BETHANY, Okla. - The Fort Hays State men's soccer team clinched the GAC/MIAA Tournament Championship with a 2-0 win over Northeastern State Sunday afternoon. The Tigers scored a pair of goals in the second half to clinch the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament, Fort Hays State's ninth-consecutive appearance in the tournament.
Though the teams went to the locker room scoreless, the Tigers had a clear advantage from the outset, outshooting the RiverHawks 7-3 in the first half. The Tigers were finally able to connect early in the second half when Blake Arndt tapped in a long pass from Alec Bevis in the 48th minute, Arndt's 10th goal of the year. The Tigers doubled the lead 20 minutes later when Ethan Doud sent a long pass into the box. Anders Sandsto redirected it into the back of the net with a header, tallying his first career goal in the 67th minute.
The Tigers finished with 11 shots compared to 13 by the RiverHawks, but were able to put two more shots on target. Keeper Kieran Brown added two saves to his career total. Brown and the rest of the Tiger defense recorded their eighth shutout of the season and their second in a row, as they did not allow a goal in either postseason match.
Fort Hays State will learn their seed and opponent on Monday (Nov. 15) when the bracket is released on NCAA.com at 5:30 p.m. CT. The Tigers have the longest active streak of appearing in the national tournament in Division II.