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TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The No. 14-ranked Northeastern State men's soccer team is set for the 2014 MIAA Championship. The RiverHawks (14-3-1, 11-0-1 MIAA), who are the top seed in the tournament, will take on No. 4 seed Upper Iowa (10-6-2, 6-5-1 MIAA) at 7 p.m. Nov. 6 at the College Boulevard Activities Center.
 
Prior to NSU's tilt with UIU, No. 2 Fort Hays State will battle No. 3 Lindenwood. The two winners will advance to the championship, which will be held at 11 a.m. Nov. 8. General admission tickets are $5 for the tournament, and tickets for youth soccer players (K-8) are $2.
 
THE MIAA TOURNAMENT
Northeastern State will compete in its third-straight MIAA championship, but this will be the first as the top seed. The RiverHawks advanced to the finals as the No. 2 seed in 2012 and lost in the semifinals as the No. 3 seed last year. NSU is 1-2 all-time in the event, with the lone win coming against former MIAA member Truman State. Northeastern State fell to Lindenwood in the finals in 2012 and lost to Fort Hays State in the semifinals in 2013. Current RiverHawks Jordan Schmoker (3) and Juan Peralta (1) have both scored goals in the tournament.
 
THE CHAMP IS HERE
Northeastern State finished the regular season unbeaten in MIAA play with an 11-0-1 mark. The RiverHawks won the regular season championship with 34 points, finishing eight points clear of FHSU. This marked the third conference championship in school history and the first since NSU landed in a three-way for the 2003 Lone Star Conference regular season title. The men's soccer team is also the second program at NSU to claim an MIAA championship. The NSU women's tennis team won the regular season title last year.
 
SCOUTING THE PEACOCKS
Upper Iowa University is located in Fayette, Iowa, and the athletics programs compete in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. The men's soccer team is an affiliate member of the MIAA. The Peacocks sit at 10-6-2 overall this season and they finished 6-5-1 in the league. They enter the MIAA tournament on a five-match unbeaten streak, earning wins over Harding, Southwest Baptist, Illinois-Springfield and Southern Nazarene. UIU was also able to secure a 1-1 draw with Fort Hays State last weekend. Johnny McBeth (7g-2a) and Ryan Pinkerton (6g-4a) lead Upper Iowa with 16 points each. Leandro Pena (6g-1a=13p) and Rhys Williams (4g-4a=12p) also have double-digit points. Connor Rortvedt (9-6-2) has started 17 matches in net, and he owns a 1.32 goals-against average, a .753 saves percentage and two shutouts in 1567:11.
 
RIVERHAWKS REMAIN ATOP NCAA REGIONAL RANKINGS
NSU remained on top of the NCAA Central Region rankings for the second-straight week, the National Collegiate Athletics Association announced last Wednesday. The top two programs from the Central Region qualify for the 2014 NCAA Championship and will meet at the home of the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Third Round. The next set of regional rankings will be released Nov. 5, and the NCAA Championship participants will be announced Nov. 10. Fort Hays State remained second in the region and would travel to NSU for the NCAA tourney if the season were to end today. This was the same scenario that played out two years ago, when Northeastern State advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals after defeating FHSU in Tahlequah. Lindenwood and Upper Iowa are currently on the outside looking in. They are ranked No. 3 and No. 4, respectively. The Lions were third in the first installment of regional rankings last week, while the Peacocks were not ranked last week.
 
STILL NO. 14 IN THE COUNTRY
Northeastern State remained No. 14 in the nation for the second-straight week, the National Soccer Coaches Association of America announced Tuesday afternoon. The RiverHawks have now been ranked inside the top 15 each of the last six weeks and in seven of the last eight polls issued by the NSCAA. No other team from the Central Region or the MIAA earned a national ranking this week. Northeastern State also still sits atop the Central Region rankings. The side has been the top-ranked team in the region in all nine polls this season. Fort Hays State, Lindenwood and Upper Iowa were all ranked below the RiverHawks in the region. Over the last week, NSU went on the road to defeat Ouachita Baptist (3-1) and came home to top Southwest Baptist (5-0). The win over the Bearcats clinched an unbeaten conference slate this year.
 
IN THE NCAA STATS
Northeastern State is ranked in the top 25 nationally in 10 statistical categories. The RiverHawks rank fourth in total assists (51), fifth in assist per game (2.83), seventh in both points per game (8.06) and total points (145), 11th in scoring offense (2.61), 18th in win percentage (.806), 21st in saves percentage (.813), 24th in goals-against average (0.77), and 25th in shutout percentage (0.44).
 
Individually, Jordan Schmoker is first in the nation in both assists (13) and assists per game (0.76). He also ranks 22nd in total points (29) and 28th in points per game (1.71). Goalkeeper Jackson Biles is 22nd in the NCAA in saves percentage (.821) and 23rd in goals-against average (0.737).
 
PERALTA EARNS NATIONAL RECOGNITION FROM NSCAA
Juan Peralta was named the Disney Soccer/NSCAA Men's Division II National Player of the Week for matches played Oct. 27-Nov. 2, it was announced Tuesday on the College Highlights and Rankings Show on NSCAATV.com. The senior forward from Tulsa, Oklahoma, is the first player in MIAA history to win the weekly award. He moved into third place on NSU's all-time points list with eight (3g-2a) in a two-match span over the past week. He registered a game-winning goal in the 14th minute and also tallied an assist in a 3-1 road win over Ouachita Baptist. He then picked up a pair of goals and added another helper in a 5-0 victory over Southwest Baptist. He scored back-to-back headers in the 23rd and 29th minutes on Senior Day against SBU. Peralta is the MIAA's all-time leading scorer with 81 career points, and he moved past Grant Harkreader (1997-00) for third on NSU's career points list. He is also fourth in school history and first in MIAA history with 35 career goals. Peralta was also honored as the MIAA Men's Soccer Athlete of the Week for his efforts. This is the first time in school history that an NSU men's soccer player has been named the national player of the week.
 
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