FHSU SPORTS INFOMATION DEPARTMENT
BISMARCK, N.D. – Fort Hays State put a goal on the board early, then used a flurry of five second half goals to run away with a 6-1 win at University of Mary on Sunday (Sept. 25). The 19th-ranked Tigers moved to 4-2-1 overall with the win, while Mary fell to 5-5 overall.
It was a very windy day in North Dakota, but that did not bother the Tiger offense. Going into the wind in the first half, Mauricio Castorino put the Tigers on the board with a goal in the 4th minute. He worked past a defender near the top of the box and then beat the keeper to the low left corner with a piercing shot along the ground. The Tigers went into halftime with the 1-0 lead.
Luis Mendez gave the Tigers breathing room in the 56th minute when Arsenio Chamorro threaded a ball to him just in front of the goal. Mendez tapped in past the diving keeper to put FHSU up 2-0. Derick Gonzalez broke the game open in the 65th minute on a ball he flipped over the keeper from Tobias Patino.
With the game already in hand, the Tigers put in a flurry of goals in the final 15 minutes. Gonzalez notched his second goal of the game in the 76th minute on Chamorro’s second assists of the day. In the 83rd minute, Tyler VanCamp was able to corral a rebound and score, then Damion Cooper tallied the game’s final goal in the 87th minute. Mary scored its only goal 13 seconds before the Cooper goal, also in the 87th minute.
Alex Rodela picked up the win for FHSU in goal, saving five shots. He moved to 2-0 on the season.
The Tigers open MIAA play next week with two matches on the road. FHSU plays at Southwest Baptist on Friday (Sept. 30) and then Northeastern State on Sunday (Oct. 2). FHSU will finally return home on October 7.