Story by CAYDEN SANDERS Photos by SOKHNA GAYE
Tiger Media Network
The Fort Hays State men’s soccer team competed in its final two non-conference games of the season this weekend, sweeping Lubbock Christian and Jamestown. Fort Hays moves to 4-0-2 on the season.
“I love winning, so does coach,” freshman goalkeeper Payton Roehrich said. “I came here because I wanted to win, and that’s my goal. However it happens, I’ll put my life on the line to win a game and to win this season to keep rolling.”
Players warming up on the field by practicing passing drills before the start of the match. 
The teams enter the field before play begins. 
Player number 16 getting ready to throw the ball to his teammates 
Two players move into position ahead of the next day 
The player number 10 advancing with the bag as the scoreboard shows a 3-0 lead For Fort Hays State University. 
The Player prepares to take a corner kick, signaling with both hands raised before delivering the ball into play 
The goal keeper in action during the game 
The goal keeper in action during the game 
The player number 16 getting ready on the sideline. 
Play continues as the sun sets. 
Players waiting on the ball as the sun sets 
The player number 28 shields the ball while being pressured by the player number 6 
FHSU and Jamestown jockey for position.
On Thursday night, the Tigers competed against the 1-3 Lubbock Christian Chaparrals. Fort Hays snuck out with a 1-0 win.
The lone goal in the match came from sophomore forward Juan Linares in the 82nd minute. Linares has scored three times through the first five games this season.
“(I feel good) because we played five games (and) I’ve scored three goals. So it’s important for me, it’s very important to the team,” Linares said.
On Saturday, the Tiger offense tied the program record for goals in a game with nine against 1-4 Jamestown. The Jimmies are currently in their first year as a DII program.
“Jamestown is new to Division II. (It was a) good opportunity for them to be up here and for us to host them,” FHSU Head Coach Alex Nichols said, “The game changes when it gets to 2-0, 3-0. We needed to take that next level, our guys are hardworking individuals and it paid off.”
The Tigers last scored nine goals in 2018 against Southwest Baptist. FHSU also won that game 9-0.
Junior forward Elias Ovelar Semeniuk scored a hat trick in the match. Ovelar Semeniuk has two hat tricks during his career with Fort Hays.
“It feels good to get another hat trick, you never know when they will come, and so for it to come, it was great to see,” Ovelar Semeniuk said.
Ovelar Semeniuk scored in the 6th, 8th, and 55th minutes of the match.
Other Tigers to score include Dylan Ashford in the 11th minute, Tadhg Walsh in the 17th minute, Lucas Garay in the 32nd minute, Mamadou Oumar Ndiaye in the 63rd minute, Jackson Elgas in the 69th minute, and Tim Sallvin in the 86th minute.
The Tigers looked to tie up some loose ends as the non-conference schedule came to a close on Saturday. In the match against Lubbock Christian, the Tigers were given eight yellow cards.
“We need to be more disciplined with our mechanics and with our players, and us as coaches, control what we can control. So everyone else can do better,” Nichols said. “They are doing a good job, they are working hard, they need to be respected and treated how we want to be treated. Everyone has worked so hard to get to where they are now that we all have to respect each other.”
Linares talked about how physical this sport is in America, compared to his home country, Spain.
“Yeah, we feel good playing physical games. We play a really good game as a team. So we are very happy to win this match, because it’s important for us,” Linares said. “Back home it’s all about technique and here you have to play with aggression, so it’s different.”
Not only did the Tigers commit fouls, but they also had a 20-7 shot advantage but only won 1-0 over the Chaps.
“I think that the stats are in the game,” Linares said. “ We shot 20 times. So it’s beneficial for the three that we play at the top, because if we shoot 20, we have a lot of chances to score goals. We feel good about that.”
Against Jamestown, the Tigers had 35 shots, the third most in a game in program history. FHSU goalkeepers Roehrich, Simon Niksch, and D’Alessandro Sosa combined for the shutout.
In his freshman season, Roehrich has collected four shutouts and four wins between the sticks in under 500 minutes of play.
“My defense is amazing. I have nothing but amazing things to say about every single person in my back four,” he said. “We have players like Federico (Heinrich) who step up and take a shot to the face on a free kick. That’s the mentality of this team: we keep fighting. I think we have the best center-backs in Division II. And they make my job pretty easy.”
Fort Hays State will welcome MIAA/GAC foe Northeastern State (3-1-2) to FHSU Soccer Stadium for a homecoming match at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.
“Any team in this conference can beat you if you do not prepare for them well,” Nichols said. “So we will go back and look at this weekend on a short turnaround and get ready for Northeastern State.”