Omaha Athletics

This Weekend
The Omaha men's soccer team opens a three-match road trip this week, starting with a visit to Fort Wayne on Saturday, Oct. 15 at 6 p.m. CT.  Links to live stats, audio and video will be available at OMavs.com.

Maverick Quick Kicks
• Omaha was picked to finish second in the 2016 Summit League Preseason Poll.
• The Mavericks welcome 11 new players into the fold in 2016 including seven freshmen, two transfers and two redshirt players.
• Omaha returns 13 letterwinners, including eight starters from last season.
• The Mavericks are 5-4-3 overall and 2-0 in league play entering this weekend after defeating Eastern Illinois, 2-0, last Saturday.
• Omaha's defense has allowed one goal or less eight times this season.
• Senior midfielder Fazlo Alihodzic leads the team with 16 points on six goals and four assists.  He is tied for the Summit League lead in total points and is tied for second in goals.
• Junior forward Emmanuel Hamzat has three goals while freshman defender Seth Rinderknecht has two goals and an assist.  Freshman forward Elvir Ibisevic has a goal and three assists.
• Rinderknecht and senior midfielder Lalo Gamboa each have started all 12 games.
• Redshirt junior goalkeeper Joseph Ghitis is in the Summit League's top five in saves (38), save percentage (.731), goals-against (14) and goals-against average (1.31).
• Alihodzic, Ghitis and senior defender Jacob Weiler each have earned Summit League Player of the Week honors this season with Alihodzic earning accolades three times, Ghitis twice and Weiler once.
• Jason Mims is in his sixth season as head coach.

Scouting the Mastodons
Fort Wayne enters the weekend with a record of 7-5 (1-1 Summit League) after a 5-0 defeat at Dayton on Tuesday evening.

Jacob Murphy and Oscar Uyamadu are tied for second in the Summit League with six goals. Uyamadu is fourth in the conference with 14 points scored, while Murphy is fifth with 13.

Goalkeeper Jorge Trujillo is 6-4 with a 2.14 goals-against average and a .607 save percentage. 

Head coach Mike Harper is in his 10th season at Fort Wayne with a 45-114-17 record.  The Panthers return to action next week as they host Valparaiso on Tuesday, Oct. 18 at 6 p.m. ET.

Series History
Saturday's meeting marks the sixth all-time meeting between the two programs.  Fort Wayne leads the series 3-2 with the Mavericks winning 3-0 last year in Omaha.
 
Last Time Out: Alihodzic, Hamzat Lead Omaha Past Eastern Illinois
Omaha got an early goal from Fazlo Alihodzic and a late first half goal by Emmanuel Hamzat to lead the Mavericks to a 2-0 victory over Eastern Illinois on Saturday afternoon at Caniglia Field.

Alihodzic struck first in the 12th minute.  Elvir Ibisevic initiated the play with a header that was pushed away by Eastern Illinois goalkeeper Mike Novotny.  Seth Rinderknecht touched the ball just enough to give Alihodzic a window and the senior drove home the goal from eight yards out.

The Mavericks tacked on an insurance goal with under five minutes remaining in the first half.  Ethan Bowman lofted a ball from midfield to Hamzat, who outraced two defenders and slipped his shot past Novotny.

Joseph Ghitis stopped all four shots on goal to earn his third shutout of the season.  The shutout by Ghitis was also the eighth of his career, which sets a school record that was previously held by Matt Grosey.  Grosey recorded seven shutouts from 2012-13.  The redshirt junior is the program's all-time leader in victories after getting a win against Air Force and now has 13 for his career.

Omaha and Eastern Illinois tied in shots 11-11, but Omaha led in shots on goal, 7-4.

Pacing the Pack
In 2016, senior Fazlo Alihodzic leads the team in points (16), goals (six) and assists (four).  He is second on the team with 23 shots.

Fantastic Freshman
On the year, freshman defender Seth Rinderknecht has tallied five points on two goals and an assist.  He has started every game this season and is second on the team in minutes played (1084).

Defensive Dominance
Heading into the Fort Wayne match, Omaha has posted a 3-1 record over the past four games.  Over that span, the Maverick defense has allowed one goal or less in each game, which includes two shutouts.

Moulton Named Candidate for 2016 Senior CLASS Award
Omaha senior men's soccer standout Mark Moulton has been named as one of 30 national finalists for the 2016 senior CLASS Award. 

To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as a NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.

An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.

Moulton is the first Omaha men's soccer player to be considered for the award.  The Omaha native has maintained a 3.96-grade point average while majoring in business administration.

Moulton has served as a team captain for three-straight seasons for head coach Jason Mims.  His community service includes leading the team in an assortment of soccer clinics in the Omaha area and participating in the Mavericks' Team IMPACT program.

On the field, Moulton is a four-year starter, having appeared in 62 matches, making 51 starts.  He is the program's all-time leader in assists and tied the record for career points this season.

The 30 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists later in the season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans who will select one candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition.

The Senior CLASS Award winners will be announced during the 2016 NCAA Men's College Cup® championships in December.
 
