BY FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
WICHITA, Kan. – No. 20 Fort Hays State men’s soccer suffered a 1-0 defeat at conference foe, Newman, on Saturday afternoon (Nov. 2).
This loss marks the fifth loss of the season for the Black and Gold, who are now 10-5-1 (9-2-1 GAC) on their 2019 campaign while Newman improves to just above .500 with a record of 7-6-1 and 6-5-1 in conference play.
The Tigers out shot the Jets in the first half, registering four shots, to just one total from Newman. Of their four shots FHSU tested Newman goalkeeper, Jean Claude Consol, twice.
With seven minutes remaining in the first half, a foul on Newman’s Enzo Nalis sparked a confrontation which resulted in a pair of red cards handed out – one to Nalis and the second to FHSU’s Alonso Rodriguez.
Now playing 10-on-10 for the remainder of the contest, the Tigers continued to fire their shots, totaling nine by the final whistle. While the match remained at a stalemate, the Jets Ignacio Lemech broke the draw in the in the 68th minute.
Following a clearance and a header from Newman, FHSU controlled the ball. However, an uncontrolled pass allowed Lemech to regain possession. Using his pace, defender Alec Bevis, who was in pursuit, could not catch up to the Jets’ forward. Lemech dribbled the ball around a diving Cullen Fisch and slotted the ball in the back of the net. The Tigers were only able to register three more shots following the goal.
Moritz Walther and Arsenio Chamorro led the pack in shots taken on the day with two each. Fisch added two saves on four total shots by Newman to his statline.
Fort Hays State is now 1-1 against Newman on the season. moving the series to an all-time record of 4-1 in favor of the Black and Gold.
Closing out their season, FHSU will host to Southern Nazarene on Thursday, Nov. 6, before playing their final match of the regular season at Oklahoma Baptist on Saturday, Nov. 9. One more victory for the Tigers would lock their spot as regular season champions in the Great American Conference.