BETHANY, Okla. — Settling for a 1-1 tie against the Hillcats earlier this season, SNU achieved a different ending in their match with Rogers State Thursday night, shutting out the Hillcats 2-0 to extend their victory streak to four.
The Storm (7-4-3, 5-1-2) controlled the entire match, firing 16 total shots and landing seven on target. SNU's defense denied RSU any chance of an offensive spark as the Hillcats (7-4-3, 5-1-2) only put up five total shots in the match with none of them in range of the goal.
The two squads battled for momentum at the start of the match. SNU's fire starter Unaiz Shajani turned up the heat midway through the first half with a bullet to the back of the net, helping SNU reach a 1-0 lead over the Hillcats.
Rennato Ramos and Alex Da Silva got a couple of shots off the remainder of the first half to try and extend the Storm's lead, but all were just shy of landing inside. Rogers State couldn't answer the rest of the first half and both teams headed to the locker rooms with SNU holding a 1-0 lead.
SNU maintained their control in the second half, playing keep-away with RSU and denying them any vision of the goal. The Storm dominated on the offensive end as well, taking shot after shot to try and grow their lead further.
With just five seconds left in the match, Orlando Castro darted down the field to find an open Daniel Trojman who sent one to the the back of the net, capping off the match with an SNU 2-0 shutout over the Hillcats.
Shajani led the way with five total shots and three shots on goal. Rennato Ramos pitched in with two shots in the match.
SNU's win over Rogers State along with Fort Hays' tie with Ouachita Baptist Thursday night puts the two teams tied for first place in the GAC/MIAA conference standings. Southern Nazarene and Fort Hays will go head to head in Hays, Kansas Thursday, October 20th at 7 p.m. SNU fell to the Tigers in their last meeting this season 3-1.
