FHSU Athletics
ARKADELPHIA, Ark. — Fort Hays State matched its program record for longest unbeaten streak with a 4-0 win over Ouachita Baptist on Thursday. The streak is now at 16 consecutive matches, also accomplished by the 2018 team, as the No. 4 ranked Tigers moved to 13-0-3 overall and 9-0-1 in the GAC. With this victory, Fort Hays State clinched the rights to host the GAC Tournament in a couple of weeks and locked up its fourth conference regular season title in program history.
The Tigers maintained a strong offensive presence with 13 of their 21 shots placed on goal, while recording their 12th shutout as a team to extend their best start to a season in program history.
Fort Hays State capitalized on early opportunities, taking the lead with a penalty kick goal by Juan Linares in the 11th minute. Linares extended the margin to 2-0 with another goal in the 27th minute from about 30 yards out on a sizzling strike. After leading 2-0 at the half, FHSU added more separation in the second half as Dylan Ashford had a scoring strike from near the top of the box off a nice feed from Elias Ovelar Semeniuk. Agustin Ayala capped the scoring in the 72nd minute with a goal on a free kick that found its way through traffic in the box.
With his team up by two in the first half, Payton Roehrich had a big save to preserve the shutout in the 31st minute when he saved a penalty kick by Alexis Murillo. He recorded four saves in the match overall and rested the final 19 minutes as Simon Niksch finished up in goal. Roehrich has had a hand in all 12 shutouts for the Tigers with eight individuals shutouts on the season and now four combined shutouts.
Ouachita Baptist placed five of its 12 shot opportunities on goal. Aside from Roehrich's PK stop, Jackson Elgas also helped preserve the shutout by heading a would-be goal away from the net with a clutch team save. Despite the Tigers scoring four times, OBU goalkeeper Dillon Staal made nine saves.
Linares, Ayala, and Bastian Carlman led the Tigers with three shots each. With the two scores early, Linares pushed his season goal total to seven, now ranking second on the team in that category.
Fort Hays State claimed its first GAC regular season title since 2019, when it went 11-2-1 in conference play. It is the sixth conference title for the program overall after winning conference tournament titles in 2021 and 2024.