CLAREMORE, Okla. — No. 25 Rogers State Men's Soccer (8-4-3, 4-3-2 GAC/MIAA) fell to Southern Nazarene (8-6-1, 5-4-1 GAC/MIAA) 1-0 on Thursday.
RSU generated early set-piece pressure with corner kicks at 1:33 and 7:24, while the Crimson Storm put attempts toward goal through Bekir Lekic and Essien Behn in the opening minutes. The half tightened during a physical stretch from 9:07 to 18:54 that included multiple fouls and three yellow cards, with
Tristan Miller saving Xavier Salisbury's shot at 10:26 before
Oliver Hemlin forced two saves from Ewen Persehaie at 13:50 and 16:25. The Hillcats continued to create chances as
Gian Filizzola put a shot on frame at 20:27,
Hayden Parker missed high at 26:11 and
Louis Bassett was stopped at 37:47, while Miller also turned away Pedro Belmont at 31:44. Neither side found the net before halftime, leaving the first half scoreless.
The Hillcats created the first chances of the second half, with Filizzola shooting wide left at 47:02 and
Alex Laing putting an attempt on frame that Ewen Persehaie saved at 66:49. After an RSU corner at 70:01, the half moved through a physical stretch with five fouls between 71:34 and 79:19, while
Matthew Reed missed left for the Hillcats and the Crimson Storm generated a corner and a Bekir Lekic shot that went left.
Alex Fletcher forced another save from Persehaie at 81:14, but the Crimson Storm broke through in the 85th minute when Wesley Rodriguez scored off assists from Lekic and Tiago Moreira for a 1-0 lead. The Crimson Storm added a late shot by Pedro Belmont in the final minute, as the match concluded.
Hemlin led RSU with two shots on goal and matched the team high with two total shots. Filizzola also recorded two shots, putting one on frame. Miller played all 90 minutes in goal and finished with two saves while allowing one goal.
RSU returns to action Saturday at 7 p.m. in Tahlequah against NSU.
