This Week
Omaha plays its final home match of the season this week, hosting South Dakota State on Friday, Oct. 21. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. at Caniglia Field, and Brandon McDermott and Owen Godberson will have the radio call on MavRadio.fm, and links to live video, audio and stats will be available on OMavs.com.
Fans are encouraged to arrive early, as UNO will honor its six seniors - Ava Doetsch, Nyoke Dumba, Lauren Lawler, Emily Michaels, Haley Shelton and Katie Vanderzwaag - with pregame festivities.
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 4-9-3 (2-2-1 Summit League) after a 1-0 loss at Western Illinois last Sunday.
• Junior midfielder Carlie Cook leads the team with 15 points and six goals and sophomore forward Emily Romero is tops with five assists.
• Junior midfielder Lydia Holtmann has 10 points on four goals and two assists.
• Junior midfielder Jessica Bollinger is the only player to start all 16 games this season, and senior defender Ava Doetsch leads the team with 1,305 minutes played.
• Redshirt senior goalkeeper Haley Shelton is in the Summit League's top five in saves (78), goals-against average (1.21) and save percentage (.839).
• 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 South Dakota State
South Dakota State enters Friday's match with a record of 9-5-1 (4-1 Summit League) after defeating North Dakota State last Sunday, 1-0.
Nicole Hatcher leads the Jackrabbits with 18 points on five goals and eight assists. Tori Poole and Madison Yueill each have eight points with four goals.
Goalkeeper Maggie Smither has a 7-1-1 record through 13 games and leads the Summit League in save percentage (.933), goals against (two) and goals-against average (0.30). Teammate Nicole Inskeep has a 2-4 mark in 15 games with a 1.02 goals-against average and a .679 save percentage.
Head coach Lang Wedemeyer is in his 17th season leading the Jackrabbits and has a 160-121-34 career mark. SDSU returns to action on Sunday, Oct. 23, hosting Denver at 1 p.m.
Series History
Friday's game marks the 10th all-time meeting between the two programs with the Mavericks leading the series, 5-3-1.
Last Time Out: Mavericks Fall to Western Illinois on the Road
Ashley Kuhlmann's goal in the 17th minute lifted Western Illinois to a 1-0 win over Omaha on Sunday afternoon at John MacKenzie Alumni Field in Macomb, Ill.
Kuhlmann scored off a feed from Madeline Edwards for her second goal of the season and first game-winner. Her shot from 13 yards out beat Maverick keeper Haley Shelton into the side netting.
Omaha almost evened the match in the 40th minute, as Kelsey Stithem's shot hit the crossbar and moments later, Emily Romero had a shot on target blocked.
To open the second half, UNO had another opportunity to equal the match, but Abby Meader's shot hit the crossbar and bounded out of play.
Meader forced Western Illinois goalkeeper Jennifer Currie into making a save in the 62nd minute, and Jessica Bollinger's header sailed over the bar in the 74th minute.
Western Illinois outshot the Mavericks 12-11 and had a 5-2 advantage in shots on goal. Haley Shelton took the loss and ended the day with four saves.
In the Summit
Omaha leads the Summit League in attendance this season. The Mavericks are third in shutouts (four) and fourth in corner kicks (68).
Haley Shelton is in the Summit League's top five in saves (78), save percentage (.839) and goals-against average (1.21). Carlie Cook is fifth in goals scored (six) and sixth in total points (15). Emily Romero is tied for fifth in assists (five).
On the National Charts
Omaha ranks among the top 55 nationally in two categories: 30th in saves per game (6.38) and 51st in save percentage (.829).
Individually, Haley Shelton is 13th in saves per game (6.5), 49th in save percentage (.839) and 40th in total saves (78).
Maverick Momentum
The Omaha offense has gained momentum in October, scoring seven goals over four games and averaging 16.5 shots per game in that span. Six different Mavericks have tallied at least three shots in the two games, with eight players boasting a goal or an assist.
What a Weekend
Emily Romero scored her first collegiate goal against Oral Roberts and dished out two assists against Fort Wayne. Romero leads Omaha with five assists this season.
Big-Time Bollinger
This season Jessica Bollinger has been a mainstay in the Maverick lineup, starting every game. For her career, she has appeared in 46 games with 27 starts. Bollinger picked up her first two college points on assists to Carlie Cook and Lydia Holtmann against Fort Wayne.
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 over 40 percent of the team's total shots, five 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. Over her last three games, she has two goals and an assist. The junior is fifth in the conference in goals and sixth in total points (16).
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 fifth in the Summit League. Carlie Cook has three assists, while Jessica Bollinger Lydia Holtmann each have two assists.
Record Book Watch
Goalkeepers Haley Shelton and 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 4.60.
Shelton ranks in the top 10 in five other categories. She is second in all-time saves with 201, third in save percentage (.788), 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), eighth in wins (six) and eighth in goals-against average (1.58).
Keepers
Three goalkeepers have seen action this season. Haley Shelton leads the way with 12 starts, while Erin Bunker has three starts and Katlyn Schochenmaier has one.
Shelton has a team-low 1.21 goals-against average and leads the team with three shutouts and 78 saves.
The Youth Movement
All four of Omaha's freshmen have seen playing time. Sophia Roux has appeared in all 16 games this season with 11 starts and Erin Bunker has appeared in four games with two starts.
Taylor Gelling has appeared in 14 games with one start, while Mallory Edwards has made eight 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.
Junior midfielder Lydia Holtmann has appeared in 53 games with 39 starts. Senior defenders Ava Doetsch and Lauren Lawler have each appeared in 69 matches. Doetsch has 68 career starts while Lawler has 67.
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 218-116-20 and has a career mark of 270-177-29 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. 28, visiting South Dakota at 3 p.m. Links to live stats and video will be available on OMavs.com.
