TAHLEQUAH – Northeastern State men's soccer scored seven goals after halftime in a GAC playoff-berth clinching 7-0 win over Ouachita Baptist Saturday afternoon.
 
James Doyle had a hat trick on his Senior Day while Flynn Semmerling added two, Ameer Madden found the back of the net once and Carlos Nino recorded the first tally of his career.
 
After 51 minutes of scoreless action, in which OBU had a 7-2 advantage in shots, NSU had three corner kicks within two minutes of each other to enliven their offense.
 
Doyle opened the door with a score through the lower left in the 52nd minute on a rocket from 30 yards out. Ryan McCully was credited with the assist.
 
Northeastern State continued its onslaught with Semmerling (61) and Madden (64) scoring within three minutes of each other. Both were assisted by Sam Scarth.
 
In the 71st minute, Scarth charged into the box and was fouled on a one-on-one attack. Doyle was tasked with the penalty kick and shot one just below the crossbar to bring the score to 4-0.
 
Doyle completed his hat trick with a tally in the 82nd minute. It was the first of the defender's career and the first for an NSU player since Semmerling's on Oct. 19, 2019.
 
Carlos Nino played the most minutes of his career and was glad to as he found the back of the net in the 84th minute on nifty passes from Brody Mueller and James Doyle.
 
The RiverHawks emptied the bench with four freshmen getting their first collegiate action. Brice Gandhi found Semmerling for the final score of the game in the 88th minute.
 
NSU led with nine corners compared to OBU's three and the goaltenders on the roster combined for the first shutout of the season.
 
It was the best goal differential in a shutout since 2015 when the RiverHawks beat Southern Nazarene 15-0 and the first shutout for the RiverHawks since Oct. 26, 2019.
 
Northeastern State (4-2 in GAC) will play the first round of the GAC Semifinals at either Rogers State or Fort Hays State on Saturday, April 10.