OMAHA, Neb. – Fazlo Alihodzic had a goal and two assists helping the Omaha men's soccer team beat Drake, 3-0.
Omaha, 2-0 at home, improved to 2-1-0 overall while Drake fell to 1-2-0.
The Mavericks wasted little time in scoring their first goal of the game. Seth Rinderknecht out jumped two Drake defenders and headed home Alihodzic's corner kick in the second minute of the game.
Unable to muster a shot in the first half, the Bulldogs pieced together an early flurry out of halftime. A shot from Nic James from inside the 18-yard box was saved by Omaha keeper Joseph Ghitis to keep the clean sheet.
Midway through the second half, Alihodzic intercepted a pass in the Bulldog's defensive third. He was able to evade a defender and slip his shot under the goalkeeper for a 2-0 Omaha advantage in the 68th minute.
In the closing moments of the game, Alihodzic and Elvir Ibisevic worked to set up the game's final score. Ibisevic found an unmarked Alihodzic just outside the penalty area. Alihodzic directed a pass through the middle of the penalty area to Emmanuel Hamzat who buried a shot from 12-yards out for a 3-0 Maverick lead.
Omaha and Drake each had seven shots with Omaha holding a 4-3 advantage in shots on goal. Each team has six corner kicks.
Alihodzic and Hamzat each had a team-best two shots. Ghitis logged all 90 minutes in goal, picked up two saves and a shutout.
Omaha will return to action on Monday, Sept. 5 at Creighton. Game time is set for 7 p.m. at Morrison Stadium.
Scoring Summary
Drake 0 0 - 0
Omaha 1 2 - 3
Individual Scoring
Seth Rinderknecht (Omaha) at 1:56 (Fazlo Alihodzic)
Fazlo Alihodzic (Omaha) at 67:59 (unassisted)
Emmanuel Hamzat (Omaha) at 89:42 (Elvir Ibisevic, Fazlo Alihodzic)
Goalkeeper Saves
Darrin MacLeod (Drake) – 1
Joseph Ghitis (Omaha) – 2
