Harding Men's Soccer
#21 Fort Hays St. (5-1-1, 1-0-1) at Harding (2-1-2, 1-0-0)
Location: Searcy, Ark.
Time: 1 p.m.
Series: FHSU leads 2-0
Coaches: Harding – Odie Guzman (6-12-5, 2nd Season); Fort Hays St. – Brett Parker (48-23-8, 5th Season overall; 27-12-5, 3rd Season)
Live Stats/Video: Available through a link on HardingSports.com
Harding
· Harding will play the second of three straight home games Saturday when it takes on 21st-ranked Fort Hays State at the Steven Soccer Complex. The Bisons will be seeking their first victory in program history in 18 contests against nationally-ranked teams.
· Harding enters the game 2-1-2 overall and 1-0-0 in the MIAA after defeating Southern Nazarene 4-3 in overtime on Thursday in Searcy. Harding's 2-1-2 record (.600) marks only the second time the Bisons have been over .500 after the season's first five games. In 2001, Harding was 4-1-0 after five games.
· Harding's victory over Southern Nazarene marked the first time in program history that the Bisons won their conference opener. Harding led the game three times before winning 4-3 on Ian Park's header in the 98th minute.
· With victories over Ouachita Baptist (3-1) on Sept. 17 and Southern Nazarene (4-3) on Thursday, Harding has won consecutive games for the first time since defeating Williams Baptist (6-0) and Delta State (1-0) in October of 2011. Harding's last consecutive victories over Division II opponents came in 2008 (Delta State, 2-0 & Alabama-Huntsville, 4-0). The Bisons have never won three straight games against Division II opponents.
· Harding's overtime victory over Southern Nazarene snapped a streak of six straight overtime games that ended in ties. The Bisons' last overtime win was a 1-0 victory over Delta State on Oct. 21, 2011. Thursday's game was the first time Harding won an overtime game in the first overtime period since a 2-1 victory at Ouachita Baptist on Oct. 26, 2007 and was only the fourth time the Bisons' won a game in the first overtime.
· Ian Park scored Harding's first two goals, including the game-winner, against Ouachita Baptist and had the game-winning goal and an assist in the victory over Southern Nazarene. He did not have a single shot in Harding's first three games.
· Park had the game-winning goal in both the Ouachita Baptist and Southern Nazarene games becoming only the second Harding player to achieve the feat. In 2006, Brock Williams scored the game-winning goals in Harding's victories over John Brown and Ouachita Baptist.
· Park's game-winning goal against Southern Nazarene came on an assist from Christopher Walker, whose two assists this season lead the team.
· Freshman Seth Peterson is expected to make his fourth start of the season in goal. He has a 1.36 goals against average and a .789 saves percentage.
· Junior defender Kevin Pineda is the only Harding player to have played all 498 minutes in the first four games.
Fort Hays St.
· Fort Hays State is an NCAA Division II school located in Hays, Kan., and is a full member of the MIAA.
· Fort Hays State enters the game 5-1-1 overall and 1-0-1 in MIAA play. The Tigers are unbeaten in their last six games and are coming off a 2-2 tie with No. 6-ranked Northeastern State on Thursday. Fort Hays trailed the game 2-0 at halftime but used a penalty kick goal from Daniel Peralta in the 59th minute and a 75th minute goal from Jaccob Rangel to tie the game.
· Fort Hays has outscored its opponents 12-5 and are led in scoring by Diego Cabral's three goals. David Lucio leads the team with three assists. Tiger goalkeeper Jason Babyak has started six games at goalkeeper and has a 0.45 goals against average and a .906 saves percentage. He has four shutouts this season.
The Series
· Harding and Fort Hays are meeting for the third time. Fort Hays won both of the previous meetings, which took place last season. The Tigers defeated the Bisons 2-1 in Hays, Kan., on Sept. 22, and 5-1 in Searcy on Oct. 20.
· Harding's Adam Borsheim scored the Bisons' lone goal in the game at Fort Hays last season.
