Harding Men's Soccer

Harding (4-5-3, 2-4-0) at Southern Nazarene (2-12-0, 1-5-0)

Location: Bethany, Okla.

Time: 7 p.m.

Series:  Tied 2-2-0

Coaches: Harding – Odie Guzman (8-16-6, 2nd Season); Southern Nazarene – George Schroeder (38-59-5, 6th Season)

Live Stats: Available through a link on HardingSports.com

Harding

·         Harding plays its second of five straight road games to close out the regular season Thursday when it returns to MIAA play against Southern Nazarene in Bethany, Okla.

·         Harding enters the game at 2-4-0 in conference play and in fifth place in the conference standings. HU sits just behind fourth-place Upper Iowa (3-2-1) with both teams having three MIAA games remaining. Only the top four teams advance to the MIAA Tournament.

·         Harding is coming off a 0-0 road tie against Hendrix on Monday. It was Harding's second 0-0 tie of the season and the sixth of 12 games this season to go into overtime. The Bisons are 1-2-3 in overtime this season.

·         The shutout of Hendrix was the fourth of the season for the Bisons and the third in the last four games. Harding has allowed only one goal in the last 360 minutes of action. Harding's four shutouts are only one behind the school record of five, set in the 2002 and 2008 seasons.

·         Harding has outscored its opponents 20-19 this season and has limited its opponents to only six first-half goals.

·         Harding has 12 different players who have at least one goal or one assist. Ian Park leads Harding with four goals, and Christopher Walker is tops with three assists. Jacob Stevens leads the Bisons with 28 shots and 13 shots on goal.

·         Harding has used two starting goalkeepers this season. Senior Will Lynn has started six games, has a 0.88 goals against average and an 83.8 saves percentage. Freshman Seth Peterson has made six starts and has a 2.08 goals against average and a 69.0 saves percentage.

·         Gehrig Haberstock leads Harding with 1,122 minutes played this season. Freshman Phillip White is next with 1,116 minutes.

Southern Nazarene

·         Southern Nazarene is an NCAA Division II school located in Bethany, Okla., and a member of the MIAA in men's soccer only.

·         The Crimson Storm enters the game 2-12-0 overall and 1-5-0 in MIAA action. Southern Nazarene has lost seven straight games despite scoring in six of them. The Storm has lost all five of its home games this season.

·         Southern Nazarene has been outscored 50-21 this season and has scored only eight first half goals. Twelve of the Storm's 21 goals and 11 of the team's 17 assists have come from two players. Blake Rodgers, a junior forward from Yukon, Okla., has five goals and eight assists, and Edgar Pineda, a junior midfielder from Mustang, Okla., has seven goals and three assists.

·         Tyler Wythe, xxx, has started all 14 games for the Storm. He has a 3.49 goals against average and a 64.3 saves percentage. Wythe has one shutout victory this season.

·         Fermin Hughes, a sophomore from Santiago, Chile, has started all 12 games for the Lions. He has a 0.90 goals against average, an .821 saves percentage, and three shutouts.

 The Series              

·         Harding and Southern Nazarene are meeting for the fifth time with the series tied 2-2. The teams have split two meetings in Bethany.

·         Harding won the earlier meeting this season between the teams 4-3 in overtime in Searcy on Sept. 26. Rodgers and Pineda accounted for all of the Storm offense. Rodgers had two goals and an assists, and Pineda had a goal and two assists.

·         Harding got goals from Jackson Buchanan, Ryan Wilhelm, and Ian Park and an own goal by Southern Nazarene. Park's header in the 98th minute was the game-winner.