By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
INDIANAPOLIS – Fort Hays State men’s soccer’s run in the 2021 NCAA Division II Championship came to an end Saturday (Dec. 4) with a 2-0 loss at seventh-ranked Indianapolis in the national quarterfinals. After going into the second half scoreless, the Greyhounds scored twice in the final 15 minutes to clinch the Super Region 3 Championship.
Fort Hays State finishes the year 15-6-2 overall, the second-most wins in program history, while UIndy is now to 18-1-2 heading into next weekend’s national semifinals.
Though the teams went into the locker room scoreless at halftime, the first half was not devoid of action as the Tigers out-shot the Greyhounds 6-4 with four shots on target. The Tigers added one more shot on goal in the second half, but FHSU was unable to get one past UIndy keeper Dimitrios Karousos. UIndy put on the pressure in the second half, attempting 13 shots and putting six on goal.
The Greyhounds broke through with a goal in the 75th minute on a short shot from Brian Moreira. The Tigers made several attempts to tie the match down the stretch, but the UIndy defense stood tall before the Greyhounds put things on ice with another goal from Alejandro Steinwascher with 37 seconds remaining.
The Tigers held a 4-3 edge in corner kicks while FHSU was called for eight more fouls, 12-4. The final shot count fell in favor of the Greyhounds, 17-10. Taisei Arima, Blake Arndt, Alec Bevis and Jonathan Gammelvind all attempted two shots in the match, including one shot on goal from all four Tigers. Johnathan Facio attempted the other Tiger attempt on frame. Kieran Brown totaled four saves in the match, bringing his season total to 82 saves, tied for the most in a single season by a Tiger.
The Tigers have now finished the year with a winning record in all 11 years of their existence while extending their streak of reaching the NCAA tournament to nine, the longest-active streak in Division II. FHSU has now advanced to the national quarterfinals five times.