Coming off a strong preseason, the Omaha men's soccer team officially opens the regular season on Friday against Division I transitional school Grand Canyon at 5:30 p.m. at the UNO Soccer Field. The Mavs then quickly turn around for their first away game, as they travel to play at Missouri State Sunday at 7 p.m. Friday's home opener is part of a men's and women's doubleheader, as the women host Northern Colorado at 3 p.m. Free hot dogs will be given out to the first 500 UNO students through the gate on Friday. UNO students get free admission to both the women's and men's games with their MavCard. In addition, any fans who bring soccer equipment to donate (cleats, soccer balls, shin guards, uniforms, socks) will receive $2 off admission. Tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for students, and one ticket purchased on Friday is good for both the women's and men's games. Live stats will be available for both games at OMavs.com.
The Teams
The Mavericks are 2-0 all-time in season openers. In their inaugural season in 2011, Omaha defeated Kansas City on the road, 2-1, for the program's first-ever win. Last season, UNO cruised past Bellevue, 4-0, to start on a positive note. This preseason, the Mavericks lost 1-0 to Big Ten co-regular season champion Penn State, although a good goal for UNO was not noticed during the game. Last Saturday, the Mavs showed their resiliency by rebounding from a one-goal deficit, a hit post and a hit crossbar to earn a 1-1 draw at No. 6 Creighton. After falling behind 1-0 late in a well played first half, the Mavericks responded with a 74th minute goal by
Vance Rookwood to even it up. The Mavericks outshot Creighton 11-10 overall and 6-5 in shots on goal. Senior goalie
Matt Grosey was a big reason for the Mavs' strong preseason. The captain made seven saves on nine shots on goal and was aggressive coming off his line to smother potential chances. Grosey was an All-Summit League Second-Team selection last season.
Grand Canyon is in its first season of transitioning to the Division I WAC. The Antelopes were 16-3-1 in Division II last season and reached the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament. The Antelopes were competitive in a 3-1 exhibition loss at No. 11 New Mexico on Aug. 17. Grand Canyon narrowly trailed in shots (12-9) and shots on goal (5-3). GCU has 18 players back from last year's team, including second-leading scorer Brandon Hansen (8g, 5a).
Missouri State has nine starters back from last year's team that went 5-8-4 and 0-6 in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Bears return Cole Alexander, who led MSU with three goals last season. Andrew Riggs, who played every minute in goal for the Bears last year and recorded a 0.78 goals against average, is back again this season. The Bears were 2-0-1 in the preseason with wins over Northeastern State (3-0) and Missouri S&T (2-0) and a draw at No. 14 Tulsa, 1-1.
Series History
The Mavericks will be meeting both Grand Canyon and Missouri State for the first time.
Last Time Out
The Omaha men's soccer team gave No. 6 Creighton all it could handle and then some in a 1-1 draw before 3,133 enthusiastic fans at Morrison Stadium last Friday night in an exhibition match. After falling behind 1-0 late in a well played first half, the Mavericks responded with a 74th minute goal by
Vance Rookwood to even it up. Rookwood carried the ball down the right side of the box after a pass from
Jake McCain, then cut back against two defenders and placed a left-footed shot just inside the left post from 15 yards out to even the score at 1-1, sending hundreds of Maverick students and the other Maverick fans in attendance into a frenzy. The Mavericks outshot Creighton 11-10 overall and 6-5 in shots on goal. Just five days before, Creighton held No. 7 Notre Dame to just four shot attempts. The Bluejays are two-time defending College Cup participants and have eight starters back. The Mavericks, in just their third year of existence, were fearless and set the tempo from the opening whistle, registering the first five shots of the game.
Up Next
After the Missouri State game Sunday night, the Mavs have a full week before their next match. UNO hosts Columbia on Sunday, Sept. 8 at 11 a.m. at the UNO Soccer Field.
