OMAHA, Neb. – For the first time in school history, the Omaha men's soccer team earned a Summit League Men's Soccer Tournament title and a berth in the NCAA Tournament. After a 1-1 draw, Omaha outlasted top-seeded Denver 9-8 in an 11-round shootout Saturday afternoon at Caniglia Field.
"Our guys were ready for the big moment on a big stage and delivered big time," head coach
Jason Mims said. "I am glad our guys got to experience this incredible feeling and being able to do it in Omaha. We look forward to continuing this journey and are excited to represent Omaha in the NCAA's."
Emmanuel Hamzat converted two penalty kicks in an 11-round shootout and was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament and a member of the All-Tournament team. Goalkeeper
Joseph Ghitis made three saves and converted a penalty kick in the shootout.
Omaha (10-5-3) earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The NCAA selection show will be at Noon CT Monday on NCAA.com.
Scott DeVoss' header gave Denver (11-6-2) the lead in the 26th minute off a set piece service from Jacob Stensson. Stensson served a ball into the penalty area where a Denver player put a header over Ghitis, and Devoss outmuscled a Maverick defender to finish the opportunity and put the Pioneers ahead 1-0.
The Mavericks trailed for 1:19 before
Xavier Gomez fired a penalty kick into the lower left corner to level the score 1-1. After beating a Denver defender into the penalty area, Hamzat was taken down by another Pioneer defender to earn the penalty kick.
Gomez nearly put Omaha ahead in the 75th minute, but his shot from the top of the box bounced off the crossbar. Less than a minute later, the Pioneers' Alex Underwood fired a shot from 25-yards out forcing Ghitis to make a diving save. Hamzat crushed a shot from inside the penalty area in the 78th minute forcing Denver's Nick Gardner to make a save.
The second session of overtime saw an early chance for Omaha on a shot from Hamzat that was saved by Gardner.
The best chance of overtime was in the 108th minute on a well-struck shot by Denver's Kenny Akamatsu. However, Ghitis made a diving fingertip save to keep UNO in the game and push the match into a shootout.
The shootout began with DU's Alex Underwood converting on his penalty kick attempt, while Omaha's Hamzat scored against Denver's backup goalkeeper Will Palmquist, who was brought in for the shootout, replacing Gardner.
Denver's Shae Smalley, Graham Smith and Jacob Stensson each scored their penalty kicks. Omaha's
Xavier Gomez,
Jacob Weiler and
Joseph Ghitis kept things level by making their shots.
Summit League Offensive Player of the Year Andre Shinyashiki had his shot stopped by Ghitis. Palmquist kept the Pioneers in the match by stopping Omaha's fifth shooter.
AJ Fuller and Kyle Morlack each hit their pk's for Denver, and Omaha answered with goals by
Diego Gutierrez and
Cole Nelson.
Ghitis then stopped Akamatsu's attempt to give the Mavericks another shot at the win. Palmquist again denied UNO's attempt.
Blake Elder and Ryan Barlow kept the pressure on Omaha by making their shots, but
Miguel Gomez and
Ethan Bowman each converted their chances.
Smith stepped up for his second chance in the shootout for the Pioneers, but this time Ghitis stopped his shot. Hamzat then blasted a shot just over the outstretched arms of Palmquist to give Omaha its first Summit League title and berth to the NCAA Tournament.
Inside the Box Score
• Denver outshot Omaha 11-10 on the day and held a 6-5 lead in shots on goal.
• A total of 39 fouls were called, and three yellow cards were issued.
• Omaha's
Xavier Gomez had a team-high four shots (two on frame), including his fifth goal of the season.
• Denver's Alex Underwood had a team-best four shots, including two on goal.
• The Omaha defense held
•
Joseph Ghitis played 110 minutes in goal and recorded five saves. Ghitis also stopped three shots in the shootout.
• Hamzat,
Fred Frimpong,
Joseph Ghitis and
Diego Gutierrez were named to the Summit League All-Tournament team.
In Their Own Words
Head coach Jason Mims on the play of the Omaha defense:
"Our center backs were outstanding today, and I think they dominated play.
Jacob Weiler and
Seth Rinderknecht held the conference offensive player of the year to no shots, and our pressure forced Denver into playing a lot of long balls into him which made it easy for us to defend."
What was said during the shootout after falling behind?
"For us to be down four different times in the shootout, and keep out composure and win shows how resilient our program is."
Mavericks News and Notes
• Omaha captures its first league tournament title in program history.
• It marked just the second time a title match was decided by penalty kicks and the longest match in league tournament history. The previous longest was a 7-6 shootout in the 2010 semifinals.
• Total tournament attendance of 1,483 sets new league tournament overall record.
• Omaha garners its first Division I NCAA Tournament team berth in program history.
