Omaha Athletics

This Week
The Omaha women's soccer team takes its first Summit League road trip this weekend, visiting IUPUI on Friday, Oct. 14 at 6 p.m. CT and Western Illinois on Sunday, Oct. 16 at 2:30 p.m.  Links to live stats and video, as available, will be linked on OMavs.com.

Omaha Quick Hits
• Omaha was picked to finish seventh in the 2016 Summit League Preseason Poll.
• The Mavericks welcome six new players into the fold in 2016 including four true freshmen and a pair of junior transfers.
• Omaha returns 19 letterwinners, including eight starters from last season.
• UNO enters the match with an overall record of 4-8-2 (2-1 Summit League) after sweeping a pair of Summit League games last weekend, defeating Oral Roberts, 2-0, and Fort Wayne, 4-1.
• Junior midfielder Carlie Cook leads the team with 14 points and six goals, and sophomore forward Emily Romero is tops with five assists.
• Junior defender Jessica Bollinger is the only player to start all 14 games this season, and senior defender Katie Vanderzwaag leads the team with 1,134 minutes played.
• Redshirt senior goalkeeper Haley Shelton is in the Summit League's top five in saves (66), goals-against average (1.27) and save percentage (.835).
• Freshman goalkeeper Erin Bunker has appeared in four games with three starts and has a 1.39 goals-against average this season.
• Cook and Shelton have both earned Summit League Player of the Week honors this season with Cook earning accolades on Aug. 29 and Shelton on Aug. 22 and Oct. 10.
• Don Klosterman is in his 18th season as head coach.

Scouting IUPUI
IUPUI enters Friday's match with a record of 7-5-2 (1-1-1 Summit League) after earning a 2-2 tie with Fort Wayne last weekend.

The duo of Tori Minnich and Catherine Raster have combined for 32 points on 14 goals and four assists.  Each is tied for second in the Summit League in points and goals, while Maryna Clark leads the conference with eight assists.

Goalkeeper Catherine Schmidt is 4-4-2 on the season with a 1.58 goals-against average and a .721 save percentage. Teammate Sophia Lipka is 3-1-0 on the season with a 1.05 goals-against average and a .765 save percentage.

Head coach Chris Johnson is in his 14th season leading IUPUI and is 94-132-61 with the program.

Series History
Friday's contest is the fifth all-time meeting between the two programs.  UNO leads the series 2-1-1 after playing to a 1-1 draw in double overtime last season.

Scouting Western Illinois
Western Illinois enters the weekend with a record of 3-9-1 (1-3 Summit League) after falling to South Dakota State, 2-0, and North Dakota State, 3-0.

Emily Bollman and Bianca Romay lead the Leathernecks with two goals each, while Mary Street and Ashley Kuhlmann have recorded an assist on the season.

Jennifer Currie is 2-4-0 on the season with a 1.54 goals-against average and a .714 save percentage.  Ines Palmiero is 1-3-1 on the season with a 1.79 goals-against average and a .743 save percentage.  Palmiero (nine) and Currie (10) rank fourth and fifth respectively in the league for goals against.

Head coach Dr. Eric Johnson is pulling double duty this season, coaching both the Leatherneck men's and women's soccer teams.  The 2016 season marks the first year of Coach Johnson's leadership over the women's program, and he is entering his 25th leading the men's program.  Dr. Johnson has a career mark of 209-246-41.  Western Illinois returns to action on Friday, Oct. 21 at Fort Wayne.

Series History
Sunday marks the fourth all-time meeting between the two programs.  Western Illinois leads the all-time series, 2-1-1.  The Mavericks topped the Leathernecks last season in Omaha, 2-1.

Last Time Out: Three Second Half Goals Lead Omaha to 4-1 Win
Carlie Cook and Lydia Holtmann each scored twice in a 4-1 win over Fort Wayne last Sunday afternoon at Caniglia Field.

Holtmann picked up a pass from Jessica Bollinger on the right side, cut it to the center of the field and punched in a goal from 18 yards out at the 5:48 mark to put the Mavericks on the board.

