Story by MAYAN PAZ Photos by KATIE KUHLMAN and RORY MOORE
Tiger Media Network
With post-season games around the corner, the Fort Hays State University men’s soccer team capped off their home games for the season with two impressive wins over Harding and Ouachita Baptist. The Tigers beat Harding 4-0 on Thursday and proceeded to beat Ouachita Baptists 8-0 on Saturday night, equaling the school’s second-biggest win in program history. With Southern Nazarene losing points at home against Northeastern State in a 2-2 draw, the Tigers have temporarily moved to the top of the GAC conference table, as Rogers State is missing one game.
FHSU Head Coach Alex Nichols was content with the team’s performance but tried to put the focus on some things that the team could improve for the future.
“We played well, and I’m proud of the guys,” he said. “But still, we have some things that we need to sharpen. A lot of our mistakes are self-inflected, and we need to find a way to cut down those errors. Even today (Saturday), we had some stuff that we need to improve.”
After a scoreless first half against Harding, the Tigers had four different goal scorers on Thursday, as Jeremiah Johnson, Bastian Carlman, Felix Tellez Ramirez, and Oliver Wright were part of the goal fest, which was only a preparation for Saturday’s performance.
Bastian Carlman moves the ball down the field to make a pass to his teammates. 
Elias Ovelar Semeniuk looks ahead to communicate with his teammate to make a play. 
Jeremiah Johnson and his teammates celebrate Johnson’s first goal of the night. 
Bryce Dickerson prepares to shoot the ball to score a goal. 
Mario Leal Vales aims towards the goal to secure a point. 
Harrison Bensouda moves through his opponents to create room for a goal. 
Marcos German aims to pass the ball to create a play for his team. 
Wouter Hopman blocks his opponet to keep the ball in his possession. 
Anders Standsto moves the ball down the field past his defender. 
Ben Scognamillo starts off the play with a corner kick.
On Saturday against OBU, Elias Ovelar Semeniuk scored the first goal 15 minutes into the game, but the Tigers struggled to find a way through OBU’s defenders, especially Cameron Garcia, who was everywhere on the field for OBU during the first half. Fabian Gylden Svensson was able to score the second one from close range in his first touch after he came off the bench in the 30th minute, marking a 2-0 lead for FHSU at the half.
Semeniuk was the one to start off the second half for the Tigers with another goal, which led to a four-minute burst of three goals, as Marcos German scored a header off a Tadgh Walsh cross. Walsh leads the nation with 12 assists this season. Moments later, Walsh scored on an assist from German to make it 5-0. Semeniuk completed a hat-trick a few minutes later, and the Tigers concluded the evening with goals from Chris Rios-Cruz and Lucas Garay.
“I’m really happy,” said Semeniuk, who won the GAC conference offensive player of the week award last week. “My real reward is that we are winning as a team. We need to stay focused because there is still a lot to achieve this season.”
Fort Hays will go on the road to play two crucial matches that will impact the battle for the top seed in the conference this weekend before ending the regular season at Newman. They will face Northeastern State on Thursday and, in what could possibly be a direct match for the first seed, they will play Rogers State on Saturday.
Nichols spoke about the team’s preparation for the important weekend.
“We have to prepare for both of them. Otherwise, we’ll get smacked by at least one of them,” he said. “They are both quality opponents, and we can’t let ourselves forget that. I trust the players, the staff, and myself to be humble and be ready.”
Midfielder Bryce Dickerson races against Ouachita Baptist offense for possession. 
Harrison Bensouda and Jackson Elgas pressure an Ouachita Baptist Tiger. 
Forward Elias Ovelar Semeniuk scored three goals and had six shots in the game. 
Midfielder Bastian Carlman stumbles after a Ouachita ball. 
Semeniuk makes a celebratory leap after scoring the first goal of the game. 
Defender Marcos German tangles with Ouachita defense while protecting the ball. 
Carlman attempts to kick a live ball out of Ouchita possession. 
Defender Dimitry Tchantcheu steals the ball from Tiger offense. 
Fabian Glyden Svensson assists Anders Sandsto on defense.