OMAHA, Neb. – After opening Summit League play on the road last week, the Omaha men's soccer team opens the home portion of its league schedule when it welcomes Fort Wayne to Caniglia Field on Saturday, Oct. 3. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. and links to live stats and video streaming will be available on OMavs.com.
Omaha by the Numbers
3505 – Attendance so far this season through five home games, tops in the Summit League.
318:33 - Minutes played by the Mavericks in their last three games.
9 – Number of starts for
Felipe da Silva and
Mark Moulton, the duo are the only players on the roster to start every game this year.
37 – Shots against Bradley on Sept. 19, 2015, which is a team record.
18 – Assists for Omaha this season, tops in the Summit League.
16 – Goals this season for Omaha, second in the Summit League.
11 – Consecutive home wins dating back to last season. The last home loss came against No. 20 Stanford on Aug. 31, 2014. This is the second longest streak in the nation.
11 – Points for
Mark Moulton and
Logan Mendez on four goals this season, tops in the Summit League.
5 – Number of goals given up by goal keeper
Josh Christensen and
Joseph Ghitis this season, lowest in the league.
0.86 – Goals-against average by Ghitis, which is second in the Summit League.
About Omaha
Omaha returns home after a tough road trip to Indiana last week. The Mavericks tied IUPUI on Saturday, 1-1 (2 OT), and lost at Valparaiso on Monday, 1-0 (OT).
On Saturday evening in Indianapolis, Ind., UNO tied IUPUI in its Summit League opener, 1-1. The Mavericks held a 24-4 shot advantage and a 14-1 advantage in shots on goal, but managed one goal.
Logan Mendez tallied his fourth goal of the season for UNO in the first half. Jaguar goalkeeper Eduardo Cortes made a season-high 13 saves in the tie.
Monday evening, Valparaiso topped Omaha in overtime, 1-0. Valpo outshot the Mavericks, 14-4 and held a 7-2 lead in shots on goal. The only goal of the game came in the 99th minute.
Omaha dropped out of the NSCAA MCAA Men's Top 25 this week, but still received votes. This season the Mavericks have also appeared in the TopDrawerSoccer.com poll and the CollegeSoccerNews.com rankings.
Despite scoring one goal over the past two games, Omaha's offense has been impressive this season. UNO is near the top in almost every Summit League offensive category. The Mavericks lead in assists (18) and shots (148) and are tied with Denver for the league lead in points (50). Defensively, Omaha has allowed nine goals this season and has a 1.05 goals-against average. They also have a .756 save percentage and one shutout.
Logan Mendez and
Mark Moulton lead the Summit League with four goals and 11 points. Moulton also leads the league in shots (30).
Noor Hamadi is tied for fourth in the league with three goals. Mendez, Moulton, and
Andres Irvin are tied for fourth in assists (3), while five other Mavericks have two assists each.
Joseph Ghitis and
Josh Christensen are tied for second in the league in save percentage in the league (.750). The pair also have allowed the fewest goals in the league, five apiece. Ghitis is second in goals-against average (0.86), while Christensen is third (1.34).
The Mavericks look to defend their share of the regular season Summit League title won last year. This season, UNO is eligible for Summit League and NCAA postseason competitions after completing the transition to NCAA Division I.
More on the Mastodons
Fort Wayne is off to a 3-5 start and have not played a Summit League match this season.
Since defeating NAIA for Asbury, IPFW has lost three straight matches.
IPFW has scored 15 goals this season and allowed 14.
Jose Rodriguez, Zach Tom, and Austin West each have six points this season. Rodriguez and West each have three goals, while Tom has two goals and two assists.
Last season, Rodriguez was named to the Summit League Tournament All-Tournament Team.
Head Coach Mike Harper is in his ninth year leading the Mastodons.
Series History against Fort Wayne
This is the fifth all-time meeting against the Mastodons. Fort Wayne leads the all-time series, 3-1. Last season, Omaha fell at Fort Wayne, 1-0.
Still in the Rankings
Omaha dropped out of the NSCAA NCAA Men's Top 25 this week, but still received votes. This is the fourth straight week the Mavericks have received votes in the poll.
UNO has also appeared in the TopDrawerSoccer.com poll and the CollegeSoccerNews.com rankings.
UNO Remains in NSCAA NCAA Western Region Top Five
Omaha dropped two spots this week after a draw at IUPUI and a loss at Valparaiso. UNO is the only other Summit League program to appear in the regional rankings, behind Denver. The Pioneers are 8-0-1 overall and ranked 8th nationally. The Mavericks are 6-2-1 on the year.
Rounding out the top five No. 2 Utah Valley (7-2-0), No. 3 Seattle (7-2-0) and No. 5 UNLV (6-2-0).
Excelling in the Classroom
The Omaha men's soccer team was recognized for its hard work in the classroom as the squad earned the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Team Academic Award.
Omaha was one of 305 collegiate men's soccer programs to surpass a 3.0 grade point average during 2014-15, ending the academic year at 3.16 as a team. This is the 4th straight time the Mavericks have been recognized by the NSCAA for their academic performance under Head Coach
Jason Mims.
Two other Summit League programs received the honor, Denver and IUPUI.
Omaha was recognized as one of 208 schools to have both their men's and women's programs recognized. This is the fourth consecutive year both Omaha soccer teams have been recognized for their work in the classroom.
Up Next
Omaha welcomes Western Illinois to Caniglia Field on Saturday, October 10 in Summit League Action. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Links to live stats and video are available at OMavs.com.