Gabbie Mann scored for Fort Wayne at the 32:29 mark as she picked up a rebound and placed the shot in from six yards out. The two teams remained tied heading into the break.

Holtmann ran onto a pass from Emily Romero, beat a defender and blasted a shot from inside the box at the 59:44 mark to put Omaha back on top, 2-1.

Cook scored back-to-back goals in a 15-minute span to give the Mavericks a 4-1 advantage. After scoring off an assist from Izzy Anders and Emily Romero in the 75th minute, she tallied her second goal in the 89th minute off an assist from Jessica Bollinger.

Omaha amassed a 25-9 lead in shots, including a 9-4 advantage in shots on goal, and took a 5-3 lead in corner kicks.

In the Summit
The Omaha women's program leads the Summit League in attendance this season.  The Mavericks are third in shutouts (four) and fourth in corner kicks (57).

Haley Shelton is in the Summit League's top five in saves (66), save percentage (.835) and goals-against average (1.27).  Carlie Cook is third in goals scored (six) and fifth in total points (14).  Emily Romero is tied for fourth in assists (five).

On the National Charts
Omaha ranks among the top 65 in two categories: 33rd in saves per game (6.36) and 62nd in save percentage (.824).

Individually, Haley Shelton is 14th in saves per game (6.6), 57th in save percentage (.835) and 59th in total saves (66).

Maverick Momentum
The Omaha offense has gained momentum in October, scoring six goals in its last two games and averaging 19 shots per game in that span.  Five different Mavericks have tallied at least three shots in the two games, with eight players boasting a goal or an assist.

Striking Early
Last weekend, the Mavericks scored prior to the 20th minute mark in each game.  Emily Romero put UNO on top in the 17th minute on Friday against Oral Roberts.  Lydia Holtmann gave Omaha the lead in the 6th minute on Sunday against Fort Wayne.

What a Weekend
Emily Romero had a big weekend for the Mavericks, scoring her first collegiate goal in Friday night's win and dished out two assists in Sunday's victory.  Romero leads Omaha with five assists this season.

Big-Time Bollinger
This season Jessica Bollinger has been a mainstay in the Maverick lineup, starting all 14 matches.  For her career, she has appeared in 44 games with 25 starts.  Last weekend, Bollinger picked up her first two college points on assists to Carlie Cook and Lydia Holtmann.

Double Trouble
Carlie Cook and Lydia Holtmann each had their first collegiate brace against Fort Wayne last Sunday afternoon.  Holtmann scored her first goal in the sixth minute of play.  The junior took a dribble before curving the ball around a pair of defenders and the goalie to complete the brace in the 60th minute.  Cook scored her two goals within 15 minutes of each other.  She one-timed a pass from Izzy Anders for her first goal of the day in the 75th minute and added her second goal in the 89th minute.

Spreading the Wealth
The Omaha offense has shown to be a tough assignment for opposing defenses this year after a host of Mavericks has made their presence known on the stat sheet. Nine different Mavericks have had their hand in at least one of the team's goals thus far in 2016, either scoring or assisting. A total of 11 players have managed to tally five or more shots and, while Carlie Cook, Lydia Holtmann and Emily Romero have notched nearly 40 percent of the team's total shots, four of their teammates have added double-digit attempts to the team's total of 158.

Player of the Week Honors
Haley Shelton had been named Summit League Defensive Player of the Week twice, and Carlie Cook has earned offensive honors once.

Shelton collected her first career weekly honor during the season-opening weekend by making eight saves against UMKC.  She picked up her second award of the season on Oct. 3 by going 2-0 with 11 saves and a shutout.

Cook earned Summit League Co-Offensive Player of the Week for her performances Aug. 22-28, marking the weekly award was the first of her career.  She scored a pair of goals during the weekend with the game-tying goal against Creighton and the game-winner against North Dakota.

Adding to the Account
Carlie Cook leads Omaha with six goals this season.  Cook scored a goal in three straight games to start her Maverick career.  She added two more goals over the weekend. The junior is fourth in the conference in goals and fifth in total points (14).

