6 p.m. 
 
The Tigers have been a dominant offensive force this season leading the conference with an impressive 54 goals and 51 assists on the season. Both rank third nationally. Their well-rounded attack has seen 17 different players score goals. Leading the charge is GAC/MIAA Offensive Player of the Year Elias Ovelar Semeniuk and Juan Linares, who have combined for 19 goals on the season. Joseph Street has been a driving force behind the team's attacking play, leading the conference with 10 assists, mainly off his impressive throw-ins that give the Tigers several scoring opportunities. FHSU's offensive onslaught is further highlighted by their status as national leaders in shots per match (19.17) and corner kicks per match (8.61).
 
Defensively, the Tigers have been equally strong, conceding just eight goals throughout the regular season, the fewest in the GAC. Their 0.44 goals against average ranks fourth nationally. They limit opponents to an average of only 7.6 shots per match. The high-level offense coupled with rock-solid defense gives FHSU the best goal differential in the nation at +46, seven better than Gannon at +39.
 
Northeastern State is one two teams the Tigers have not shutout this season, and the only one in conference play. The Tigers defeated the RiverHawks 5-1 in Hays and then 3-2 in Tahlequah, but the RiverHawks own 37.5 percent of the goals scored against FHSU this season. MSU Denver is the only other team the Tigers did not blank this year, meeting just one time in non-conference play this year which resulted in a 2-2 tie. Leading the NSU attack is Carter Adams with nine goals and three assists. The all-time series is favored towards the Tigers 20-9-7. FHSU has more wins over NSU than any other program in its program history and the two have played several meaningful postseason matches against each other in the past. NSU seeks its first win against FHSU since the 2020-21 COVID-19 shortened spring season, when NSU won 1-0. FHSU is 9-0-2 in the last 11 meetings with NSU.
 
Rogers State goes into their matchup against Newman with a record of 12-2-4 overall. The Hillcats have been a strong defensive team this year, allowing just 0.61 goals per match. They are led by Brandon O'Rourke with five goals and three assists, followed by Louis Bassett with three goals and six assists. Rogers State went 1-0-1 against Newman in the regular season, posting a 3-1 win in Claremore before a 1-1 draw in Wichita. FHSU defeated Rogers State 4-0 in Claremore and 1-0 in Hays during the regular season and the all-time series is deadlocked at 6-6-7.
 
Newman is making a return trip to the GAC/MIAA Tournament this year after qualifying for the first time last year. The Jets are 7-5-6 overall. They are led by Gabriel Dias Juliani with seven goals and four assists, closely followed by Gregoire Henri with five goals and two assists. Newman seeks its first-ever win in the tournament. They are looking for their first win against Rogers State since the 2019 season. FHSU defeated Newman 4-0 in Hays and 3-2 in Wichita during the regular season. The Tigers hold a strong 14-2 advantage in the all-time series with the Jets, with Newman's last win occurring in 2022.
 
All matches in the tournament will stream on The MIAA Network with a subscription. Live stats will also be available at the links provided above.