Ghitis Tabbed as Defensive Player of the Week
Joseph Ghitis picked up his second league award of the season on Monday; it was the fourth of his career.  Ghitis recorded a shutout victory in Omaha's 2-0 win over Eastern Illinois.  He had a perfect save percentage and goals against average while collecting four saves.  The shutout was the eighth of his career, setting a new school record while the win extended his school record mark to 13.

Three's a Charm
Fazlo Alihodzic became the first Omaha player to earn three Summit League Player of the Week honors in the same season.  Alihodzic garnered his third league award on Monday for his game-winning goal against Eastern Illinois last Saturday.  He won league honors earlier this season on Sept. 6 and Oct. 3.

RPI Power
In the latest edition of the 2016 Men's Soccer PRI, Omaha finds itself slated in the No. 58 position, as announced by the NCAA.  UNO drops three spots after defeating Eastern Illinois.  The Mavericks have already played Cal (37th), Creighton (7th), UConn (16th), Stanford (21st) and Air Force (41st).  Still on the UNO schedule is a meeting with Denver (27th).

Rewriting the Record Book
Joseph Ghitis has rewritten the Omaha career record book this fall.  Coming into the season, he held the career marks for goals-against average (1.09) and save percentage (.742). 

After picking up wins against Air Force and Eastern Illinois, Ghitis extended his school record mark to 13 victories.  The shutout against Eastern Illinois on Oct. 10 was the eighth of his Maverick career and set the UNO record.

Oh, What a Season
Fazlo Alihodzic became the first Omaha player to score a goal in four straight games this season.  He is closing in on Vance Rookwood's single-season record in points and goals.  Rookwood had 22 points and nine goals during the 2014 season, so far Alihodzic has 16 points and six goals. 

Moulton on the Edge of Etching His Name in the Records
Mark Moulton finds himself among the UNO elite when comparing career stats. He currently sits second on the all-time goal-scoring chart with 13, behind Vance Rookwood, the school's all-time leader, who has 19.  Moulton tied Rookwood for the all-time lead in career points with 45 points in 63 appearances.  Moulton already owns the school career mark of 19 assists and 125 shots.

On the Mark Nationally
Fazlo Alihodzic ranks among the top 60 in five categories: points (38th), goals (44th), points per game (47th), assists (60th) and goals per game (60th).

League Leaders
As a team, Omaha leads the Summit League in total attendance and is second with 63 corner kicks.  The Mavericks rank third in shots (131), shots-per-game (10.9) and shutouts (three).

Fazlo Alihodzic is tied for the league lead in points (16) and is tied for second in goals scored (six).  Joseph Ghitis is third in the league with 37 saves, a .731 save percentage, 14 goals allowed and a 1.31 goals-against average.

On the Big Stage
This season Omaha has played in two of the top five attended games in NCAA Division I Men's Soccer.  UNO played in front of 5,100 fans at UConn on Aug. 28 and 4,766 people at Creighton on Sept. 5.

Omaha leads the Summit League in total attendance and second in average attendance.  This season over 4,306 people have attended games at Caniglia Field, and the Mavericks average 615 fans per game.

Home Sweet Home
Since opening Caniglia Field in 2013, the Mavericks have dominated the opposition, going a combined 20-5-3 and outscoring opponents 59-27.  The Mavs have a record of 8-2 in Summit League action (2013-16) at Caniglia Field.  Since the inception of the program, UNO has a 26-13-5 home mark and has outscored opponents 80-52.

Young Bulls
So far this season, seven of Omaha's eight freshmen have seen playing time.  Seth Rinderknecht has started 12 games this season has five points on two goals and an assist.  Rinderknecht has played the second most number of minutes of any field player with 1,084.

Elvir Ibisevic has a goal and is second on the team with three assists this season while starting 11 of 12 games.  Ibisevic has logged 950 minutes.

Defender Joel Kazhila made 11 appearances with seven starts, while defender Joey McCain has four appearances and three starts.  Midfielder Fred Frimpong has made one start and appeared in 11 games, and midfielder Ethan Bowman has appeared in four games.  Goalkeeper Ugo Tritz has three games and one start under his belt.

Mavericks Remain in Regional Poll
Omaha dropped one spot to sixth in the latest NCAA West Region Poll released Tuesday.  The Mavericks went 1-1 last week, falling 1-0 to Valparaiso and topping Eastern Illinois, 2-0.

Denver sits atop the regional poll and is ranked fifth nationally.  The Pioneers are on a 30-game regular season unbeaten streak.

Weiler Earns Player of the Week Honors
Jacob Weiler was named Summit League Defensive Player of the week for his performance, Sept. 19-25.  Weiler earned his first career Defensive Player of the Week award and was part of an Omaha backline that registered a 1-0 shutout over a 5-2 Air Force squad to snap its four-match winning streak.  He tallied his first career point with an assist on the game-winning goal.
 
Alihodzic, Ghitis Earn Player of the Week Honors
Fazlo Alihodzic was named Summit League Men's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week while Maverick teammate and Joseph Ghitis was named league Defensive Player of the Week for their performances Aug. 29 - Sept. 5.

