Box Score

Box score (HTML)  I  Box score (PDF)

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State men's soccer team kicked off the 2014 campaign with a 1-0 upset victory over No. 4 Rockhurst Friday evening at DeLoache Field.
 
The victory marked the second-straight year the RiverHawks (1-0) defeated the powerful Hawks (0-1). They earned an identical 1-0 triumph in Kansas City, Missouri, over a then-No. 6-ranked RU squad a year ago. Rockhurst is coming off an appearance in the NCAA Championship semifinals and a Great Lakes Valley Conference championship.
 
The lone goal of the match came from senior forward Jordan Schmoker in the 26th minute. Fellow senior forward Juan Peralta pulled the keeper out of his net near the top of the 18-yard penalty box. The ball deflected back to Schmoker, who calmly sent a shot over the charging defenders and into the top portion of the net. The marker was the sixth of his career and gave Northeastern State a 1-0 lead heading into halftime.
 
Rockhurst rattled off six second-half opportunities, but none could sway the decision of the contest as NSU's defense held on for the shutout victory.
 
Sophomore goalkeeper Jackson Biles (1-0) finished the night with a career-high six saves, while earning his third-career clean sheet.
 
Stefano Radio (0-1) made four saves and suffered the loss in goal in his Rockhurst debut.
 
The RiverHawks are in the midst of five-straight home matches to open the season. Next on the docket is a 1 p.m. tilt Sept. 7 against William Jewell College.
 
Scoring Summary
#4 RU              0          0          –          0
NSU                 1          0          –          1
 
Individual Scoring
Jordan Schmoker (NSU) at 25:04 (Juan Peralta)
 
Goalkeeper Saves
Stefano Radio (RU) – 4
Jackson Biles (NSU) – 6
 
NORTHEASTERN STATE COACH ROB CZLONKA
Opening Statement…
"Getting a win is a great way to start the season. You always hope for that. Rockhurst is the No. 4 team in the country for a reason. The have a strong history of being a very good side. Being able to get a win against them is always a positive thing. It took a serious team effort to get the job done tonight. Our guys were up to the task."
 
On Jordan Schmoker's goal…
"(Juan) Peralta was battling the whole match. It's unfortunate he wasn't able to finish the game for us. He took a gash in the back of the head, but he and Jordan have been working really well together during the preseason. Peralta won the ball down, Jordan took the shot and scored. He's been finding the net a lot lately so we're going to expect more of that."
 
On the defensive effort…
"Jackson (Biles) was superb. He had some great saves and showed great composure back there. He was picking up errant passes and he made some great diving saves. He's been tremendous so far in the preseason. His work over the summer is evident and his training in the preseason has been superb. The back line was a massive group effort. We had to play three different center backs, a few different outside backs, and we didn't even have all of our players. It's a work in progress, but as you can see we're very confident with the guys we have."
 
-GoRiverHawksGo.com-