SEARCY – The Harding men's soccer team will continue the pursuit of its goal to reach the Gulf South Conference Tournament as it returns to conference play Friday at 7:30 p.m. against Delta State at the Harding Soccer Field.
The game will be broadcast live on HardingSports.com with Bob Ritchie on the call.
Harding enters the game 5-9-1 overall and 0-2-0 in conference play. The Bisons are currently tied with Delta State and Ouachita Baptist for the fourth and final tournament spot.
GAME NOTES
* The Bisons enter the game 5-9-1 overall and on a two-game winning streak. Harding defeated Southwestern Christian 2-1 at home on Oct. 14 and defeated Williams Baptist 6-0 on Tuesday in Searcy.
* Harding has not won three consecutive games since defeating Williams Baptist (7-1), Bethel (2-0), and Ouachita Baptist (3-0) in 2003.
* Harding is 4-3-1 at home this season. The Bisons' record for home wins in a season is five, set in 2002.
* Senior Connor Galloway has taken over the scoring lead for the Bisons. He has scored four goals in five games since returning to the team after an injury. Junior Jackson Savage had three assists in the Williams Baptist game and leads the team with four this season.
* Senior Zach Auala leads the GSC with 54 saves in 2011. He has a 1.58 goals against average and a .711 save percentage.
* Delta State enters the game 4-9-0 overall and 0-2-0 in conference play. The Statesmen are 2-2-0 in road games this season.
* Delta State has scored 20 goals and allowed 24 in 13 games. Sophomore forward Eljay Allen and senior midfielder Joel Salazar have each scored a team-high four goals. Three players are tied with two assists each.
* Junior Flavio Romero has started nine games in goal for Delta State. He has a 2.36 goals against average and a .672 save percentage.
* Harding and Delta State met earlier this season in a non-conference contest in Cleveland, Miss. The Bisons defeated the Statesmen 3-2 with Harding junior Rhon Royer scoring the game-winning goal in the 81st minute.
* Harding and Delta State are meeting for the 10th time. The Bisons hold a 7-2-0 lead in the all-time series and have outscored the Statesmen 25-11 in those games.
