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OLATHE, Kan. – The No. 14-ranked Northeastern State men's soccer team is set to take on Lindenwood in the finals of the 2014 MIAA Men's Soccer Championship at 11 a.m. Nov. 8 at College Boulevard Activities Center.
 
The RiverHawks (15-3-1) are the top seed in the tournament and defeated Upper Iowa 2-1 in the semifinals. NSU won the MIAA regular season championship with an 11-0-1 mark in league play. The Lions (10-6-3) are seeded No. 3 and upset Fort Hays State 2-0 in the semifinals. They are the two-time defending tournament champions and are looking for the three-peat.
 
NSU owns a 2-0 mark against LWU this season, earning a 1-0 victory in St. Charles, Missouri, and collecting a 2-0 triumph in Tahlequah. The last time these two teams met in the tournament came in the 2012 finals, when Lindenwood captured the championship by defeating the green and white by a narrow 1-0 margin.
 
Northeastern State enters the finals on an eight-match unbeaten streak, and the side is 13-1-1 over the course of its last 15 matches.
 
Lindenwood has only lost in regulation twice in its last 12 matches after starting the year 2-3-2. Those losses both came against NSU. Since Fort Hays State handed LWU an 8-0 defeat on Sept. 25, the Lions have since registered an 8-3-1 record. During those 12 outings, they lost to NSU twice and fell to the Tigers in overtime. The Lions play an aggressive style of soccer that has resulted in the team picking up a league-high 51 yellow cards this season.
 
Leading the charge for Lindenwood are Alfredo Paez (7g-2a=16p) and Mitchell Hunt (6g-2a=14p). Andre Hayne (5g-0a=10p) is also in double figures this season. Ignacio Pizarro Romero (2g-0a=4p) was named to the All-MIAA First Team, while Hayne and Alejandro Cases Da Silva (1g-1a=3p) were both named to the All-MIAA Second Team.
 
Andrew Hamerlinck (9-4-3) has registered a 1.28 goals-against average and a .700 saves percentage to go along with five shutouts in 1476:44.
 
Northeastern State features 11 All-MIAA performers, including first teamers Juan Peralta, Adam Schmoker, Jordan Schmoker and Terence Smith. Peralta and Jordan Schmoker are two of the most prolific scorers in MIAA history. Schmoker (9g-13a=31p) currently leads the MIAA in all three statistical categories and is also the nation's assists leader for the second-straight year. Peralta (7g-4a=18p) is the MIAA's all-time points leader at 81 for his career.
 
Ricardo Palomino (4g-6a=14p), Justin Todd (6g-1a=13p) and Chris Mendez (3g-4a=10p) have all reached the double-digit point plateau. The RiverHawks have also allowed an MIAA-low 15 goals this year.
 
Jackson Biles (14-3-1) owns a 0.75 goals-against average, a .812 saves percentage and eight shutouts in 1554:53. Biles leads the conference in wins, GAA, S%, minutes played and shutouts.
 
Northeastern State is currently the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Central Region and will more than likely be selected to host the NCAA Central/Midwest Super Regional. Lindenwood was third in the region in the latest rankings release and would need a victory over NSU and some help from the selection committee to qualify for the NCAA Championship. Fort Hays State is presently the No. 2 seed in the region.
 
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