Story by CAYDEN SANDERS Photos by RORY MOORE AND ELI BLANKINSHIP Video by RYAN SCHUCKMAN and KYSON EVANS
Tiger Media Network
FHSU men’s soccer continued its winningest season in program history on Sunday, defeating Rockhurst in the third round of the NCAA DII men’s soccer tournament. Playing in below-freezing conditions, the Tigers (19-0-3) defeated the Hawks (12-5-4) 2-0 to advance to Saturday’s national quarterfinals.
For junior forward Dylan Ashford, defeating Rockhurst was extra special. Ashford played for the Hawks last year after starting his career at Kansas City.
“This win was fantastic for me,” Ashford said. “Coming from Rockhurst, you always want to beat your former team. The boys played great, everyone played well as a unit. It was just perfect.”
Winter came early to western Kansas, with wind chill temperatures dropping to 15 degrees during the match. The cold conditions resulted in a 0-0 draw going into halftime. However, the FHSU offense came alive in the second half when freshman forward Marcus Dalseide scored off an assist from Ashford in the 67th minute.
“It’s huge for me, because it’s my first goal. It feels good to contribute on that front; it feels very good,” Dalseide said. “So I’m very happy to be able to do that today.” “It’s something we’ve worked hard on. We just keep staying humble and just keep trying to motivate each other and work hard for each other. That’s what it’s about.”
Dalseide managed five shots during the regular season, but has turned up his level of play during the postseason, playing valuable minutes in addition to scoring his first goal.
“I don’t know, man, I’m just trying to do my best,” he said. “I feel like it is finally clicking, at least for me, and I feel like I’m just able to do better coming down the stretch of the season.”
The Tigers put the nail in the coffin in the 73rd minute when sophomore defender Mario Leal Vales capitalized on a through ball ricocheting off his knee into the goal. The goal helped validate his work rehabbing an injury and making it back for postseason play.
“You always need to keep pushing, and if you are injured, you need to recover as quickly as possible,” Leal Vales said. “So finally, I was starting to play in the conference tournament, and I didn’t play well and today, finally, I did a great job. I helped my teammates with a goal. So I’m so proud of my teammates and of my performance.”
Ashford spoke about how both Dalseide and Leal Vales have stepped up during the most important time of the year.
“I gave the assist to Marcus, and he has done great to fill a role in the last part of the season,” Ashford said. “Mario came in, was hurt for almost the whole year, came back and gave me something that everyone knew that I wanted so badly to win against my former team. These guys gave me an early Christmas present.”
In addition to an early Christmas present for Ashford and the entire Tigers team, Christmas temperatures were also present for everyone in attendance. For sophomore forward Bastian Carlman, who grew up in Staffanstorp, Sweden, this was a cold that even he had never had to play through.
“Today’s match was very cold. Many people think that I’m from Sweden and that I’m used to this coldness. But I’m from the southern part of Sweden,” Carlman said. “I never experienced a cold like this ever before.”
FHSU advances to its second national quarterfinal since the Super Region changed in 2019 and its first since 2021. The Tigers will welcome a familiar team on Saturday, the Rogers State Hillcats (14-3-5).
The two programs were the best in the Great American Conference this year and will face off for the fourth time. FHSU is 3-0 against Rogers State this season. First touch is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday at FHSU Soccer Stadium.
“Right now, what we need to think about is the next one, even though there are only three games left. We don’t need to think like that,” Leal Vales said. “Let’s focus on the next game. Game by game, that’s the mentality. We need to give our 100% and if we give everything, we will have success.”
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