By FHSU Sports Information
HAYS, Kan. – The No. 15 Fort Hays State men’s soccer team produced four goals to defeat Metro State 4-2 on Sunday (Sept. 9). The Tigers improved to 3-1 overall on the season, while the Roadrunners dip to 1-3 on the year.
Tiger striker Santiago Agudelo provided two goals in the contest to help the Tigers stave off the Roadrunners second half surge.
Fort Hays State caught fire in the early-going as Agudelo put the Tigers on the board with his second goal of the season in the fifth minute of the match. Sergio Villalba fed Agudelo with a free kick from 25 yards out, while Santiago beat the keeper for the header goal.
Just 2:16 later, Luis Torres caught a rebound and placed the ball in the back of the net for his first goal of the year pushing the Tigers further in front with a 2-0 lead in the eighth minute of the contest.
The Tigers and Roadrunners settled down into a defensive battle for the next 34 minutes before Caden Frank came off the bench with assists from Ross Boyd and Nathan De La Hoya to score his first goal of the season and put the Tigers out in front 3-0 in the 42nd minute. The score would hold until halftime.
Agudelo netted his second goal of the match and third of the season in the 53rd minute after Tobias Patino found Abdoulaye Cisse, who then found Agudelo on a touch pass that he flipped over the Roadrunner goalie James Tanner’s head to give the Tigers the 4-0 advantage early in the second half.
Metro State used a second half surge to cut the deficit in half with two goals of their own in the 64th and 86th minutes. The Roadrunners took advantage of the Tigers only having ten men on the field after a red card halfway through the second half.
FHSU outshot Metro State 17-12 as well as a 5-1 edge in assists. Cullen Fisch earned the victory in goal for the Tigers, improving to 3-1 on the year.
The Tigers are back in action on Thursday as they make the trip to San Diego, Calif. as they take on #25 Point Loma University for a 6:30 p.m. CT/4:30 p.m. PT start.