Alihodzic earned his second career Offensive Player of the Week award after totaling six points on two goals and two assists during the week.  He factored into all three Omaha scores with a goal and a pair of assists in a 3-0 win over Drake.  The senior midfielder also accounted for the Mavericks' lone goal in a 1-1 tie against No. 8 Creighton.

Ghitis earned his second career Defensive Player of the Week award by posting a 0.45 goals-against average and a .875 save percentage while recording a 1-0-1 record during the week.  He made two saves for his first shutout of the season in the win over Drake.  Ghitis totaled five saves including stopping a penalty kick to secure a 1-1 tie against No. 8 Creighton.

Home-aha
Seniors Jake McCain and Mark Moulton, junior Michael Jaime, sophomores Adam Gottschalk, Noor Hamadi and Quinn Nelson and freshman Joey McCain didn't have to travel a long distance as they made the transition from high school to college.  All seven call the Omaha metro area home.  Moulton attended Creighton Prep, the McCains attended Papillion-LaVista South, Jaime and Hamadi went to Omaha South, Gottschalk graduated from Skutt Catholic and Nelson came from Westside.

Summit League Preseason Poll
Omaha was picked to finish second in the 2016 Summit League Preseason Poll, and senior midfielder Mark Moulton was named to the Preseason Summit League Watch List, the league office announced in August.

Denver was picked as the favorite to win the league title with 36 points and six first-place votes. The Pioneers enter the 2016 season after sweeping the conference regular and postseason titles.

Oral Roberts was predicted to come in third, with 26 points and the one remaining first-place vote. Western Illinois polled in at fourth place, collecting 21 points.  Fort Wayne came in fifth with 14 points, followed by Eastern Illinois (11 points) in sixth and IUPUI (eight points) in seventh.

Tough Road Ahead
Omaha's 2016 schedule includes 17 regular-season matches, and the team will play in five different states.  Eight different conferences appear on the 2016 schedule including two teams each from the BIG EAST, Missouri Valley and Pac-12.  Five teams that participated in the 2015 College Cup appear on this year's schedule.  All five teams -- Connecticut, Creighton, Denver, Drake and Stanford -- advanced to the second round, highlighted by Creighton in the quarterfinals and Stanford winning the national championship.

UNO plays Air Force, Cal, Connecticut, Creighton, San Francisco and Penn in the regular-season for the first time.

A+ Accolades
Last season, the Mavericks were recognized as one of 205 collegiate men's soccer teams to surpass a 3.0 team grade-point average during 2014-15, ending the academic year with a team GPA of 3.16.  UNO has earned four-straight team academic awards.

Senior Mark Moulton was selected to the CoSIDA Men's Soccer Division I Academic All-American Second Team in 2015.  Moulton is a business administration major and owns a 3.98 GPA.

Four Omaha soccer players – Felipe da Silva, Logan Mendez, Mark Moulton and Joseph Ghitis – were named to the 2015 Summit League Men's Soccer Academic All-League Team last season.

Getting to Know Coach Mims
Jason Mims was appointed as the first head coach in program history in 2011 and has built a program that has received national recognition across the country.

Last season, UNO finished with a 9-6-3 overall mark and advanced to the Summit League Tournament for the first time.  Mims' team achieved the program's first Top 25 ranking after starting the season 6-1-1. He was named the Summit League Coach of the Year following the 2014 season in which the Mavericks tied for the Summit League regular-season title.

Assisting Mims is Tim Walters, who is in his sixth season, and volunteer goalkeeper coach Daniel Galvis, who is in his third year on the Maverick staff.

Summit League Success
Omaha went 3-2-1 in Summit League play in 2015, tying for second in the regular-season league standings.  It marked the Mavericks' first time qualifying for the Summit League Tournament.

Welcome the Newcomers
Omaha's roster features 11 new players (six freshmen, two redshirt freshmen, two transfers and a redshirt junior) to the squad this season.  The breakdown includes four defenders, three forwards, two midfielders and two goalkeepers as Omaha reloads its roster under head coach Jason Mims.

Featuring a diverse class hailing from four countries and five different states, the Mavericks look to utilize their newcomers to help them return to the Summit League Tournament.

Newcomers (Year, Pos., Hometown)
Ray Barajas (Jr., D, Loyola Marymount/Mexico City, Mexico)
Ethan Bowman (RFr., MF, Drake/Shawnee, Kan.)
Jose Camberos (Fr., GK, Kansas City, Mo.)
Fred Frimpong (Jr., F, Ankeny, Iowa)
Xavier Gomez (Jr., MF, Chicago, Ill.)
Emmanuel Hamzat (Jr., F, West Valley College/Lagos, Nigeria)
Elvir Ibisevic (Fr., F, Urbandale, Iowa)
Joel Kazhila (Fr., D, Johannesburg, South Africa)
Joey McCain (Fr., D, Omaha, Neb.)
Seth Rinderknecht (Fr., D, Cedar Rapids, Iowa)
Ugo Tritz (Fr., GK, Metz, France)

Up Next
Omaha returns to action Tuesday, Oct. 18, visiting Bradley for the Mavericks' final non-conference match of the season.  Links to live stats and video will be available on OMavs.com.