Fort Hays State Men's Soccer will have a three-game homestand to close out the 2026 regular season, starting with the first two matches of that stretch this week. The No. 12 ranked Tigers host Ouachita Baptist on Thursday evening (Oct. 22) at 6 p.m. before hosting Harding for a morning match on Saturday (Oct. 24) at 9 a.m. The Tigers are 10-2-3 overall and 8-0-1 in the GAC. Ouachita Baptist holds a record of 8-4-1 overall and 5-3 in the GAC, while Harding is 0-14 overall and 0-8 in the GAC.
 
How to Watch
Both contests this week are on The MIAA Network. Subscription rates apply.
 
Six-Straight Wins Over Ouachita Baptist
Fort Hays State has won six-straight meetings with Ouachita Baptist going back to 2023. FHSU holds an 11-0-3 advantage in the all-time series with Ouachita Baptist. The 1-0 win earlier this year was the fewest goals the Tigers scored against OBU in a match since 2022 when the teams played to a scoreless tie in Arkadelphia.

Seven-Straight Wins Over Harding
Fort Hays State has won seven-straight matches against Harding going back to the 2023 season. The Tigers scored multiple goals in six straight contests against Harding. FHSU holds an 19-2 advantage in the all-time series with Harding.
 
Three More to Go in Conference Regular Season Play
Fort Hays State is 8-0-1 in conference play. The Tigers won their first six in conference play before tying Rogers State, but have since won two more in a row. The Tigers are on their second round of playing all the schools in the conference.
 
Tigers Up to No. 12 in National Poll
Fort Hays State moved up two spots in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 Poll this week to No. 12. The Tigers have been in the Top 25 of every poll so far this season, which includes the preseason and eight regular season polls. FHSU has been in the top 25 of the national rankings for 24-straight polls going back to the 2024 season, which is a new program record for most in a row.

On the Verge of Clinching
Fort Hays State is now a win or tie away from clinching the GAC regular season title for a second year in a row. The Tigers went 11-0-1 in GAC play last year and they are 8-0-1 so far this season.
 
Tigers 4th in NCAA NPI Rankings for Super Region 3
Fort Hays State is currently the only team from the GAC in the top-10 of the NCAA NPI rankings in Super Region 3. In the second release of the rankings this week, FHSU moved up from 9^th to 4^th in the rankings. NPI rankings are a new system the NCAA is using in place of the previous regional rankings system used for several years in NCAA Division II. The NCAA Power Index, or NPI, is a ranking system used in Division II and Division III to evaluate team performance. NPI considers game results and the strength of opponents to calculate a team's NPI value and ranking. NPI calculations update throughout the season as teams continue to play game and opponent NPI values change. A team's final NPI is not determined until the final games and rankings of the season are complete.
 
Players of the Week
FHSU has eight GAC Player of the Week honors this season. Payton Roehrich was the Goalkeeper of the Week five times this season (Sept. 8, 22, 29, Oct. 13, 20). Juan Linares was the Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 22, while Francisco Degiorgi was the Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 1. Kuan-Yi Li earned Defensive Player of the Week honors on Oct. 20.
 
Linares Lead in Points
Midfielder Juan Linares leads FHSU and the GAC in points with 16 this season (6 goals, 4 assists). He has scored half of his goals on penalty kicks. Linares is tied for the GAC lead in goals with teammate Len Valkema, both with six. Valkema ranks second in the GAC in points with 13.
 
Multiple Assists
Francisco Degiorgi and Juan Linares lead the Tigers in assists this season, accounting for nine of the team's 22 assists. Degiorgi leads the Tigers with five assists, which is also tied for the GAC lead with Gian Filizzola of Rogers State. Linares has four for the season, which is tied with four other players in the GAC. Mario Leal Vales and Kuan-Yi Li each have two assists.
 
Strong Between the Pipes
Payton Roehrich continues to produce strong numbers in goal. He holds an 0.42 goals against average for the season and an .857 save percentage. He ranks second nationally in goals against average and sixth in save percentage. He was named the GAC Goalkeeper of the Week for a fifth time this season earlier this week.
 
Scouting the Opponent
Ouachita Baptist
-The Tigers are 8-4-1 overall and 5-3 in GAC play so far, currently second in points in the conference.
-Andrew Castellanos and Philip Bolk lead OBU with 4 goals each. Castellanos is the team leader in points with 12, adding 4 assists to his goal total.
-Two individuals have split time at goalkeeper as Isaac Murie holds an .781 save percentage and Landon Summers has a .783 save percentage. Murie leads in saves with 25 for the season.
-Wes Holifield is in his third season leading OBU with an overall record of 17-26-6.

Harding
-The Bisons are 0-14 overall this season and 0-8 in GAC play. They have been held scoreless in eight matches this season.
-Reik Barrack is the team leader in points with 5 (2 goals, 1 assist).
-Three different players have seen action at goalkeeper this season. Andrew Wagenblatt has played in 11 contests and has a 2.92 goals against average.
-Thom Jacquet is in his first season as head coach at Harding.