FHSU Athletics
WICHITA, Kan. – Fort Hays State Men's Soccer made history in several ways on Thursday night at Newman University. Down 2-0 with 35 minutes to play, the No. 4 ranked Tigers put together a furious late-match rally to deny Newman its upset bid with three goals in the final 26 minutes. FHSU won 3-2, putting a stamp on the best regular season in program and Great American Conference history.
The 2025 Tiger squad became the first team in program history to navigate a regular season unbeaten, stretching their overall record to 15-0-3 overall and their program-best unbeaten streak to 18 matches. They also became the first team to ever navigate a Great American Conference schedule unbeaten in an NCAA Championship season (excludes the abbreviated spring season of 2021 due to COVID-19), finishing at 11-0-1 in conference play. All seasons since 2019, excluding the spring 2021 season, have included 12 or more conference games. The Tigers became the first GAC program to navigate an entire regular season unbeaten in an NCAA Championship season.
After a scoreless stalemate between the teams in the first half, the offensive fireworks began to fly in the final 45 minutes. However, the Tigers had to face adversity to put their stamp on an unblemished regular season. Newman stunned the Tigers twice between the 50th and 55th minutes of the match, putting the Tigers in a two-goal hole they had not faced all year. But, the Tigers refused to be denied of their piece of history, putting together an impressive rally within the last third of the match.
The comeback began in the 65th minute when a loose ball in the box at close range found Jackson Elgas, who put the ball home for his second goal of the season. Only four minutes later in the 69th minute, a Juan Linares corner kick found the head of Federico Heinrich in the box, perfectly placed as he was falling backwards for the equalizing goal and his third score of the season. Finally, in the 82nd minute after constant pressure in the box, Linares found a window to kick the ball to the far post, which glanced off a defender into the net for his eighth goal of the year.
Despite a few tense moments late with Newman trying to equalize the match, the Tigers fought off any hope of a draw for the Jets. The Tigers finished with a 19-10 advantage in shots, while Payton Roehrich collected four saves in goal.
Yohsuke Ono and Daiki Okada scored the goals for Newman early in the second half. Francisco Pinochet recorded eight saves for the Jets.
The Tigers now have a week off before hosting the GAC Tournament, November 13-15 at FHSU Soccer Stadium in Hays. FHSU will be the No. 1 seed and will play at 3 p.m. on Thursday (Nov. 13) against the No. 4 seed yet to be determined for the tournament. The No. 2 vs. No. 3 seed semifinal match will follow at 6 p.m. that evening. More details on the tournament will be available next week on fhsuathletics.com.