MATCH NOTES
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State men's soccer team will travel to Texas for a pair of non-conference clashes this upcoming weekend. The RiverHawks (7-2-0, 4-1-0 MIAA) will first face No. 20 Incarnate Word (7-2-0, 2-0-0 LSC) at 5 p.m. Oct. 5 in San Antonio, Texas, and they will then head to Wichita Falls, Texas, for a 1 p.m. affair Oct. 7 with No. 24 Midwestern State (5-1-2, 0-1-0 LSC).
 
SCOUTING THE CARDINALS
Incarnate Word owns a 7-2-0 overall mark with a 2-0-0 record in the Lone Star Conference. The Cardinals are currently on a seven-match win streak, having defeated the likes of Midwestern State, West Texas A&M and Oklahoma Christian. UIW has only conceded four goals in its recent dominant stretch, and the team is outscoring opponents 30-9 this season. Incarnate Word has the sixth-best offense in the nation at 3.33 goals per game, and Vincent Bailey is second in the nation in goals per game (1.33). He is by far the leading scorer on the team (12g-3a=27p), with Alex de la Garza (3g-1a=7p) landing in the second spot on the team in scoring. Jarred Kahan (7-2-0, 0.98 GAA, .700 S%) has recorded five shutout victories this season and is the only goalie to play for the Cardinals this season.
 
SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS
Midwestern State is currently 5-1-2 this season and 0-1-0 in the Lone Star Conference, having lost 3-2 in double overtime to Incarnate Word. The Mustangs will face MIAA foe Southern Nazarene two days before meeting the RiverHawks, and they enter the weekend on a two-game win streak. MSU has scored 17 goals this season, while conceding just four. The team leads the country in shutout percentage (0.75) and is fourth in the NCAA in goals against average (0.48). Len Smith (4g-1a=9p) and VcMor Eligwe (3g-3a=9p) have combined to make just three starts this season, but they both lead the team in scoring. Ray Clark (2-1-2, 0.56 GAA, .850 S%) is the top goalkeeper.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Northeastern State earned two shutout victories over Truman State (4-0) and Upper Iowa (3-0) this past weekend. Sophomore forward Juan Peralta led the team with nine points (4g-1a), and senior midfielder Bo White added to his team lead with his ninth goal of the season. Freshman forward Joel Mendoza scored twice against the Bulldogs, and sophomore midfielder Jordan Schmoker recorded three assists on the weekend. Senior goalkeeper Jordan Ladbrooke was credited with both clean sheets after playing all 180 minutes in net.
 
PERALTA NAMED MIAA ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Juan Peralta was named the MIAA Men's Soccer Athlete of the Week on Oct. 2. The sophomore forward scored four goals and added an assist to help Northeastern State to two shutouts victories against Truman (4-0) and Upper Iowa (3-0). Peralta scored twice in both contests, which included the game-winning strike against UIU. He finished with five total points in the game against the Bulldogs as he had two goals and one assist.
 
WHITE UP THE SCOREBOARD
Senior midfielder Bo White has been a scoring machine so far this season. He has put in nine goals through NSU's first nine games in 2012, and his 1.00 goals-per-game average is tops in the MIAA and ninth in the nation. He also ranks eighth in the NCAA in total goals, 23rd in total points (18) and 25th in points per game (2.0). White leads the MIAA in seven statistical categories. Those are total shots (52), shots per game (5.8), points (18), points per game (2.0), goals (9), goals per game (1.0), and game-winning goals (3).
 
PERALTA LEAVES A MARK
Sophomore forward Juan Peralta had a monster weekend Sept. 28-30 in two shutout victories over Truman State and Upper Iowa. He recorded two goals in each game, which included the game-winner against the Peacocks, and he even had time to dish out an assist against the Bulldogs. He currently ranks in the top 8 in the MIAA in five statistical categories. He is third in goals (6) and points (14), fourth in game-winners (2), fifth in shots (26), and eighth in assists (2). He also ranks 24th in the nation in total goals, 32nd in goals per game (0.67), 44th in total points, and 46th in points per game (1.56).
 
SCHMOKING OUT ASSISTS
Sophomore midfielder Jordan Schmoker has been a great distrubutor in his first season at NSU, especially in the last six games. Over that stretch, he has dished out six assists despite not finding the back of the net. Schmoker is currently sixth in the nation in total assists and 11th in the NCAA in assists per game (0.67). He leads the MIAA in assists.
 
RIVERHAWKS IN THE MIAA
Northeastern State is currently in the midst of its first year in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association. The RiverHawks are tied for second in the league standings with a 4-1 mark. NSU has defeated Harding (3-1), Southern Nazarene (2-1), Truman State (4-0) and Upper Iowa (3-0). The lone blemish on the card has been to then-No. 15 Fort Hays State, a 3-2 defeat in double overtime.
 
RIVERHAWKS RECEIVING VOTES IN NATIONAL POLLS
Northeastern State received votes in the latest 2012 NSCAA/Continental Tire Polls released Oct. 2. The RiverHawks are the third-highest ranked team in the MIAA. NSU was ranked for three-straight weeks prior to falling out last week. Northeastern State was ranked on three different occasions last year, reaching a season-best mark of No. 14 on Sept. 13. NSU was also ranked No. 15 (Oct. 4) and No. 19 (Sept. 27).
 
2012 MIAA CHAMPIONSHIP FORMAT
The 2012 MIAA Championship will feature the top four teams in the conference. The No. 2 seed will face the No. 3 seed in the semifinals at 4 p.m. Nov. 1, while the No. 1 seed will meet the No. 4 seed at 7 p.m. that same day. The two winners will face off in the conference championship at 11 a.m. Nov. 3. All three games will take place on the Soccer Field Stadium at the Olathe District Activities Center in Olathe, Kan.
 
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