FHSU Athletics
HAYS, Kan. — Fort Hays State will make its second appearance in the NCAA National Semifinals after a convincing 4-0 win over Rogers State in the Super Region 3 Championship match (national quarterfinals) on Saturday at FHSU Soccer Stadium. In the process, Fort Hays State ran its record to 20-0-3 overall for the season, the first time the program has seen the 20-win mark in a season. The Hillcats wrapped a strong season at 14-4-5. The NCAA reseeds the remaining teams for the national semifinals, which are set for Friday (Dec. 12) in Colorado Springs, Colo.
This was the only super region where the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds matched up and the Tigers ultimately secured their fourth win of the season over the Hillcats. The Tigers defeated the Hillcats twice in the regular season, the GAC/MIAA Tournament Championship match, and now the NCAA Super Region 3 Championship. This was the first time the Tigers won the Super Region title under the newer balanced four, 10-team super region format that began in 2019. The Tigers moved to 6-1 all-time on its home field in the NCAA Tournament, going 3-0 this year with shutouts of Indianapolis, Rockhurst, and now Rogers State.
Fort Hays State took control early with a header goal in the box by Mario Leal Vales in the 8th minute off a well-placed corner kick from Tadhg Walsh. The Tigers maintained offensive pressure, earning nine corner kicks in the opening half to go with seven shot, while holding the Hillcats to just one shot that was blocked. FHSU led 1-0 at the half.
The Hillcats had a golden opportunity to draw even with the Tigers when a hand ball was called in the box in the 63rd minute. However, Payton Roehrich was up to the challenge from Oliver Hemlin, laying out for a monumental save that kept the Tigers in the lead.
From that point, the Tigers put the pedal down and scored three times in the span of about 14 minutes. In the 68th minute, Marcus Dalseide picked off a pass by RSU keeper Jaxon Kendall and put the ball home into an empty net. In the 79th minute, the Tigers executed a great rush offensively when a Dylan Ashford pass had a subtle backwards touch from Elias Ovelar Semeniuk that set up a strike from Bastian Carlman near the top of the box, good for the third goal. Carlman capped the scoring in the 82nd minute when a Joseph Street throw in found his head and then the net to leave no doubt in the run-away victory for the Tigers.
Roehrich secured his 11th individual shutout of the season by making three saves, including the big PK save. Carlman ran his goal total to nine for the season, while Leal Vales scored his fourth and Dalseide scored his second in as many games after a big goal against Rockhurst the previous week.
The Tigers will await the reseeding of the national semifinals to find out their opponent. The other national semifinalists will be Southern New Hampshire (Super Region 1 champion), Rollins (Fla.) (Super Region 2 champion), and Midwestern State (Texas) (Super Region 4 champion). Southern New Hampshire was a No. 1 seed like FHSU, while Rollins was a No. 5 seed and Midwestern State was a No. 4 seed.
Fort Hays State's previous trip to the NCAA National Semifinals was in 2018, when they went to Pittsburgh, Pa. They faced Barry (Fla.) and played to a scoreless draw that was decided by penalty kicks. Barry went on to win the national title that year.
Up next
The national semifinals will be on Friday and the national championship match will be on Sunday at Weidner Field in Colorado Springs, Colo., home of Switchbacks FC.