OMAHA, Neb. – Omaha men's soccer heads to Denver, Colo. for the Summit League Tournament on Thursday, Nov. 12 at 5:05 p.m. (CT). The game will be televised on Altitude Sports Network 2. Links to live stats and free video stream will be available on OMavs.com.
Thursday's first match pits No. 2 seed Mavericks against No. 3 seed Oral Roberts at 5 p.m. (CT). In the day's second match, host and top seed Denver faces No. 4 Western Illinois at 8 p.m. (CT).
The winners of Thursday's matches will play in Saturday's championship match at 3 p.m. MT with the victor earning an automatic bid to the NCAA College Cup. The championship match will be available on ESPN3. Links to live stats will be available on OMavs.com.
Match Stories
- Omaha is the No. 2 seed in the 2015 Summit League Tournament and will play a semifinal match against No. 3 Oral Roberts at No. 1 Denver. The winner of the match will face the winner of No. 1 Denver and No. 4 Western Illinois.
- This year will mark Omaha's first appearance in the Summit League Tournament.
- This is a rematch of a game played on Oct. 24 in Omaha, which the Mavericks topped the Golden Eagles, 2-1.
About Omaha
The Mavericks ended the regular season with 10 points, just six points behind top seeded Denver. UNO has been playing terrific soccer of late, going 2-1-2 over their last four matches. Omaha wrapped up the regular season with a 9-5-3 overall record and were 3-2-1 in league play.
Logan Mendez and Mark Moulton have led the Omaha offense all-season. The duo have combined for 35 points on 13 goals and nine assists. The pair also are near the top in the Summit League charts in assists, goals and points.
Moulton, a two-time Offensive Player of the Week winner, leads the Mavs in every scoring category. He has 19 points on seven goals and five assists. Mendez is close behind with 16 points on six goals and four assists. He has also earned one Summit League Player of the Week award.
Emir Alihodzic is third on the team in points and goals. Alihodzic has four goals and two assists this season. Noor Hamadi has added three goals and two assists. Lalo Gamboa has four assists on the season, which is tied with Mendez for second on the team. Andres Irvin has chipped in seven points on two goals and three assists.
The Omaha defense this year has allowed 20 goals through 17 games for a 1.10 goals-against average. The back line anchored by Felipe da Silva, Denzel Woods, and Michael Jaime have held 12 opponents to one or zero goals this season.
Josh Christensen and Joseph Ghitis have split time this season in goal. Ghitis has appeared in 10 games with nine starts. He owns a 4-4-2 overall record with a 0.90 goals-against average and a .763 save percentage. Christiansen has started all eight games that he has appeared in this season with a 5-1-1 mark. He has a 1.36 goals-against average and .744 save percentage.
Making Maverick History
Last season, Omaha won a share of its first Summit League men's soccer regular season title, but could not advance to the post season tournament since the university was in its final year of transitioning to NCAA Division I. This season, UNO is eligible for Summit League and NCAA postseason competitions after completing the transition.
The Mavericks have started writing their own narrative this season. UNO made its first ever appearance in the national rankings. The Mavs climbed as high as No. 22 in the NSCAA NCAA National Poll. Omaha also put together an impressive 12 game home winning streak that dated back to Sept. 19, 2014. When the streak was broken by Western Illinois, it was the longest home winning streak in the nation.
Omaha has set program marks in goals and points this season. The Mavs have put up 29 goals this season and have totaled 85 points. The previous program best was 36 goals in 2012 and 82 points in 2014. This year's 9-5-3 mark is the second best overall record in program history.
The Maverick soccer program earned their first ever berth in the Summit League post season tournament. Omaha accomplished this feat with a win over conference foe Eastern Illinois last weekend. The winner of the Summit League post season tournament will get an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
Scouting the Golden Eagles
- The Mavericks and the Golden Eagles have played two common opponents this season. Oral Roberts is 1-0-2 (Missouri State twice and UC Irvine) against those teams, while Omaha is 1-0-1. Both team defeated UC Irvine and tied Missouri State.
- Matt Rogers leads the team with 17 points on seven goals and three assists. Edgardo Mira is next with 13 points on six goals and one assist. Tarik Salkicic is the only other Golden Eagle with double digit points with 10.
- Ben LaCourse has started in 13 games this season and owns a 5-5-3 mark. He has allowed 23 goals with a 1.92 goals-against average. He also has 43 saves on the year.
Series History against Oral Roberts
Thursday's match will be the sixth all-time meeting between the two programs. The series is tied 2-2-1. This will be the first post season meeting between the two sides.
What happened in the last meeting?
Less than three weeks ago, the Mavericks bested the Golden Eagles 2-1. Oral Roberts got on the scoreboard first off a goal by Matt Rogers in the 12th minute. Logan Mendez leveled things up in the 14th minute as he headed home a Mark Moulton cross. Emir Alihodzic put Omaha on top in the 19th minute as he converted a penalty kick. The Mavericks would limit ORU to seven shots, three on goal for the game.
Moulton, da Silva Named CoSIDA Academic All-District 7
Senior Felipe da Silva and junior Mark Moulton were both named to College Sports Information Directors of American (CoSIDA) Academic All-District 7 Men's Soccer Team on Thursday. The two are now candidates on the national ballot for Academic All-America, which will be released on Nov. 24.
