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BOLIVAR, Mo. – The No. 15-ranked Northeastern State men's soccer team reached the midway point of the conference season with a 3-1 victory over Southwest Baptist Monday afternoon at SBU Soccer Field.
 
The RiverHawks (8-2, 6-0 MIAA) ended a stretch of four road contests in five matches. The Bearcats dropped to 0-10 overall and 0-5 in the league. NSU currently has 18 points in the conference table through the first six matches. Northeastern State is nine points clear of three teams in second place (Fort Hays State, Upper Iowa and Lindenwood).
 
Freshman forward Justin Todd gave NSU a quick 2-0 lead by scoring goals in the eighth and 16th minutes. Senior forward Jordan Schmoker assisted on the first, while junior defender Brenden Bombardier and sophomore midfielder Chris Mendez helped on the second.
 
The Bearcats got on the board when Kyler Moore scored an unassisted marker in the 40th minute, but senior midfielder Adam Schmoker added to NSU's lead in the 62nd minute to keep the home side at bay.
 
The RiverHawks outshot SBU 21-8 and led 3-0 in corner kicks.
 
Sophomore goalkeeper Jackson Biles (7-2) made one save and picked up his seventh victory of the year.
 
Northeastern State returns to DeLoache Field at 5 p.m. Oct. 8 in a non-conference matchup against Ouachita Baptist.  
 
Scoring Summary
NSU                 2          1          –          3
SBU                 1          0          –          1
 
Individual Scoring
Justin Todd (NSU) at 7:25 (Jordan Schmoker)
Justin Todd (NSU) at 15:34 (Brenden Bombardier, Chris Mendez)
Kyler Moore (SBU) at 39:23 (unassisted)
Adam Schmoker (NSU) at 61:23 (Jordan Schmoker)
 
Goalkeeper Saves
Jackson Biles (NSU) – 1
Lajos Zadravecz (SBU) – 9
 
NORTHEASTERN STATE COACH ROB CZLONKA
Opening statement…
"We're very happy with the result and how we played in the second half. We played quality, RiverHawks soccer I thought. Our guys were getting the ball on the ground and connecting passes in the second half. We started off well but the focus wasn't quite there in the first half. That's sometimes to be expected at the end of a long road trip."
 
On the mindset of the team following the Lindenwood victory…
"Those are always things that have to be dealt with. Predominately, we're a young team. We had two freshmen start today. Part of our level of play today had to do with how much energy we used in the Lindenwood match. Our team has to deal with the emotion coming off that high. I don't know how impactful it was on the game, but it's definitely a factor.
 
On players returning from injury…
"We're still not 100 percent healthy with all of our guys, and we need them back. Justin (Todd) did a great job for us today scoring two goals right off the bat. That was fantastic, and we're excited about what his potential is. Getting other guys back and healthy is very important to us. We're looking forward to getting (Chance) Miller back, and we're looking forward to getting Paul (Samia) and Ricardo (Palomino) more reps in the next match."
 
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