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The UNO Maverick men's soccer team plays the final home game of its inaugural season on Friday when fellow first-year program Fort Hays State comes to Omaha for a 3 p.m., match at the UNO Soccer Field. Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for youth. UNO students get in free with their MavCard. The match caps a three-game home slate for the Mavericks in their first season. Fort Hays State is the only Division II school on the Mavericks' schedule this year.
Scouting the Competition: Fort Hays State Tigers
Head Coach: Brett Parker (1st season)
2011 Record: 7-2-1
Last Game: W, 3-2 at Upper Iowa (10/9/11)
Website: fhsuathletics.com
Fort Hays State enters Friday's match with an impressive 7-2-1 record in its first season as a program. Fort Hays State has not played a Division I team yet this year, while the Mavericks will be playing their only game this year against a Division II opponent. The Tigers have won six of their last seven games and are unbeaten in that stretch, the only tie coming against Colorado College, 1-1. The Tigers are led by junior Ricardo Yeverino, whose 10 goals rank tied for 13th in Division II. Diego Cabral is the leading assist man with six and also has two goals of his own. The Tigers as a team allow just 0.87 goals per game.
The Coaches
Jason Mims enters his first season as the head coach of the UNO men's soccer program in 2011. Mims comes to Omaha from Penn State, where he was the first assistant for the Nittany Lions in 2010. Prior to that, Mims spent nine years as an assistant coach at Creighton, helping then-head coach Bob Warming, now the head coach at Penn State, create the Bluejays' program from the ground up. Mims helped lead Creighton to eight straight NCAA tournament appearances and six Missouri Valley Conference Championships. He was a two-time finalist for the AFLAC National Assistant Coach of the Year award, the 2008 MVC Assistant Coach of the Year and the 2008 NSCAA Central Region Assistant Coach of the Year. Mims recruited 10 All-Americans, eight conference players of the year, 21 all-region honorees and 50 all-conference picks at Creighton. He also coached club soccer for six years while in Omaha, winning the Nebraska State Cup each season and qualifying for the national tournament once. In 2007, he was an NSCAA National Youth Coach of the Year finalist and the region coach of the year. A native of Memphis, Tenn., Mims played soccer collegiately at Saint Louis University, where he was a two-time All-Conference USA selection and an NSCAA All-Midwest Region pick in 1997. Mims graduated from Saint Louis in 1999.
Brett Parker is in his first season as the head coach of the new Fort Hays State program. Parker enters the match with a 7-2-1 record at FHSU. He graduated from Ottawa University in Kansas in 2006.
Home Sweet Home
Although the Mavericks only scheduled three home games in their first season, UNO fans turned out in large numbers to support the hometown team. Through UNO's first two home games, the Mavs have averaged 1,568 fans per contest. In six road games, the average attendance has been just 230. The top average attendance for a Summit League school this year is 582 for IUPUI.
Short Senior Day
Friday's game will mark the end of a short UNO career for the Mavs' lone senior,
A.J. Chedel. The midfielder played one year of college soccer at Hastings in 2007 before transferring to UNO. When the Maverick men's soccer program came to fruition, Chedel took the opportunity to help lead a Maverick team comprising 19 freshmen and sophomores. Chedel has played in every game for the Mavericks on the wing.
Looking for the Net
It's been a tough go for the Mavericks trying to score goals this season. Following a 2-1 upset of defending Summit League champion UMKC in the season opener, the Mavs have been held off the board in seven straight losses. UNO has had chances, registering 20 shots on goal in the past seven games, but has not found the net. Fort Hays State will provide another tough challenge, as the stingy Tiger backline has allowed just nine goals in 10 games.
Last Time Out
Behind a hat trick from Mark Sherrod, the Memphis Tigers shut out the UNO men's soccer team, 5-0, on Tuesday night. Memphis improved to 7-3-1 on the season, while the Mavericks dropped to 1-7-0.
Andreas Guentner broke the scoreless deadlock in the 32nd minute on a shot from the top of the penalty box. Sherrod then added his first goal of the game just before halftime in the 42nd minute, beating UNO goalkeeper
Josh Christensen from the left side of the box to the far post.
After halftime, Sherrod scored again from the left side to the far post to make it 3-0 Memphis in the 54th minute. Sherrod capped his hat trick with a blast from 20 yards out that found the net inside the right post in the 63rd minute. Sherrod's three goals gave him 11 on the season, which tied him for sixth nationally in goals scored.
Tiago Reichert tallied the fifth and final goal of the game in the 89th minute from seven yards out. Maverick goalkeeper
Josh Christensen made eight saves in the loss.
Next Up for the Mavs...
The Mavs immediately hit the road again for a Sunday, Oct. 16 match at Illinois-Chicago at 7 p.m. That match begins the final four-game road stretch to end the season.
