By MAYAN PAZ Photos by ELI BLANKINSHIP
Tiger Media Network
File Photo
The Fort Hays State University men’s soccer team is simply unstoppable in the GAC/MIAA at the moment. After defeating Newman 4-0 on Thursday, FHSU is 6-0 in conference play and currently leads the league point standings.
On senior night at the FHSU Soccer Stadium, the Tigers said farewell to several players who will be leaving the program after this season. Playing in front of a larger crowd than usual, FHSU started the game strong, as Mamadou Oumar Ndiaye scored the first goal of the match just two minutes in. Ndiaye controlled the ball and directed it to the net from inside the 18-yard box after a throw-in for the Tigers.
Mamadou Oumar Ndiaye celebrates with Dimitry Tchantcheu after finding the net early in the match. 
Elias Ovelar Semeniuk makes a pass to a teammate. 
Tadhg Walsh takes a corner kick for FHSU. 
Payton Roehrich points downfield to his forwards before taking a goal kick. 
Mamadou Oumar Ndiaye slidetackles Daichi Saito. 
Dalton Cates pushes the tempo as he moves the ball upfield. 
Dimitry Tchantcheu speaks with assistant coach Marco German as they make their way into the locker room for halftime. 
Captain Elias Ovelar Semeniuk high fives young fans after coming out of the locker room at halftime. 
Head coach Alex Nichols speaks with his team moments before the start of the second half. 
Tadhg Walsh challenges Yohsuke Ono for a header. 
Captain Jackson Elgas brings the ball down to his foot while under pressure. 
Payton Roehrich makes a leaping save in goal. 
Newman midfielder attempts a bicycle kick. 
Yohsuke Ono receives a yellow card. 
Juan Linares challenges Newman’s Gibran Villalobos for the ball. 
Tonnes Daland prepares to throw the ball in play. 
Tonnes Daland moments before scoring FHSU’s fourth goal of the match. 
Tim Sallvin tracks down Newman’s Eduardo Dos Santos
FHSU (10-0-2, 6-0) kept the pressure up against the Jets (5-3-4, 2-2-2) and in the 34th minute, Swedish striker Bastian Carlman struck a well-aimed ball into the top right corner of the goal from outside the box to set the first half score at 2-0 for the Tigers.
FHSU Head Coach Alex Nichols said his plan was to adjust to how Newman plays in order to make sure the Tigers dominated the match. With a few injuries in the lineup and to adjust to Newman specifically, Nichols started a different starting 11 in Thursday’s game. This lineup showed an ability to be dynamic and shift between different formations.
“We know they’re a good possession team, so we made adjustments. But there are different things that bring on different tactics. From whether to how they play to things we want to do, it just all went into it,” Nichols said. “There’s a multitude of things that we did today that were situationally based, and we had to make a few adjustments too, based on how they were playing in the first half, and so which followed into the second half.”
After attempting only 4 shots during the first half, none of which were on target, the Jets indeed made some adjustments, pressing the Tigers back into their own box and were more dangerous in front of goal. However, in the 58th minute, the Tigers stole the ball and went on a counterattack.
Federico Heinrich lowered the ball for Carlman with a one-touch pass, and Carlman got in front of his defender using his heel to make a magnificent first touch. In a one-on-one situation, Carlman stayed composed and scored his fifth goal of the season.
That goal was like a needle, popping the bubble of the Jets’ energy, and the Tigers got back to dominant possession. In the 73rd minute, defender Tonnes Daland dribbled his way all across the field, and when nobody contested him, struck from 20 yards to the bottom corner to set the final score at 4-0.
Carlman spoke about the struggles the team faced at the beginning of the second half and the importance of his second goal.
“It’s always a bit hard to come out in the second half. You always need to keep your mind sharp,” he said. “And of course, when we’ve been pressed down a bit, it’s always nice to come away from a corner attack, and of course, end up with a goal. That helped us know that we are still here in the game.”
FHSU is first in the MIAA with 18 points out of 18 possible. The Tigers will play on the road against Northeastern State at 1 p.m. on Saturday.