TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – NSU's
Mung Mang netted his first goal of the season, and
Ivan Lopez added his fifth in a 2-2 draw with Fort Hays State Saturday afternoon.
It took some time for the offenses to get going, as the match remained scoreless for the first 39 minutes. Fireworks commenced on the offensive end for both sides in the closing stages of the opening period, as FHSU struck first in the 40th minute before Mang provided a quick NSU response, assisted by
Marcovich Brown, in the 43rd to make it a 1-1 tie before the break.
Lopez made it two unanswered for the RiverHawks in the 60th minute off of Brown's second assist to give NSU their first lead of the match. The Tigers capitalized off a corner kick in the 71st minute to strike again and force it even again at two apiece, a score that would remain intact the rest of the way.
The Tigers had many goal-scoring opportunities, as the NSU defense had to withstand 17 FHSU attempts and 13 corner kicks across the contest. On the defensive end,
Gonzalo Castells added four saves in his first start as a RiverHawk.
This is the second consecutive season that the RiverHawks and Tigers have fought to a stalemate in Tahlequah. The result brings NSU to 4-3-3 (2-2-1 GAC/MIAA), while FHSU goes to 3-5-2 (2-1-2 GAC/MIAA).
Northeastern State travels to Arkadelphia, Ark. next week to face Ouachita Baptist on Saturday, Oct. 14 at 1 p.m. in continued GAC/MIAA action.
