Harding Men's Soccer
Harding (3-7-3, 3-5-1) vs. Southern Nazarene (3-11-0, 2-7-0)
Location: Searcy, Ark.
Time: Saturday, Oct. 25 at 1 p.m.
Series: Harding leads 4-2-0
Coaches: Harding - Odie Guzman (13-26-8, 3rd Season); Southern Nazarene – George Schroeder (41-76-5, 7th Season at SNU)
Live Stats/Video: Available through a link on HardingSports.com
Harding
Harding's push for the fourth MIAA Tournament spot continues Saturday as the Bisons take on Southern Nazarene in conference action. Harding enters the game in fifth place with 10 points (3 wins, 1 tie) and are just two points back of fourth-place Upper Iowa.
Harding played Southern Nazarene in its first MIAA game and its third overall game this season and defeated the Crimson Storm 2-1 in Bethany, Oklahoma. All three goals were scored during a 12-minute stretch in the game with both of Harding's goals coming from senior Jacob Stevens.
The Bisons are coming off their third victory of the season, a 4-1 triumph over Southwest Baptist on Thursday. Ian Park scored a goal in each half, including his school-record tying sixth game-winning goal.
Jacob Stevens also added his team-leading sixth goal of the season to finish out the scoring in the Southwest Baptist game. Park is now Harding's active leader with 13 career goals, tied for seventh among Bison players, and Stevens is second with 12. He is tied for 10th at Harding in career goals.
Harding will celebrate its five seniors Saturday with a postgame ceremony. The five seniors are Ian Park, Jacob Stevens, Cole Walker, Gehrig Habstock, and Kevin Pineda.
Southern Nazarene
Southern Nazarene is still mathematically alive for the fourth MIAA Tournament spot. The Crimson Storm has six points (2 wins) with three games remaining.
Southern Nazarene is led by senior midfielder Edgar Pineda, who has an MIAA-leading eight goals and two assists. He has not scored in two games since posting consecutive two-goal efforts vs. Southwest Baptist and Fort Hays State. He had the game-winner in the Crimson Storm's 4-3 victory over Southwest Baptist.
Southern Nazarene goalkeeper Jeff Ray leads the MIAA and ranks 12th in NCAA Division II with 5.92 saves per game.
The Series
Harding leads the series with Southern Nazarene 4-2-0. The Bisons are 1-1 against the Crimson Storm in Searcy, falling 4-3 in 2012 and winning 4-3 in 2013. The teams have combined to score an average of 4.8 goals per game in the six-game series.
