Story by CAYDEN SANDERS Photos by KATIE KUHLMAN and RORY MOORE
Tiger Media Network
The Fort Hays State University men’s soccer team played its first conference home matches over homecoming weekend. FHSU lost to Rogers State 0-1 on Thursday night but bounced back to defeat Northeastern State 6-1 on Saturday.
“This weekend has shown us that we have a lot to work on as a team,” Head Coach Alex Nichols said. “Yes we got the win today [Saturday], but I feel that we also did not play as well as we should have.”
In the first match of the weekend, FHSU (4-3-1, 1-2) welcomed Rogers State (4-4-2, 4-0) to FHSU Soccer Stadium. In the match Fort Hays State had their opportunities but could not find the back of the net.
Rogers State’s Erik Hjertsson scored the only goal in the match in the 61st minute.
Lucas Garay battles a defender while hitting a header. 
Jackson Elgas goes head to head with a defender to take control of the ball. 
Bryce Dickerson hits a header down field in attempt to score. 
Elias Ovelar Sememiuk holds off a defender to protect the ball. 
Tadhg Walsh passes the ball to his teammate in order to get past the defender. 
Marcos German fights off a defender while trying to score a goal. 
Bryce Dickerson keeps the ball inbounds and analyzes the playing field. 
FHSU students came out to support the mens soccer team with their custom signs. 
Jeremiah Johnson tracks his opponent down the field in attempt to steal the ball. 
Tadhg Walsh kicks the ball to create a play for his teammates.
In their Saturday game against Northeastern State (2-5-3, 2-2), the FHSU offense came alive as the Tigers won 6-1, with the help of Mario Leal Vales’ two goals.
“I am grateful to help get our team the victory today,” Leal Vales said. “We did take care of opportunities when we had them, and I think this was a good win for our team.”
FHSU gave up a penalty kick goal off a foul in the first minute of the match. NSU’s Ivan Lopez put the ball past goalkeeper Woulter Van der Borch. However, NSU would not have the lead for long.
Leal Vales put in a ball in the eighth minute of the match. From there, Fort Hays State did not look back.
The Tigers scored in the 15th from Harrison Bensouda, the 40th minute from Mamadou Oumar Ndiaye, and the 44th minute from Bryce Dickerson. In the second half, the Tigers scored in the 47th minute from Leal Vales and 85th from Jeroen Vievermans.
“Even though we did not play our best today we had glimpses of how well our team can play. Seeing how well we did in spots did make me happy,” Nichols said.
The Fort Hays State University Tigers men’s soccer team are announced by name before their game against the Northeastern State RiverHawks. 
Midfielder Bryce Dickerson dribbles the ball away from the NSU’s Braxton Bulman. 
Fabian Gylden Svensson high-fives Mario Leal Vales on his goal. 
Jackson Elgas embraces Harrison Bensouda for his goal scored in the first half. 
Leal leaps between RiverHawk defense to catch a pass. 
Bensouda protects the ball from hard-charging defense from Northeastern State. 
Defender Lazar Pavlovic charges at a live ball from an opposing RedHawk. 
Bensouda attempts a tough pass to Lucas Garay. 
Garay attemps to take a shot towards the RiverHawks’ net with assistance from Bensouda. 
Tadhg Walsh congratulates Mamadou Oumar Ndiaye on his goal at the fortieth minute of regulation. 
Svensson fights for possession with Ethan VanDusen. 
Dickerson protects the ball from Kei Nagakura. 
Garay attempted one shot in the game against the RiverHawks.
In the match against Northeastern State, two red cards were assessed to players one for NSU and FHSU.
With the split weekend, the Tigers have a lot to work on in coach Nichols’s mind.
“We have to figure out how to get the areas we struggle in because we don’t have that much time to fix them later in the season,” he said.
FHSU will be on the road this week to take on Harding and Ouachita Baptist this weekend before returning to Hays for a four-game home stretch.