OMAHA, Neb. - For the second straight year, the Omaha men's soccer team returns to the Summit League men's soccer championship game. The third-seeded Mavericks host Denver for a 2 p.m. start at Caniglia Field.
Scouting Omaha
Omaha defeated Western Illinois 2-0 in Thursday's semifinal. Sophomore
Fred Frimpong scored both goals, and
Joseph Ghitis made three saves for his fifth shutout this season.
The Mavericks enter Saturday's match with an overall mark of 10-5-2.
Elvir Ibisevic leads the team with 19 points on the year (9g, 1a).
Xavier Gomez has 16 points (4g, 8a), while
Emmanuel Hamzat is next with 16 points (7g, 2a). Fifteen different Mavericks have earned at least one point this season.
The UNO defense is limiting opponents to less than a goal per game (0.80).
Joseph Ghitis is 8-5-2 with a 0.90 goals-against average and five shutouts in 2017. Ghitis has been named Summit League Defensive Player of the Week twice this fall and earned Second Team All-League honors.
Ugo Tritz is 2-0-0 with a 0.00 goals-against average and two shutouts.
Scouting Denver
The Pioneers advanced to Saturday's finals with a 1-0 win over Eastern Illinois in the semifinals. Blake Elder scored the game's lone goal in the first half, and the DU defense notched its eighth shutout of the season.
Andre Shinyashiki led the Summit League with 22 points from nine goals and four assists this season. Graham Smith added 10 points on three goals and four assists. Ryan Barlow and Alex Underwood each have three goals on the season.
Denver limits the opposition to less than a goal a game (0.70 gaa). Nick Gardner is 11-6 on the year with seven shutouts. Gardner has a 0.75 goals-against average and a .698 save percentage.
Omaha vs. Denver
Denver leads the all-time series 1-4-. The Pioneers stopped Omaha 2-1 in overtime earlier this season on a Graham Smith penalty kick. The Mavericks are 0-3-1 in the last four meetings with the Pioneers.
Last Time Out
Fred Frimpong scored two goals, and
Joseph Ghitis made three saves to help the third-seeded Omaha upset second-seeded Western Illinois 2-0, in the Summit League Men's Soccer Championship Semifinals on Thursday evening at Caniglia Field.
The Mavericks jumped out to a 1-0 advantage in the 13th minute after
Emmanuel Hamzat beat a pair of defenders down the right side and placed a pass directly in front of Frimpong who touched the ball into the back of the net from the top of the six-yard box.
UNO increased its lead to 2-0 in the 61st minute after Frimpong corralled a pass from
Diego Gutierrez and sprinted down the right side. After beating a defender at the top of the box, Frimpong slipped a shot between the legs of the Western Illinois goalkeeper for the score.
Frimpong's goals were the first of his collegiate career. Omaha outshot Western Illinois 16-10 and held a 6-3 advantage in shots on goal. Gutierrez had a game-high four shots (one on frame) and had an assist. Ghitis played the full 90 minutes and collected three saves in the shutout victory.
Summit League Tournament
Denver earned the No. 1 seed for the upcoming Summit League Men's Soccer Championship after going undefeated in Summit League play during the regular season. Omaha, Eastern Illinois and Western Illinois join DU in the tournament field for the second straight season.
In Thursday's first match top-seeded Denver defeated No. 4 Eastern Illinois 1-0. In the day's second game, No. 3 Omaha upset second-seeded Western Illinois, 2-0.
Omaha and Denver will play in Saturday's championship contest at 2 p.m. CT with the victor earning an automatic bid to the NCAA College Cup.
Mavericks Dominate All-League Selections
Eleven Omaha players were named to the 2017 All-Summit League Men's Soccer Teams; the conference office announced Wednesday evening.
