OMAHA, Neb. – 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. UNO improves to 5-4-1 (2-0 Summit League) while the Panthers fall to 2-9-1 (0-3 Summit League).
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 with today's win has 13 for his career.
Omaha and Eastern Illinois tied in shots 11-11, but Omaha led in shots on goal, 7-4.
The Mavericks return to the pitch on Saturday, Oct. 15, kicking off its first league road trip with a visit to Fort Wayne. The match is set for a 6 p.m. CT start in Fort Wayne, Ind., and links to live stats and video will be available on OMavs.com.
Scoring Summary
Eastern Illinois 0 0 - 0
Omaha 2 0 - 2
Individual Scoring
Fazlo Alihodzic (Omaha) – 11:06 (Seth Rinderknecht)
Emmanuel Hamzat (Omaha) – 41:23 (Ethan Bowman)
Goalkeeper Saves
Mike Novotny (Eastern Illinois) – 5
Joseph Ghitis (Omaha) – 4
