OMAHA, Neb. – Emmanuel Hamzat broke a scoreless tie in the 87th minute with his second goal of the season to give the Omaha men's soccer team a 1-0 victory over Air Force on Friday at Caniglia Field.
With under four minutes remaining in play, Jacob Weiler lofted a pass into the offensive third to a waiting Elvir Ibisevic. Ibisevic flicked a header to Hamzat who was able to control the pass. Hamzat outmuscled his defender outside the 18-yard box and poked his shot past Air Force goalkeeper, John Wendt.
The Mavericks improve to 3-3-3 overall, while the Falcons are now 5-3.
Out of the gate, Air Force was the more aggressive team, forcing Joseph Ghitis to make a save in the seventh minute of play. Maverick midfielder Lalo Gamboa cleared Ryan Ward's shot off the line to keep the game scoreless. The defense stood firm in the 40th minute blocking another Falcon shot heading toward the goal.
The two sides entered the locker room at half tied 0-0 with Air Force holding a 6-4 advantage in shots.
Omaha's first true scoring opportunity came 15 minutes into the second half. Fazlo Alihodzic found an opening in the Falcon's defense and put a shot on goal that was saved by Wendt. Less than five minutes later, Gamboa hit a right-footed shot that glanced off the right post.
Before Hamzat was able to notch the game-winner, Omaha came close to getting on the board in the 80th minute. Mark Moulton beat his defender on the far side as he worked his way into the 18-yard box, but Wendt was able to position himself to smother the shot and keep the game scoreless.
Ghitis got the win in goal for Omaha by playing the full 90 minutes and recording four saves. Ibisevic had six shots, while Alihodzic and Hamzat added two to help Omaha outshoot Air Force, 15-10 in the game.
The Mavericks open Summit League play on Saturday, Oct. 1, welcoming IUPUI to Caniglia Field at 7 p.m. Links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com.
Maverick Notes
- Omaha is now 18-4-3 at Caniglia Field since 2013.
- The Mavericks have outscored their opponents 54-25 over that span.
- Emmanuel Hamzat scored his second goal of the season.
- Jacob Weiler picked up his first collegiate point with the assist to Hamzat.
- Ray Barajas made his first start as a Maverick.
- Joey McCain made his collegiate début for Omaha playing 64 minutes.
