Box Score OMAHA, Neb. – The Omaha men's soccer team posted a 1-0 upset victory against No. 13 UC Irvine on Friday night at Caniglia Field. The Mavericks improve to 3-0 on the season, while the Anteaters are 1-1.
Omaha goalkeeper Joseph Ghitis played a stellar match in net. The sophomore netminder collected six saves in his first shutout of the season and fourth of his career. The defensive unit of Felipe da Silva, Michael Jaime, Jake McCain, and Denzel Woods held their line throughout the match to secure the clean slate.
Omaha held a 15-9 advantage in shots in the match, but UC Irvine held a slight 6-5 advantage in shots on goal. The Maverick offense was led by Mark Moulton with four shots, while Andres Irvin and Fazlo Alihodzic each had three.
Jaime Phillips, Ivan Canales, and Gerardo Gonzalez each had two shots to lead the Anteaters, while goalkeeper Michael Breslin collected three saves in the match.
The Mavericks held possession through the early portion of the opening half. Irvin looked to put UNO on the board in the third minute of the game, but his header hit the crossbar and his second attempt went wide. Moulton had a header hit the left post and bounce wide in the 12th minute of the game.
Omaha broke through in the 23rd minute as Emir Alihodzic and Fazlo Alihodzic teamed up to create a scoring opportunity. Emir Alihodzic collected a loose ball in the UNO defensive half and quickly played a ball to his cousin Fazlo Alihodzic. Alihodzic took a couple dribbles and played a perfect pass to the onrushing Moulton. Moulton took the ball out of the air with a side volley that found the left side of the goal wide open for a 1-0 lead.
The score stood at the halftime break, and Moulton nearly pushed the lead to 2-0 early in the half, narrowly missing a header attempt off a cross from Logan Mendez.
The two teams traded possession throughout the remainder of the half. Ghitis deflected a goal on a strike from Gonzalez in the 77th minute to hold the Omaha lead and the Mavericks' goalkeeper collected another save from a Phillips shot in the 78th minute of the contest to secure the win.
Omaha wraps up a four-game homestand on Sunday with a match against Cal State Northridge scheduled for 1 p.m. Live stats and video will be available via OMavs.com.
Match Notes
- Omaha's win over No. 13 UC Irvine was the first win in program history over a nationally rated team.
- Mark Moulton's goal was his second of the season and seventh of his career.
- Joseph Ghitis has three wins on the season and eight for his career.
- The Mavericks have won nine straight games at home. The last home loss for the Mavericks came on Aug. 30, 2014 against No. 20 Standford, 2-1 (OT).
