This Weekend
The top-seeded Omaha men's soccer team plays for a Summit League title as the Mavericks face No. 4-ranked and No. 2-seed Denver in the Summit League Championship final on Saturday, Nov. 12, at 2 p.m. CT, at CIBER Field in Denver.
Follow the Match
The championship match will be streamed free of charge on thesummitleague.org. Links to live stats and video are available on OMavs.com.
Maverick Quick Kicks
• Omaha is 10-4-4 on the season and makes its first appearance in the Summit League championship match.
• The Mavericks defeated No. 4 seed Eastern Illinois in the conference semifinals, 3-1.
• Senior midfielder Fazlo Alihodzic, freshman forward Elvir Ibisevic and redshirt sophomore Noor Hamadi each scored for Omaha on Thursday afternoon.
• Senior midfielder Mark Moulton's two assists tied the record for the most in a Summit League Tournament match.
• The three team assists by the Mavericks are ninth-most in a league tournament game.
• Moulton is the program's career leader in points (49) and assists (21)
• Alihodzic set the program record for points in a single season with 24 following his first half goal against Eastern Illinois on Thursday.
• Junior forward Emmanuel Hamzat is second on the team with 14 points on six goals and two assists.
• Ibisevic has 11 points this season on four goals and three assists, while fellow newcomer defender Seth Rinderknecht has two goals and two assists.
• Rinderknecht and senior midfielder Lalo Gamboa each have started all 18 games.
• Redshirt junior goalkeeper Joseph Ghitis leads the Summit League with a .770 save percentage and is in the top five in saves (57), goals-against (17) and goals-against average (1.01).
• The Mavericks had four players pick up First Team All-League honors: Alihodzic, Ghitis, Hamzat and Rinderknecht.
• Moulton and redshirt junior Jacob Weiler garnered Second Team accolades, while Hamzat, Rinderknecht and freshman midfielder Fred Frimpong were placed on the All-Newcomer team.
• Alihodzic was named Summit League Offensive Player of the Year, while Hamzat was picked as the league's Newcomer of the Year.
• Omaha was picked to finish second in the 2016 Summit League Preseason Poll.
• The Mavericks welcomed 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.
• Omaha's defense has allowed one goal or less 13 times this season.
• Jason Mims is in his sixth season as head coach.
Scouting the Pioneers
Second-seeded Denver enters Saturday's championship match with a 16-0-2 record after edging Western Illinois, 1-0, in Thursday's semifinals match. The Pioneers are currently ranked No. 4 nationally and are on a 36-match unbeaten streak. Head coach Jamie Franks is in his second season at Denver with a 31-1-5 record.
Goalkeeper Nick Gardner is ranked first in the Summit League in goals against (9), wins (16), shutouts (1011 and goal-against average (0.48). Blake Elder paces the Pioneers with seven goals and fifteen points on the season. Sam Hamilton ranks second among conference players with seven assists on the season.
Series History
Saturday's meeting marks the fifth all-time meeting between Denver and Omaha programs. DU leads the series 2-1-1 after the two teams played to a scoreless draw in Omaha on Oct. 29.
Up Next
The winner of Saturday's Summit League Championship match will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Last Time Out: Omaha Advances to Summit League Finals with 3-1 Victory
Top-seeded Omaha advanced to the Summit League title match with a 3-1 win over No. 4 Eastern Illinois Thursday at CIBER Field on the campus of the University of Denver.
The Mavericks got things started quickly in the 12th minute as Offensive Player of the Year Fazlo Alihodzic connected on a direct free kick. Elvir Ibisevic added a second UNO goal in the 26th minute on a header. Mark Moulton and Joel Kazhila were credited with the assists.
UNO continued the pressure in the second half holding an 8-3 shot advantage.
In the 62nd minute, Noor Hamadi netted his second goal of the season off a Moulton free kick, giving the Mavs a 3-0 lead.
Eastern Illinois tacked on its lone goal of the match in the 74th minute off a free kick from 24 yards out by Jonathan Huerta.
Streaking Mavericks
Omaha is currently on a seven-match unbeaten streak and has allowed only three goals in that stretch. During the streak, the Mavericks have won five straight away from Caniglia Field.
All-Conference Mavericks
Seven Omaha players were named to the 2016 All-Summit League Men's Soccer Teams last Wednesday. Fazlo Alihodzic led the way, securing Summit League Offensive Player of the Year recognition, and Emmanuel Hamzat was named Summit League Newcomer of the Year.
The First Team included four Mavericks: Alihodzic, Hamzat, Joseph Ghitis and Seth Rinderknecht. Two more UNO players were named to the Second Team: Mark Moulton and Jacob Weiler. Hamzat, Rinderknecht and Fred Frimpong also each earned a spot on the All-Newcomer Team.
All About Alihodzic
Fazlo Alihodzic is having a career season with nine goals and six assists for 24 points. He broke Vance Rookwood's single-season points and goals totals on Thursday afternoon. Alihodzic is the only player to win three Summit League Offensive Player of the Week honors this season. He leads the Summit League in points and is tied for the lead in goals.
Impressive Emmanuel
Emmanuel Hamzat is making the most of his first season with Omaha. The junior transfer is second on the team with 14 points on six goals and two assists. He picked up Summit League Offensive Player of the Week honors on Oct. 24 after scoring three goals and adding an assist for seven total points the previous week.
Fantastic Freshmen
Seth Rinderknecht and Elvir Ibisevic have combined for 17 points on six goals and five assists in their first season with the Mavericks. Rinderknecht has started every game and logged a team-best 1,607 minutes while anchoring the Omaha defense. Ibisevic has 15 starts and 1,314 minutes at forward.
