OMAHA, Neb. – The Omaha men's soccer team opens the 2016 regular season with two matches this weekend. The Mavericks start the season on Friday with a 6 p.m. contest against San Francisco at Caniglia Field and play at UConn on Sunday at 6 p.m. (CT).
About Omaha (0-0-0, 0-0-0 Summit League)
Omaha returns eight starters and 13 lettermen from last year's team, which advanced to the Summit League semifinals. The Mavericks were picked to finish second in the Summit League this season.
Senior midfielder Mark Moulton returns after leading the Mavericks in scoring last year with seven goals, six assists and 20 points. The Omaha native earned First Team All-Summit honors and finished second in the conference in goals, assists and points.
Senior Fazlo Alihodzic earned Second Team All-Summit League honors in 2015. Alihodzic had two goals, two assists and four points last season.
Sophomore Noor Hamadi closed last season with three goals, two assists and eight points.
As an offense, Omaha returns five players who contributed at least one goal or assist in 2015.
Senior Jake McCain, junior Michael Jaime and sophomore Denzel Woods all return on defense in 2016. Jaime had three points last season on a goal and an assist appearing in all 18 games last season including 16 starts.
Junior Joseph Ghitis returns in goal for the Mavericks. Last year, Ghitis appeared in 10 games and had a 4-4-2 record with two shutouts and a 0.90 goals-against average.
The UNO defense was one of the best in the Summit League last season, allowing just 22 goals and boasting a 1.14 goals-against average, the second-lowest in program history.
With the loss of three starters, Omaha welcomed in 11 newcomers for the 2016 season, including freshmen Elvir Ibisevic and Seth Rinderknecht.
Scouting the Dons (0-0-0, 0-0-0 West Coast Conference)
San Francisco ended last season with a 6-11-1 record, including a 4-2-1 record in the West Coast Conference.
This year the Dons have been picked to finish in a tie for second place. Seniors Davi Ramos and David Garrett were selected to the preseason All-WCC team. Ramos, a midfielder, was a Second Team All-WCC selection last season after scoring three goals with a pair of assists.
Another player to watch out for is senior forward David Garrett. Garrett led the Dons last season with seven goals leading him to a First Team All-WCC selection.
Keeping Up with Huskies (0-0-0, 0-0-0 AAC)
Connecticut ended last season with a 10-6-6 record, falling at Indiana in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. This year the Huskies have been picked to finish third in the American Athletic Conference.
Senior Jake Nerwinski has been named as AAC's Defensive Player of the Year. Nerwinksi is joined by Kwame Awuah, Simen Olafsen, and Abdou Mbacke Thiam on the all-conference preseason team.
Up Next
Omaha will host Drake on Friday, Sept. 2. The match is set to begin at 7:30 p.m.
