TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State men's soccer team earned a 3-2 upset victory over No. 20 Fort Hays State Sunday afternoon at DeLoache Field.
 
The RiverHawks (11-6-0, 4-3-0 MIAA) earned the season sweep over their rivals and improved to 3-0-2 against the Tigers (11-4-1, 3-2-1 MIAA) over the last two seasons.
 
The reigning MIAA Champions kept hopes alive of retaining their title with the victory. NSU now sits on 12 points and is three back of Upper Iowa (5-2, 15 points). Heading into the final week of the regular season, all four top teams (UIU, NSU, FHSU, Lindenwood) still have an opportunity to lay claim to the conference crown.
 
Sunday's action began with a flurry of opportunities for the visitors. Fort Hays State would cash in on the early momentum when Mauricio Castorino flicked a back heel pass to Anthony Hernandez at the top of the 18. He took one touch and scored in the 11th minute to put FHSU on top.
 
The Tigers would do no more damage for the rest of the first half as NSU was able to escape with the one-goal deficit heading into intermission.
 
The RiverHawks came out aggressive in the second half and were able to equalize on a Trevor Reed header in the 70th minute. NSU was awarded a free kick on the right wing, and redshirt freshman midfielder Joseph Garcia sent a perfect pass to Reed inside the box. The sophomore midfielder rose above the defense and had a clean finish to the near post.
 
The final six minutes became a free-for-all as both teams looked to steal the match from their rivals.
 
The Tigers struck first when an aggressive tackle inside the box gave them a penalty kick at the 84:01 mark. Maurizio Costa's shot was true and Fort Hays State led 2-1.
 
It took exactly 20 seconds for Northeastern State to equalize. Senior defender Paul Samia made a late run into FHSU's box following the restart, and a Tiger defender tripped him while going for the ball. Sophomore forward Jonathan Guzman calmly stepped to the spot and buried his first penalty kick chance.
 
Less than three minutes later, the referee awarded another penalty for Northeastern State following a harsh challenge by Fort Hays State. FHSU's Luis Torres was sent off for his actions, and Guzman was again up to the challenge of converting his opportunity.
 
Fort Hays State had two great looks at goal in the final minutes of the match, but the RiverHawks fended off the visitors to hold on for the wild victory in the final home match of the regular season.
 
Senior goalkeeper Eric Shephard started the match and played the first 73 minutes. He made five saves and allowed one goal before leaving with an injury. Junior goalkeeper Jackson Biles (1-0-0) entered and played the final 17 minutes to earn his first victory of the season. He made two late crucial saves to preserve the NSU triumph.
 
FHSU goalkeeper Michael Yantz (11-4-1) allowed three goals and made four saves to pick up the loss.
 
Fort Hays State outshot NSU 18-15and led 5-2 in corner kicks.
 
Northeastern State is now set to close out the regular season with a trip to Bolivar, Missouri. The RiverHawks will meet Southwest Baptist at 3 p.m. Nov. 5.
 
Scoring Summary
FHSU               1          1          –          2
NSU                 0          3          –          3
 
Individual Scoring
Anthony Hernandez (FHSU) at 10:18 (Mauricio Castorino)
Trevor Reed (NSU) at 69:49 (Joseph Garcia)
Maurizio Costa (FHSU) at 84:01 (penalty kick)
Jonathan Guzman (NSU) at 84:21 (penalty kick)
Jonathan Guzman (NSU) at 87:13 (penalty kick)
 
Goalkeeper Saves
Michael Yantz (FHSU) – 4
Eric Shephard (NSU) – 5
Jackson Biles (NSU) – 2
 
NORTHEASTERN STATE COACH ROB CZLONKA
On the resiliency of the team…
"They are a fantastic group. We talked at halftime about believing that we could overcome the one-goal deficit and fighting back and they did. In pretty much all facets of the game they worked hard as a group, they did it as a group. We subbed in our new goalkeeper and he made a fantastic save, we moved guys up front and out of position and they scored goals and made things happen. When called upon our guys stepped up to the challenge and that's true resiliency." 
 
On the team adjusting to such a physical match…
"You have to be able to grind a team out. That game was about gritting and grinding it out and fighting for every inch, every bit. There were some fouls going both ways and it's very hard to play in those games. You want to have a team that can overcome that obstacle and, we did it today against one of the best teams we've played. That says a lot about these guys."
 
On the mindset going into the final regular season match…
"We are going to celebrate tonight and enjoy this moment. For our seniors this is their last game on this field no matter what may come. Tomorrow, we need to refocus and get ready for our last game. We've got one more conference match against an opponent that's scrappy and tough to deal with. We're not going to take (Southwest Baptist) lightly."
 
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