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TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The No. 16-ranked Northeastern State men's soccer team defeated Harding 4-0 Saturday afternoon at DeLoache Field.
 
The RiverHawks (6-2, 4-0 MIAA) stayed unbeaten in conference play, and they handed the Bisons (2-3-1, 2-1 MIAA) their first league loss of the season. NSU is now the lone remaining undefeated team in MIAA competition.
 
NSU came out of the gate on fire, scoring a goal just 1:40 into the match. Frank Garay took possession of the ball along the left flank, and a Bisons defender deflected the ball right back to Garay near the top of the 18 when he tried to cut inside. The junior midfielder then took advantage of the fortunate bounce to tuck the ball low left post past the goalkeeper for his first-career tally.
 
Harding picked up the pace following the goal and was all over the home side for the next few minutes of play. The visitors attempted the next five shots and also had three corner kicks. NSU was able to fend off the attack, and senior forward Juan Peralta was able to increase the lead on a counter in the 12th minute.
 
Junior midfielder Crosby Lee came into the box on the left side after beating a defender along the goal line. He crossed in a ball that deflected off the goalkeeper, and Peralta was there to chip the ball through the keeper's arms and into the net.
 
Sophomore forward Jonathan Guzman and freshman midfielder Trevor Reed added insurance goals later in the match, and the RiverHawks defense held on for the clean sheet.
 
Sophomore goalkeeper Jackson Biles (5-2) saved a pair of shots on goal in the winning effort. Thomas Shults (1-3) made four saves and allowed four goals for the visitors.
 
Northeastern State improved to 14-0 all-time against the Bisons.
 
The green and white returns to action at 4 p.m. Oct. 2 with a road match at Southwest Baptist.
 
Scoring Summary
HU                   0          0          –          0
NSU                 3          1          –          4
 
Individual Scoring
Frank Garay (NSU) at 1:40 (unassisted)
Juan Peralta (NSU) at 11:04 (Crosby Lee)
Jonathan Guzman (NSU) at 31:40 (Ricardo Palomino)
Trevor Reed (NSU) at 68:17 (unassisted)
 
Goalkeeper Saves
Thomas Shults (HU) – 4
Jackson Biles (NSU) – 2
 
NORTHEASTERN STATE COACH ROB CZLONKA
Opening statement…
"It was a great day to play soccer and we played a very good game. We scored that goal early and I thought that caught them off guard. They tried to press as best they could after that, but our defense was rock solid. I have every bit of faith in them. Once we got the ball back, we were all over them again. We got a variety of different goals from a variety of different guys so I think that's a good thing for our team."
 
On playing a lot of guys and having depth off the bench…
"Depth is one thing that we've been really working on over the last few years. We have been trying to get our team to be competitive at the next level. We feel we've got that depth. We had to bring in Julius James, who was a guy we were thinking of saving for a year, because Chance Miller got an injury. He came in and did a fantastic job. He showed us exactly why he's a quality player. We had faith in everybody that we put in. It's hard to go through matches where we can't get them all in, but going forward I think you're going to see more guys play."
 
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