DENVER, Colo. – A double-overtime goal off the foot of Karsten Hanlin sunk the Omaha men's soccer team in a 1-0 defeat to Summit League rival Denver at CIBER Field on Saturday evening.
With the loss, the Mavericks fall to 7-4-1 overall and 1-2-1 in Summit League play. Denver extends its home unbeaten streak to 26 games and improves to 11-0-2 overall and 3-0-1 in league play.
"It was a great college soccer match tonight," commented Head Coach Jason Mims. "We were very patient and that created some good looks at goal in the first half, which allowed us to take the game to them."
Omaha tested Denver goalkeeper Dan Jackson right away. Emir Alihodzic, Mark Moulton, and Fazlo Alihodzic each had shots stopped by Jackson in the opening 20 minutes of the game.
Denver also looked to test the UNO defense early as Maverick goalkeeper Josh Christensen stopped shots by Alex Underwood and Andre Shinyashiki early in the half.
Fazlo Alihodzic had a chance to put the Mavericks on the board in the 29th minute, but a great save by Jackson kept the game scoreless.
The Pioneers had a golden scoring opportunity in the waning minutes of the first half, but Lalo Gamboa cleared a ball off the goal line to preserve the tie at halftime.
Denver out shot Omaha 8-2 in the second half, but the UNO defense kept the game scoreless.
Omaha's Cole Nelson had a chance to put the Mavericks on the board in the 75th minute, but a Pioneer defender was able to block his shot.
Christensen made four saves in the half including snagging a long range effort from Underwood in the 74th minute. The Maverick keeper came up huge in the 81st minute as he snuffed out a goal scoring chance by Sam Hamilton. Christensen snagged a Hamilton header in the 88th minute to keep the match tied at the end of regulation.
Neither team was able to get a clear scoring chance in the first overtime period.
DU netted the game winner 55 seconds into the second overtime. Defender Reagan Dunk played a ball into Hanlin who placed his shot into the side netting for the game winner.
For the game, Denver held an 18-9 advantage in shots and a 10-4 lead in shots on goal. Both teams attempted four corner kicks.
Mims credited Denver for changing some tactics at the half. "They made some adjustments and were the better team for most of the second half," said Mims. "We had to make some adjustments for overtime and created three great opportunities to win, but our last pass was a bit off."
Christensen made a season high nine saves, but was credited with the loss. DU's Jackson earned the shutout by making four stops.
"It's tough to play almost two hours against one of the best teams in the country and get zero points out of it," added Mims. "It's a cruel game sometimes, but we must recover and get ready for our game on Tuesday."
Omaha returns to action on Tuesday, Oct. 20 with a non-conference match against Drake in Des Moines, Iowa. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Cownie Soccer Complex.