The first team included five Mavericks: senior midfielder
Xavier Gomez, senior forward
Emmanuel Hamzat, sophomore forward
Elvir Ibisevic, sophomore defender
Seth Rinderknecht and senior defender
Jacob Weiler. Two more UNO players were named to the second team: senior goalkeeper
Joseph Ghitis and junior midfielder
Cole Nelson. Four additional Mavericks were placed on the all-newcomer team: senior midfielder
Brahan Gamarra, freshman midfielder
Miguel Gomez, freshman midfielder
Diego Gutierrez and freshman defender
Stevie Siy.
Omaha had five repeat all-conference picks in Ghitis, Hamzat, Ibisevic, Rinderknecht and Weiler. Ghitis, Hamzat, Ibisevic and Rinderknecht were previously first-team selections in 2016, while Weiler was a second-team honoree.
Gomez, who started 14 games this season, led the Summit League with eight assists and tied for third in points (16). He was named Summit League Offensive Player of the Week on Nov. 6.
Hamzat appeared in 16 games with 12 starts this season. His seven goals were third in the league and fifth in points (15).
Ibisevic led the Mavericks in points, goals, shots and game-winning goals in 2017. He tied for the league lead in goals and finished second in points. Ibisevic was a two-time league offensive player of the week and was named National Player of the Week on Aug. 29.
Rinderknecht, who started 14 games, anchored a Maverick defense that allowed only three goals in league play this season. The sophomore was named Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 18.
Weiler, who started 13 games, led an Omaha defensive unit that had a 0.55 goals-against average and three shutouts in conference action.
Mavericks in the Summit League Tournament
Omaha has two previous tournament appearances coming in 2015 and 2016. The Mavericks are 2-2 in their two appearances. Last year, Omaha earned the No. 1 seed and defeated No. 4-seed Eastern Illinois 3-1 before falling to No. 2-seed Denver 2-1.
7-1 To Start the Season
Omaha opened the 2017 season 6-0, which was the best start in program history. The Mavericks opened the regular season with a 2-1 come-from-behind overtime victory over Grand Canyon, and a 5-1 drubbing of then-No. 17 Virginia Tech. UNO then went 380 minutes without giving up a goal with three-straight 1-0 wins (Houston Baptist, UTRGV, UC Riverside) and a 2-1 win against Bradley. The Mavericks' streak came to an end in Orem, Utah, where Northern Illinois snuck by Omaha 2-1. UNO rebounded two days later with a 3-1 win over Utah Valley. During the hot start, Omaha ascended to No. 10 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll, which is the highest ranking in program history.
Sending the Seniors Out in Style
Last Saturday's match marked the final regular-season home game for Maverick seniors
Ray Barajas,
Brahan Gamarra,
Joseph Ghitis,
Xavier Gomez,
Emmanuel Hamzat,
Michael Jaime and
Jacob Weiler. These seven seniors were a part of 38 UNO victories since 2014 and helped their team win a pair of regular season Summit League titles. Combined, these seven accumulated 197 starts and played in over 18,500 minutes in the Crimson and Black. This senior class combined for 23 goals, 11 assists and 15 shutouts. The Mavericks' record on Senior Day matches is 4-0-1, and UNO is unbeaten in five-straight regular-season home finales.
This and That
• Omaha played Creighton in front of a program-high 4,986 fans at Caniglia Field on Sept. 26.
• Through 17 games this season, UNO has started 19 different players. Four different Mavericks have played over 1,300 minutes in defender
Seth Rinderknecht, goalkeeper
Joseph Ghitis and midfielders
Xavier Gomez and
Cole Nelson.
Elvir Ibisevic and
Jacob Weiler each have played over 1,150 minutes.
• Nine players have made their Omaha debuts this year, highlighted by
Diego Gutierrez,
Stevie Siy and
Miguel Gomez combing for 29 starts, two goals and eight assists.
• Outscoring teams 26-14 on the season thus far, Omaha has only allowed four first-half goals and has surrendered 174 shots (65 on frame). UNO is 2-2-1 when it concedes the first goal and 8-3 when scoring first.
