FHSU Athletics
No. 13 Rockhurst (0-0, 0-0 GLVC) at
No. 3 Fort Hays State (0-0, 0-0 MIAA)
Thursday, August 27 – 3 p.m.
Hays, Kan. – FHSU Soccer Stadium
Regis (0-0, 0-0 RMAC) at
No. 3 Fort Hays State
Saturday, August 29 – 3 p.m.
Hays, Kan. – FHSU Soccer Stadium
Coming off its second appearance in the NCAA national semifinals in 2025, Fort Hays State opens the 2026 season on Thursday afternoon at home when it hosts Rockhurst in a battle of Top 15 ranked teams in the nation. The Tigers follow with a contest against Regis University on Saturday. Matches will be at 3 p.m. each day.
HOW TO WATCH
All Fort Hays State home contests are available on The MIAA Network. Below are the subscription rates for The MIAA Network...
All-Access Pass: $140 (all sports, all events on The MIAA Network in 2026-27)
Monthly Pass: $35 (all events on the network within a calendar month from time of subscription)
Individual Broadcast Pass: $15
Matches away from Hays are subject to the streaming option available by the host school. For GAC/MIAA Conference Games away from Hays - Rogers State, Northeastern State, and Newman are all part of The MIAA Network and are included in either all-access or monthly passes. All other away matches will be on different networks or streaming platforms and can be subject to other subscriptions.
SERIES HISTORY VS. ROCKHURST
FHSU leads 6-3-3
Last meeting: FHSU won 2-0 in Hays in the NCAA Tournament (11/30/25). FHSU was ranked No. 4 and Rockhurst was ranked No. 10 nationally.
Streak: FHSU has won 3 straight matches.
Fort Hays State and Rockhurst has been an entertaining matchup to watch through the years with both programs having a high level of success in NCAA Division II. Rockhurst eliminated FHSU from the NCAA Tournament in the first two meetings ever between the schools back in 2015 and 2016. However, the Tigers got their first win in national tournament play against the Hawks last year in Hays. Neither team has scored more than two goals in the last six meetings.
SERIES HISTORY VS. REGIS
Regis leads 1-0
Last meeting: Regis won 3-0 in Denver (9/15/19).
The Tigers and Rangers have met only once in history as the Rangers claimed victory on their home turf during the 2019 season. This will be the first meeting between the schools in Hays.
UNITED SOCCER COACHES RANKINGS
Fort Hays State enters the season ranked No. 3 nationally, courtesy of its national semifinal appearance in 2025. Rockhurst enters the season at No. 13. In the meeting between the schools in the NCAA Tournament last year, FHSU was ranked No. 4 and Rockhurst was No. 10. Fort Hays State will play its third-straight match against Rockhurst while holding a national ranking.
BEST SEASON YET
Fort Hays State played its 15th season of men's soccer in 2025. The Tigers posted their best overall record in program history by going 20-1-3 overall and making their second appearance in the NCAA national semifinals. FHSU was unbeaten through its first 23 matches of the season before coming up short in a 1-0 decision to Rollins (Fla.), one step shy of the national title match. The 2025 Tigers matched the 2018 Tigers for the deepest national tournament run in program history.
NICHOLS AT THE HELM
Fort Hays State enters its third season under head coach Alex Nichols. He led the Tigers to the GAC/MIAA regular season and tournament titles last season and then the NCAA Super Regional championship as the No. 1 seed in Super Region 3 of the NCAA Tournament. Holding one of the most impressive overall resumes for a men's collegiate coach, Nichols is 33-5-7 in just two years at FHSU. He holds an overall record of 195-43-22 (.792) as a men's collegiate coach, now in his 13th year overall. Nichols guided Central Methodist University in Missouri to a pair of NAIA national titles in 2018 and 2019. He already has six conference coach of the year honors to his credit in just 12 seasons as a head coach (5 at CMU, 1 at FHSU).
SEVERAL NEW FACES
Fort Hays State returns just five players from last season. The Tigers have 30 newcomers on the squad this year. Of the five returning, three were all-conference performers last year.
ALL-AMERICAN BETWEEN THE PIPES
Payton Roehrich is coming off one of the best individual goalkeeping seasons in program history. He earned All-America Second Team from the D2CCA and Third Team honors from United Soccer Coaches. He was also the GAC/MIAA Newcomer of the Year and GAC/MIAA Goalkeeper of the Year. He played and started in 23 matches, holding a miniscule 0.43 goals against average for the season which set a new FHSU single-season record and ranked second nationally. He ranked fourth nationally in save percentage at .857 and set a new individual shutout record at FHSU with 11 during the season. He also had five combined shutouts, yielding time to teammates in contests FHSU was winning in blowout fashion.
TOP-LEVEL PROGRAM
From its inception in 2011, Fort Hays State Men's Soccer has been a national contender year-in, year-out. The Tigers have now made 11 NCAA Tournament appearances overall in just 15 seasons of existence, and have advanced to the national semifinals twice. FHSU made the NCAA Tournament for nine-straight seasons the NCAA held a championship from 2012-2021 (excludes 2020 COVID-19 season when the national tournament was canceled). The Tigers have now been in the tournament for the last two seasons (2024, 2025) following a two-year hiatus.
CONSISTENT NATIONAL RECOGNITION
Fort Hays State has been referenced in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 in all 16 years of the program's existence. There were only two seasons in which the Tigers did not crack the Top 25, that being the 2011 (program's first year) and 2023 seasons when they received votes at some point. By starting this season at No. 3 in the nation, which matches the program's highest-ever ranking in the poll, the Tigers have now been among the Top 25 in 14 of 16 seasons overall.
INTERNATIONAL REPRESENTATION
Fort Hays State has international players from 15 different countries on this year's squad. The country most represented is Spain with five, followed by four from France, three from Italy, and two from England. Austria, Canada, Ireland, Japan, Netherlands, Pakistan, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, and Taiwan are all represented with one. The Tigers have 10 players from the United States.
ABOUT ROCKHURST
The Hawks are coming off a strong 12-5-4 season in 2025 when they won the GLVC regular season title (10-1-3 in GLVC play).
Rockhurst fell to Fort Hays State in the Round of 16 of the NCAA Tournament last year in Hays by a score of 2-0. The Tigers were the No. 1 seed in Super Region 3, while the Hawks were the No. 4 seed.
Tony Tocco enters a staggering 56th season as head coach of the Rockhurst men's soccer program, holding an overall record of 751-249-94. He is a member of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.
ABOUT REGIS
The Rangers put together a winning record of 9-6-4 overall in 2025. They reached the semifinals of the RMAC Tournament after knocking off a top-10 nationally ranked Colorado Mesa program in the quarterfinals.
Head coach Taylor Diem enters his sixth year guiding the Rangers. He holds a 40-36-18 record at Regis.