TAHELQUAH – Northeastern State's defense pitched its seventh shutout of the season on Friday evening to edge a 1-0 win over Fort Hays State.
 
With three games remaining in the regular season, the win allowed NSU to claim sole possession of third place in the MIAA standings.  The RiverHawks are six points ahead of Washburn who is in fifth place and in the MIIAA Tournament the top-4 teams are host sites in the opening round.
 
In the NCAA Tournament race, NSU kept their hopes alive with both teams on Friday night sitting in seventh and eighth in the Central Region.  However, the RiverHawks will still need help to earn an automatic qualifier with six teams in the region advancing.
 
Mariah Nicolet's sixth goal of the season in the 19th minute on a pass from Melissa Giles was all the scoring needed in the contest.   Her shot was one of two by the RiverHawks in the first half, the Tigers 8-4-3 (5-2-1 MIAA) would land six with goalkeeper Meg Smith stopping three shots. 
 
In the second half, the RiverHawks had eight shots, doubling Fort Hays' total. 
 
Smith finished the night with five saves for her fifth shutout of the season.
 
Friday's win sends the RiverHawks to 12-2 overall and 6-2 in the MIAA.
 
Northeastern State will return to the field on Sunday at 1 p.m. to host Nebraska-Kearney.