Moulton Magic
Mark Moulton owns the program's career leader in points with 49 and assists with 21. Moulton tied a Summit League Tournament record with two assists a 3-1 victory over Eastern Illinois.
Moulton has played in 69 career games at Omaha, breaking the school record set by Logan Mendez (2011-15).
Going Against Ghitis
This season no other player in the Summit League has won more Summit League Defensive Player of the Week awards than Joseph Ghitis. The redshirt junior goalkeeper earned four weekly awards in 2016. Ghitis leads the league with a .770 save percentage and ranks in the top five in saves (27), goals against (17), goals-against average (1.01), wins (nine) and shutouts (six).
Weiler's Way
Jacob Weiler has appeared in 17 games this season and started 11. The redshirt junior has three points on a goal and an assist. Weiler was named Summit League Defensive Player of the Week as the leader 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.
Scoring in the Summit
The Maverick offense has been solid this season, especially in Summit League play. In its six league contests, UNO averaged 1.53 goals per game. Omaha has been an unselfish team, featuring seven players boasting a goal or an assist. Fazlo Alihodzic leads the team with his nine points on three goals and three assists during conference action. Additionally, Emmanuel Hamzat has six points on two goals and two assists.
Defensive Dominance
The Omaha defense has allowed 18 goals in 2016, second-fewest in the conference this season. The Mavericks have held their opponents to an average of just 11.5 shots per game, but UNO foes have managed to put only 38.6 percent of those tries on frame. The Omaha defense has allowed one opponent goal or fewer in 14 games this season and had six shutouts.
So Long Seniors
The match against Denver on Oct. 29 marked the final regular-season home game for Maverick seniors Fazlo Alihodzic, Lalo Gamboa, Jake McCain and Mark Moulton. The foursome has been part of 22 UNO victories and has helped the team to its first top-25 national ranking, a Summit League regular-season championship and its first conference tournament berth. Combined, they accumulated 215 games and have played over 15,000 minutes. The senior class has also combined for 24 goals and 40 assists.
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. Fifteen different Mavericks have had their hand in at least one of the team's goals thus far in 2016, either scoring a goal or assisting. A total of seven players have managed to tally 10 or more shots, and while Fazlo Alihodzic, Elvir Ibisevic and Emmanuel Hamzat have notched over 50 percent of the team's total shots (106), five of their teammates have added double-digit attempts to the team's total of 207.
This trend is an improvement from last year's squad which was also an unselfish bunch, as eight different players managed to post double-figure shots and 12 Mavericks tallied at least one goal or assist in 2015.
Moulton Named Candidate for 2016 Senior CLASS Award
Omaha senior men's soccer standout Mark Moulton was named one of 30 national finalists for the 2016 Senior CLASS Award.
A student-athlete must be a NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition to be eligible for the award.
RPI Power
In the latest edition of the 2016 Men's Soccer RPI, Omaha moved up to the No. 56 position, as announced by the NCAA. The Mavericks have already played Cal (52nd), Creighton (31st), UConn (39th), Stanford (6th) and Denver (12th).
On the Mark Nationally
As a team, Omaha ranks nationally in seven categories: assists per game (54th), points per game (54th), save percentage (55th), scoring offense (50th), shutout percentage (65th), team goals-against average (48th) and total assists (57th).
Fazlo Alihodzic ranks among the top 75 in six categories: assists per game (74th), game-winning goals (45th), goals per game (52nd), points per game (31st), total assists (50th), total goals (41st) and total points (27th).
Elvir Ibisevic is 45th nationally with three game-winning goals. Joseph Ghitis is 63rd nationally in goals-against average and save percentage.
League Leaders
As a team, the Mavericks are leading the Summit League in attendance and shot percentage (.140). UNO is second in assists (26), corner kicks (96) and shutouts (six).
Fazlo Alihodzic leads the league in points (24) and is tied for the lead in goals (nine) and is third in assists with six. Joseph Ghitis leads the league with a .770 save percentage and is second with six shutouts, nine wins, and a 1.01 goals-against average.
Home Sweet Home
Since opening Caniglia Field in 2013, the Mavericks have dominated the opposition, going a combined 20-5-4 and outscoring opponents 59-27. The Mavs have a record of 8-2-1 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.
Good for Two
Omaha is 8-0-1 this season when scoring two or more goals. The Mavericks have won their last 25 matches when scoring two or more goals dating back to a 3-2 overtime loss against Santa Clara on Aug. 29, 2014. Omaha has scored two goals or more 40 times in program history while going 32-6-2 in those matches.
Young Bulls
So far this season, seven of Omaha's eight freshmen have seen playing time. Seth Rinderknecht has started 118 games this season has six points on two goals and two assists. Rinderknecht leads the team with 1,607 minutes played.
Elvir Ibisevic has 11 points with four goals and three assists while starting 16 matches and has logged 1,314 minutes.
Defender Joel Kazhila made 17 appearances and 10 starts, while defender Joey McCain has 10 appearances and six starts. Midfielder Fred Frimpong has made two starts and appeared in 16 games, and midfielder Ethan Bowman has appeared in nine games. Goalkeeper Ugo Tritz has three games and one start under his belt.
Mavericks Remain in Regional Poll
The top five spots in the NSCAA-NCAA West Region Poll remain the same as last week. Omaha sits in fifth place in the weekly rankings after a 3-1 road win against Oral Roberts. Denver sits atop the regional poll and is ranked fourth nationally. The Pioneers are on a 35-match regular season unbeaten streak.
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-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 part of 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 was pick fourth, 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
Omaha's 2016 schedule included 17 regular-season matches, and the team played in five different states. Eight different conferences appeared 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 played 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)
