TAHLEQUAH – The RiverHawks Men's Soccer team will face Rogers State on Friday night in Claremore in a crucial GAC matchup. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

First Touches
1. The RiverHawks are sporting a 9-6 overall record, and a 6-3 conference record this season. They are riding a three-match win streak thanks to a weekend sweep of Southern Nazarene and Okla. Baptist. The RiverHawks are currently tied for fourth in the GAC Standings with Rogers State, both are just behind second-place Harding. Fort Hays State leads the conference.

2. Aaron Ugbah was honored this week as the GAC Co-Offensive Player of the week after recording three goals over the weekend. His two-goal match against Southern Nazarene was his first multi-goal match of the season. It was the second consecutive week that the RiverHawks have been awarded a weekly conference honor.

3. Flynn Semmerling continues to lead the RiverHawks with nine goals, while Ugbah has scored six this season. Ben Watson has five goals and two assists for NSU. Justin Hinman has appeared in 17 matches in net, recording 43 saves and four shutouts.

4. The RiverHawks and Hillcats faced each other back on Oct. 4, which resulted in a 2-0 win for Rogers State. The RiverHawks are 2-1-1 all-time against the Hillcats, with their last win in the series coming on Sept. 6, 2018 when they won 2-1.

5. The RiverHawks are led by head coach Rob Czlonka, who is in his ninth season as head coach. He picked up his 100th career win earlier this season against Southern Nazarene. NSU has known a lot of success under Czlonka, having qualified four times for the NCAA Tournament, including two trips to the NCAA Elite 8 (2015, 2017) and two trips to the NCAA Sweet 16 (2014, 2018). Czlonka entered the season with the fourth-best winning percentage among active NCAA Division II head coaches.

6. The Hillcats enter the weekend with a 10-4-1 overall record and a 7-4 conference record. Like the RiverHawks, they are on a three-match win streak, with recent wins over Newman, Okla. Baptist and Southern Nazarene. Jake Simpson has scored 13 goals this season, more than double the next-closest Hillcat, Jaxon Pitt who has six goals. Simpson also leads the way with seven assists and 31 shots on goal. Austin Wormell has been the primary goalkeeper for Rogers State, playing 12 matches and making 48 saves, with two shutouts on the season.

Up Next: The RiverHawks will wrap up the regular season with a home match against Harding on Nov. 7 and a road match against Ouachita Baptist on Nov. 10.