HAYS, Kan. — Breaking Records. Making History.
The Southern Nazarene Men's Soccer Team knows this very well as their 2021 season has been full of historic accomplishments. But, winning their first Great American Conference Regular Season Title has to be the best one yet.
In their road game against Fort Hays State Saturday afternoon, the Storm (12-6, 9-3 GAC) battled a tough Tigers (11-5-2, 8-3-1 GAC) defense as they saw eight shooting opportunities the entire match with only two of those in range. FHSU had no advantage either as they tallied 12 shots with only two of those on target. However, one of the Storm's on target shots was a dagger to the back and claimed the win for the Storm's regular season finale.
Both teams presented a sturdy defensive front as the first 75 minutes of the match stood at 0-0. Offense was not a highlight that match as neither team saw any openings, but this changed right at the 77th minute. Angel Lopez did what he does best and located an open Daniel Trojman and the Storm punched one to the back to break the standstill with a score of 1-0.
The match still had 13 minutes remaining but the Tigers did not have enough left in the tank to counter SNU's late second half score. Time ran out and the Storm were crowned champions of the GAC regular season as they pulled off the gritty 1-0 defeat against the Tigers.
Trojman was man of the match as his score led SNU to the ending victory while Lopez' laser focus earned him that single assist that gave Trojman the golden goal.
Ramiro Diez matched the Tigers' defensive presence with his two saves keeping FHSU from making it inside the goal.
Along with their historic championship title, the Storm will host the Great American Conference Tournament next weekend (Friday, November 12th & Sunday, November 14th) in Bethany. The full schedule with times and matchups will be posted in the coming days.