Da Silva leads the Maverick defense that has two shut-outs on the year and limited the opposition to 1.04 goals per game. He has also scored two goals this season.
Moulton leads the team in assists with five and is second in goals (5) and points (15). Earlier this season he scored the game-winning goal against No. 13 UC-Irvine. Moulton was named Summit League Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 8 and earned spots on the College Soccer News and Topdrawersoccer.com Teams of the Week.
"Academics are the top priority in our program, and I couldn't be more proud of Felipe and Mark for their accomplishments both in the classroom and on the pitch," said Omaha head coach Jason Mims. "This is truly an honor that our entire academic department and team can take great pride in here at UNO."
The pair joined Denver's Sam Hamilton as the only three men's soccer players from the Summit League to be named Academic All-District.
Mavs Drop Two Spots in Western Region
This week, Omaha remained in eighth place in the NSCAA NCAA Western Region Poll. Summit League regular season champion, Denver remains atop the Western Region with a 13-0-3 record and has moved up one spot in the latest national rankings. Rounding out the top five are Seattle (2nd, 16-3-0), SIU-E (3rd, 12-3-1), Utah Valley (4th, 13-4-1), and UNLV (5th, 11-6-1).
Summit League Tournament
Denver will be the No. 1 seed for the upcoming Summit League Men's Soccer Championship after capturing the regular season title. Omaha, Oral Roberts and Western Illinois join the DU in the tournament field.
The 2015 Summit League Men's Soccer Championship will be contested Nov. 12 and 14 at CIBER Field in Denver, Colo. All games will be broadcasted by Altitude Sports and Entertainment Rocky Mountain and aired on Altitude 2. The semifinal matches will be streamed on denverpioneers.com free of charge with the championship match available on ESPN3.
Thursday's first match pits No. 2 seed Omaha (9-5-3, 3-2-1 SL) against No. 3 seed Oral Roberts (6-6-4, 3-2-1 SL) at 4 p.m. MT. In the day's second match, host and top seed Denver (13-0-3, 5-0-1 SL) faces No. 4 Western Illinois (6-10-1, 3-3-0 SL) at 7 p.m. MT.
The winners of Thursday's matches will play in Saturday's championship match at 3 p.m. MT with the victor earning an automatic bid to the NCAA College Cup.
The Pioneers, ranked seventh in the nation and the defending tournament champion, is the top seed for third consecutive year. The Mavericks qualified for The Summit League Tournament in their first year of eligibility, while the Golden Eagles advance to the tournament for the fifth time in the last six years. The Fighting Leathernecks, winners of six championship titles, are making their record 15th appearance.
Tournament Schedule
Thursday, Nov. 12
4 p.m. - Match One: (2) Omaha vs. (3) Oral Roberts
7 p.m. - Match Two: (1) Denver vs. (4) Western Illinois
Saturday, Nov. 14
3 p.m. – Championship Match: Winner Match 1 vs. Winner Match 2
All times Mountain
Last Time Out
Omaha's Mark Moulton and Emir Alihodzic each scored two goals as the Omaha men's soccer team defeated Eastern Illinois at Lakeside Field on Saturday morning, 4-2.
Omaha used the first 15 minutes of the match to get into its normal rhythm without two regular starters. Felipe da Silva and Fazlo Alihodzic had to sit-out against Eastern Illinois due to receiving red cards against Rutgers last weekend.
Moulton put the Mavericks on the board in the 17th minute. Noor Hamadi lofted a cross into the Panther penalty area where Moulton was waiting. Moulton outjumped the defense and placed a header past Panther goalkeeper Mike Novotny for a 1-0 Omaha lead.
Eastern Illinois leveled the score in the 32nd minute. Trevor Kerns pounced on a mishandled ball by the Omaha defense. Kerns placed a shot past UNO goalkeeper Josh Christensen for the equalizer.
Right before the end of the first half, Omaha was able to retake the lead on a penalty kick. The Eastern Illinois goalkeeper came out to challenge Emir Alihodzic in the penalty area. As the goalkeeper went for the ball, he fouled Alihodzic resulting in a penalty kick call. Alihodzic stepped to the spot and placed his kick into the side netting for a 2-1 Omaha lead at the half.
The Panthers would not go down without a fight in the second half. Eastern Illinois tied the match for the second time in the 61st minute. Fabio Collado found an opening in the Omaha defense and rocketed a shot towards Christensen. Christensen was able to parry away the first shot, but the rebound went right back to Collado who tapped it in for the score.
UNO stepped up its attack on the Eastern Illinois defense as it tried to regain the lead. Logan Mendez had a shot saved by Novotny in the 63rd minute. Another Mendez shot went wide in the 67th minute as did a Michael Jaime shot in the 68th minute.
Moulton and Hamadi were able to team up and break the tie in the 72nd minute. Hamadi put a cross into the eight yard box. Moulton was waiting for the pass and placed the header into the back of the net for a 3-2 Maverick lead.
Omaha added an insurance goal in the 87th minute. Parker Victor gathered a loose ball in the defensive third and played a ball into the penalty area. The pass found Alihodzic who calmly placed his shot into the back of the net.
The Mavericks outshot the Panthers, 12-4, and placed six of those on-target. Eastern Illinois' Novotny made two saves, while UNO's Christensen made one.
Up Next
The Summit League tournament final is slated for Saturday, Nov. 14 at 4 p.m. (CT). The game will be broadcast on ESPN3.