Sharing is Caring
Four players have dished out two or more assists this season for Omaha.  Emily Romero has five assists to lead the team and is fourth in the Summit League, while Jessica Bollinger, Carlie Cook and Lydia Holtmann each have two assists.

Record Book Watch
Goalkeepers Haley Shelton and sophomore goalkeeper Katlyn Schochenmaier find themselves among UNO elite when comparing career stats.  Shelton is the all-time saves per game leader with 5.91 while Schochenmaier is third with 4.6.

Shelton ranks in the top 10 in four other categories.  She is third in all-time saves with 189, sixth in shutouts (six), seventh in wins (seven) and eighth in goals-against average (1.63).

Schochenmaier is in the top 10 in four categories.  She is sixth all-time in saves (92), sixth in save percentage (.767), seventh in wins (six) and eighth in goals-against average (1.61).

Keepers
Three goalkeepers have seen action this season.  Haley Shelton leads the way with 10 starts, while Erin Bunker has three starts and Katlyn Schochenmaier has one.

Shelton has a team-low 1.27 goals-against average and leads the team with three shutouts and 66 saves.

The Youth Movement
So far this season, all four of Omaha's freshmen have seen playing time.  Sophia Roux has appeared in all 14 games this season with nine starts and Erin Bunker has appeared in four games with two starts.

Taylor Gelling has appeared in 12 games with one start, while Mallory Edwards have made seven appearances with one start.

Home-aha
Senior Nyoke Dumba, junior Natalie Johnson, sophomore Emily Romero and freshman Mallory Edwards didn't have to travel a long distance as they made the transition from high school to college.  All four call the Omaha metro area home.  Dumba and Edwards attended Omaha Marian, while Johnson graduated from Omaha Skutt and Romero came from Bellevue East.

Summit League Preseason Poll
Omaha was picked to finish seventh in the 2016 Summit League Preseason Poll, and senior defender Ava Doetsch appeared on the Preseason Summit League Watch List, the league office announced in August.

North Dakota State was picked as the favorite to win the Summit League title with 63 points and seven first-place votes.  The Bison enter the 2016 season after claiming the league's regular-season title last year.

South Dakota State was predicted to come in second, with 56 points and the two remaining first-place votes.  Oral Roberts polled in at third place, collecting 49 points.  Denver came in fourth with 45 points, followed by South Dakota (35) in fifth and IUPUI (26) in sixth.  Fort Wayne (18) and Western Illinois (8) rounded it out in eight and ninth place, respectively.

Tough Road Ahead
Omaha's 2016 schedule features 19 regular-season matches, and the team will play in six states across the nation.  UNO will take on opponents from nine conferences, with three from the Big Sky and one apiece from the Atlantic 10, Big 12, BIG EAST, Big West, Missouri Valley, Mountain West, WAC and the West Coast Conference.

Entering 2016, the Mavericks have never faced five of their opponents: Kansas State, Dayton, Eastern Washington, Loyola Marymount and CSUN.

For Starters
Omaha returns five starters from last year's team that started at least 10 games.  Included in the five returning starters are three players who have amassed 35 starts or more during their Maverick careers.

Lydia Holtmann has appeared in 49 games with 35 starts. Senior defenders Ava Doetsch and Lauren Lawler have each appeared in 65 matches.  Doetsch has 64 career starts while Lawler has 63.

Klosterman at the Helm
Head coach Don Klosterman is the only coach the women's soccer program has ever known.  In his 18 years at the helm of the Maverick program, Klosterman owns a career record of 216-110-18 and has a career mark of 268-171-27 over 25 years.

The two-time national coach of the year led the Mavericks to the Division II national semifinals four times, culminating in the 2005 NCAA Division II national championship.
Klosterman's assistants are Tim Bennett, who is in his third season, and Adam    Hooi, who is in his second year on the Maverick staff.    

Up Next
Omaha returns to action next Friday, Oct. 21, hosting South Dakota State for the Mavericks' final home match of the season.  Links to live stats and video will be available on OMavs.com.