OMAHA, Neb. – The Omaha men's soccer team will continue play in its 2015 Summit League schedule Saturday at 7 p.m. as the Mavericks welcome the Western Illinois Leathernecks to Caniglia Field.
Links to live stats and video are available on OMavs.com.
Omaha by the Numbers
3887 – Attendance so far this season through six home games, tops in the Summit League.
10 – 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.
19 – Goals this season for Omaha, second in the Summit League.
21 – Assists for Omaha this season, tops in the Summit League.
13 – Points for Mark Moulton on five goals and three assists this season, tops in the Summit League.
12 – Consecutive home wins dating back to last season. The last home loss came against No. 20 Stanford on Aug. 31, 2014. Omaha and Wofford are tied for the longest current streak in NCAA Division I Men's Soccer.
7 – Number of wins this season for Omaha, the second most in program history.
5 – Number of goals given up by goal keeper Josh Christensen and Joseph Ghitis this season, second lowest in the league.
0.73 – Goals-against average by Ghitis, which is second in the Summit League.
About Omaha
The Mavericks head into the matchup riding the positive momentum of a demonstrative 3-0 Summit League win over rival Fort Wayne last Saturday. In the victory, Fazlo Alihodzic, Jesus Perez, and Mark Moulton each scored goals, while Lalo Gamboa dished out a pair of assists. Joseph Ghitis made a career-high seven saves to pick up his second shutout and fourth win of the season.
Omaha dropped out of the NSCAA NCAA Men's Top 25 this week, but received consideration for the CollegeSoccerNews.com rankings.
The Mavericks broke out of a two-game scoring slump on Saturday with three goals. Omaha's offense is near the top in almost every Summit League offensive category. The Mavericks lead in assists (21), corner kicks (63) and shots (159) and second in goals (19).
Defensively, Omaha has allowed 10 goals this season and has a 0.95 goals-against average. They also have a .792 save percentage and two shutouts.
Mark Moulton leads the Summit League with 13 points on five goals and three assist. Moulton also leads the league in shots (33) and goals. Logan Mendez is second in the league with 12 points on four goals and four assists. Joseph Ghitis ranks second in the league in save percentage (.815), goals-against (5), and goals-against average (0.73). Josh Christensen is third in goals-against (5), fourth in goals-against average (1.34), and fifth in save percentage (.750).
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.
Learning about the Leathernecks
Players to watch:
Junior Drew Whalen leads the team in goals and points this season. Whalen has appeared in nine of the Leathernecks 11 games with six starts.
- Stats: 9 games played/6 starts, 4 goals, 2 assists, 10 points, and 19 shots.
- Ranks fourth in the Summit League in goals (4) and points (10).
Junior Fernando Pacheco is having a break out season for WIU.
- Stats: 11 games played/7 starts, 1 goals, 5 assists, 7 points, 10 shots.
- Second in the Summit League in assists.
Freshman goalkeeper Bruce Corrie earned his first career shutout on Monday against Bradley. Corrie made eight saves after returning to action after missing two weeks due to injury.
- Stats: 5 games played/4 starts, 1.73 goals-against average, .794 save pct., 2-3 record.
- Third in the Summit League in saves (32), save percentage (.800), and goals against (8).
Notes:
- Western Illinois holds a 3-7-1 overall record and are seventh in the Summit League with a 0-2 mark. The Leathernecks visit Omaha for the first time since the 2013 season.
- Western Illinois was one of four teams, including Omaha, to earn a share of the Summit League regular season title last season. The Leathernecks lost to Denver in the tournament final, 3-1.
- The Leathernecks have won at least a share of five league regular season titles and six league tournament titles. They have also made six appearances in the Men's Soccer College Cup.
- WIU graduated the league's Defensive Player of the Year (Charlie Bales) and Goalkeeper of the Year (Yves Dietrich) last year. They also lost first team all-league performer Mario Alvarez to graduation.
- Western Illinois is 1-4-2 away from Macomb, Ill., this season.
Series History against Western Illinois
This is the fourth all-time between the two programs. The all-time series record is 1-1-1 overall. Each team has won on its home pitch and the first ever meeting between the two sides in 2012 ended in a 1-1 draw.
Last season, Western Illinois opened the game with physical play as the Leathernecks were whistled for five fouls in the first five minutes. At the eight minute mark Charlie Bales and Maclean Johnson teamed up on a combination pass as Bales made a run through the midfield. Bales was able to draw the defense and find Austin Gochneaur in the penalty area. Gochneaur touched Bales' pass past Maverick goalkeeper Joseph Ghitis for his second goal of the season, putting an end to Ghitis' 200:58 minute scoreless streak.
National Radar
The Mavericks currently rank 12th national with 2.10 assists per game, 16th with 21 assists and 19th in shots per game with 15.9.
Mark Moulton is in the top 50 nationally in goals scored (5), shots per game (3.3) and total points (13). Goalkeeper Joseph Ghitis is 26th nationally with a .815 save percentage.
Mavericks Remain in NSCAA NCAA Western Region Top Five
Omaha remained in fourth in the latest edition of the West Region Poll with a 3-0 win over Fort Wayne. UNO is the only other Summit League program to appear in the regional rankings, behind Denver. The Pioneers are 9-0-2 overall and ranked 9th nationally. The Mavericks are 7-2-1 on the year.
Rounding out the top five No. 2 Utah Valley (9-2-0), No. 3 Seattle (9-2-0) and No. 5 UNLV (7-3-0).
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 visits No. 9 Denver on Saturday, Oct. 17. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. (CT) at CIBER Field.
