FHSU Sports Information
Fort Hays State men’s soccer remains No. 2 in the last set of Central Region Rankings released by the NCAA on November 5. Following the MIAA Tournament this weekend in Olathe, Kan., two teams from the Central Region will be selected to compete in the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers are looking for their third-consecutive trip to the tournament.
Depite going 0-1-1 in the final week of the regular season, the Tigers still have a firm grip on the No. 2 ranking in the region, behind Northeastern State. The RiverHawks sit atop the rankings with a record of 14-3-1, while the Tigers enter postseason play at 11-4-3. There is a two-game gap in the loss column between Fort Hays State and the No. 3 ranked team, Lindenwood, which sits at 9-6-3 overall. Fort Hays State and Lindenwood match-up in the semifinals of the MIAA Tournament on Thursday (Nov. 6) at 4 pm. Fort Hays State went 2-0 against Lindenwood in the regular season with an 8-0 win at home and a 2-1 win in overtime on the road.
No automatic bid is given to the MIAA Tournament champion, so the Tigers look to solidify their spot in the national tournament this weekend in Olathe, Kan. The regional ranking formula is not released to the public, so how wide the gap between Fort Hays State and Lindenwood is unknown. Therefore the Tigers still need a win in the semifinal of the conference tournament to put any doubt out of mind.
The Central Region will serve as host for the Super Regional this year, which consists of the round of 16 and the national quarterfinals. Right now, Northeastern State is in the driver’s seat to host the Super Region for the second time in three years, which will begin two weeks from now. The two teams selected from the Central Region to compete in the NCAA Tournament go directly to the Round of 16 to play each other in essentially what is called the regional final, bypassing the first two rounds of the tournament which occur next week.
Below are the regional rankings for November 5.
| CENTRAL | Team | Overall | In-Region |
| 1 | Northeastern State | 14-3-1 | 14-3-1 |
| 2 | Fort Hays State | 11-4-3 | 11-4-3 |
| 3 | Lindenwood (Mo.) | 9-6-3 | 9-6-3 |
| 4 | Upper Iowa | 8-5-2 | 8-5-1 |