OMAHA, Neb. – The Omaha men's soccer team wraps up the 2015 regular season with a Summit League match at Eastern Illinois this weekend. Kickoff from Charleston, Ill. is set for 10 a.m.
Links to live stats will be made available on OMavs.com.
About Omaha
Last week, the Mavericks went 0-1-1 in a pair of non-conference matches. Omaha and Missouri State played to a 2-2 draw at Cangilia Field on Wednesday. On Saturday afternoon, the Mavs dropped a 1-0 decision at No. 21 Rutgers.
Omaha holds an 8-5-3 overall mark and a 2-2-1 record in league play. The Mavericks are currently in fourth place in the Summit League with seven points. Heading into the final weekend of league play, UNO holds the final playoff spot and depending on this weekend's results can finish anywhere from second to sixth place.
Logan Mendez is leading the Mavericks' offense this season with 16 points and six goals. Mendez also has dished out four assists, which is second best on the team. This season, he has set career highs in points and goals. Mendez currently ranks in the program's all-time top three in assists, goals, and points.
Mark Moulton has been a spark plug for UNO this fall. The midfielder has a team best five assists to go along with five goals for 15 points. Three of Moulton's goals this season have been game winners. He has set a career best in goals and is just one point shy of tying his career best in points for a season. The junior is already the program's all-time assists leader and is in the top three all-time in goals and points.
Redshirt freshman Noor Hamadi is second on the team with three goals. Midfielder Lalo Gamboa has four assists on the season, which is tied with Mendez for second on the team. Senior Andres Irvin is third on the team in points with seven on two goals and three assists.
The Omaha defense this year has allowed 18 goals through 16 games for a 1.05 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 seven games that he has appeared in this season with a 4-1-1 mark. He has a 1.27 goals-against average and .775 save percentage.
Making 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.
Next up for the Maverick soccer program is earning their first ever berth in the Summit League post season tournament. Omaha can accomplish this feat with a win over conference foe Eastern Illinois this weekend. The winner of the Summit League post season tournament will get an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
Eye on Eastern Illinois
Panther Notes:
- Eastern Illinois is 3-13 overall and 1-4 in Summit League play. The Panthers are in seventh place in the standings with five points.
- EIU lost on Halloween at No. 8 Denver, 1-0. The Panthers were outshot 31-1 by DU, but kept the Pioneers off the board until the 81st minute.
- Eastern Illinois returns 18 letter winners and seven starters from last season.
- Kiki Lara is in his first season at EIU. Lara is the ninth head coach in the history of the program. Last season, he was an assistant at Dayton.
Players to watch:
Goalkeeper Mike Novotny won his second straight Summit League Defensive Player of the Week award early this week. Novotny made a career-high 12 saves against Denver, earlier in the week he had eight saves against Green Bay.
- Stats: 3-11 overall with one shut-out. Has a 2.73 goals-against average and a .652 save percentage.
Midfielder Tyler Oliver has appeared in 15 games with four starts for EIU. He leads the team with nine points on four goals and one assist.
Series History against Eastern Illinois
Saturday's match will be the fourth all-time meeting between the two programs. Omaha is 3-0 against Eastern Illinois dating back to 2012.
Last season, the Mavericks defeated the Panthers in Omaha, 1-0. Vance Rookwood scored the game winner in the 77th minute off assists from Christian Garcia and Lalo Gamboa.
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 Move-up a Spot in West Region
This week, Omaha dropped two spots in the NSCAA NCAA Western Region Poll. The Mavericks are now eighth in the region. Summit League leader, Denver remains atop the Western Region with a 12-0-3 record and has moved up one spot in the latest national rankings.
Summit League Tournament
Omaha is still in the running for one on four spots in the Summit League tournament to be held in Denver, Colo. on Nov. 12 and 14. The league takes the top four teams according to points and at the moment Omaha is in fourth place with seven points through five games.
No. 7 Denver leads the league with 13 points from a 4-0-1 record. Oral Roberts and Western Illinois are tied for second with nine points. Western Illinois has completed its league schedule, while Oral Roberts plays at sixth place IUPUI on Saturday. Depending on the outcome of games on Saturday, Omaha can finish anywhere from second to sixth in the league standings.
Up Next
The Summit League tournament is slated for Nov. 12-14 in Denver, Colo. The top four teams in the league standings will advance to CIBER Field for the tournament. The tournament champion will receive the Summit League's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.
