By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
BETHANY, Okla. -Fort Hays State Men’s Soccer captured the Great American Conference (GAC) Tournament Championship with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Southern Nazarene on Saturday (Nov. 16). With the win, the Tigers secured an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament, their 10th appearance in the national tournament in just the program’s 14thseason of existence and first since 2021.
The Tigers scored two goals early in the match and then held on by yielding only one to the Crimson Storm in the second half. Fort Hays State is the first to win a GAC Tournament title on the opponent’s home pitch since the 2019 season, when Rogers State tied FHSU 2-2 in Hays and claimed the trophy on a penalty kick shootout. The Tigers were the first No. 3 seed to win the tournament since 2018. It was the first GAC Tournament title for the Tigers since 2021, when they also won in Bethany 2-0 over Northeastern State.
The Tigers set the tone early less than four minutes into the match as senior defender Jeremiah Johnsondelivered a statement goal that put Fort Hays State on the board. Johnson fired a low shot past Southern Nazarene’s goalkeeper, Andrej Krivokapic, for his fourth goal of the season. Fort Hays State continued to press forward and the relentless pressure paid off again just six minutes later. Midfielder Tadhg Walsh, a driving force in the Tiger attack all season, found the back of the net on a touch in front of the net off a corner kick from Marcos German.
The remainder of the first half saw the Tigers maintain their high intensity, outshooting SNU 6-1. Goalkeeper Ben Dixon, who was rock-solid between the posts, made a save in the 22nd minute, denying Lucas Beja’s close-range attempt to keep Southern Nazarene scoreless heading into the break.
In the second half, Southern Nazarene came out with determination and the wind at its back. The Crimson Storm began to pile on pressure, outshooting the Tigers 10-4 in the final 45 minutes. In the 72nd minute, Southern Nazarene finally broke through when Cesar Solis found himself on the end of a perfect pass from Junior Duran.
Southern Nazarene continued pressure for the final 18 minutes, but the Tiger defense held firm. Dixon made a big save to deny Keshon Carter’s header that seemed destined for the top corner. Moments later, Dixon thwarted another effort from Solis, diving to his right to prevent the equalizer.
The FHSU victory was a team effort, with contributions from multiple players on both ends of the pitch to give SNU its first home loss since its season opener against a McKendree squad that is one of the Super Region’s highest ranked teams and has yet to take a loss this season.
Walsh and Johnson led the Tigers with two shots each. Dixon recorded five saves, including four crucial stops in the second half to preserve the lead. Andrej Krivokapic of SNU had three saves in goal.
The Tigers, now boasting a 12-3-4 record, will see when and where they play in the NCAA Tournament on Monday night (Nov. 18) at 5:30 p.m. during the NCAA Men’s Soccer Selection Show on NCAA.com. The tournament begins next week on Friday (Nov. 22).