MIAMI – The Omaha men's soccer team fell to No. 13 Florida International 2-0 in the first round of the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship on Thursday evening at the FIU Soccer Stadium.

The Mavericks finish their season as the Summit League post-season champions with a record of 10-6-3.  With the win, the Panthers improve to 12-1-4 on the season.

Florida International put in two first-half goals to put the pressure on Omaha for the remainder of the match.  In the first minute, the Panthers scored the first goal of the evening on a header by Deshawon Nembhard.  Following a UNO foul just outside the penalty area, Paul Marie lofted a free kick into the box where Nembhard placed his header past a diving Joseph Ghitis.

Jordan Machado scored midway through the half in the 26th minute to give the Panthers a 2-0 led that would withstand the Omaha attack until the halftime whistle.

The Mavericks attack sped up in the final 45 minutes as UNO outshot its opponent 9-3 during the span.  Omaha had multiple opportunities to cut into the lead after a shot in the 59th minute started a stretch where the Mavericks had four shots on frame in a three-minute span.

Cole Nelson blasted a shot from 20-yards out that reserve goalkeeper Daniel Gagliardi could not handle.  The ball bounced off Gagliardi's hands to Elvir Ibisevic who took a shot that the FIU keeper deflected away from the goal.  Xavier Gomez then tried to sneak a shot into the near post that a Panther defender cleared off the line.  Ibisevic had another chance turned away by the keeper in the 62nd minute.
 
In the final eight minutes, the Mavericks had two shots and three corner kicks but were unable to crack the Panthers' defense.  Denzel Woods looked to cut the lead in half with a shot from within the six-yard box, but a last second touch from Gagliardi denied the chance.  UNO had two straight corner kicks and another header from Woods that was cleared away to preserve the 2-0 lead.

Omaha's historic season under seventh-year head coach Jason Mims comes to an end after achieving a number of firsts.  The team qualified for its first NCAA Championship and hosted the first Summit League Championship Tournament at Caniglia Field in program history.  Omaha also claimed its first conference postseason title.  The Mavericks knocked off a Top 20 team and achieved its first-ever Top 10 national ranking.

Inside the Box Score
•    Omaha out shot Florida International 13-6 and held a 7-3 advantage in shots on goal.
•    UNO held a 9-1 lead in corner kicks.
•    There were a total of 33 fouls and five yellow cards issued in the match.  Omaha was called for 15 fouls and one yellow, while FIU was called for 18 fouls and received four yellow cards.
•    Joseph Ghitis played the full 90 minutes in goal and recorded one save.
•    Xavier Gomez had a game-high three shots.
•    Denzel Woods and Elvir Ibisevic each had two shots on goal.

Maverick Notes
•    Seniors Brahan Gamarra, Joseph Ghitis, Xavier Gomez, Emmanuel Hamzat and Jacob Weiler all played in their final game in an Omaha uniform.
•    The two-goal loss was the largest margin of defeat for the Mavericks in 2017.
•    The 2017 season was the third time UNO had won 10 games in a year.
•    The Omaha defense held the nation's leading scorer Santiago Patino without a shot on Thursday.

In Their Words
Head coach Jason Mims on the Omaha fans in attendance tonight:
"I want to thank all of the Omaha support we had at the game tonight.  It was incredible to see close to 100 of our fans make the trip to Miami to root us on."

Mims on his team's performance:
"The boys played incredibly well, and on a different night, I believe we end up scoring 3-4 goals.  
We created enough chances to win the game tonight and were disappointed not to score."

Mims on the Mavericks' season coming to an end:
"It's always difficult to end a season, but our boys have a lot to be proud of this fall.  I want to thank the seniors for their dedication, commitment, and time they have invested in our program, and we will miss them dearly.  However, the future is bright in Omaha as a new bar has been set and winning conference championships and going to the NCAA tournament will be a standard."

On what the future of Omaha soccer looks like: 
"Our future is bright because of our seniors.  The seniors put in the groundwork. The future is very bright.  At one point tonight, we had four or five freshman and sophomores on the field.  There were a lot of underclassmen playing in an NCAA tournament, and it is an excellent experience.  

Junior Midfielder Cole Nelson on FIU's Goal in the first minute: 
"Honestly, I think we've never really given up an early goal. I don't think it was a shock, just unfortunate. I thought that we responded and put pressure on them."
  
Senior Defender Jacob Weiler on what does he want his Omaha fans to remember him by: 
"I don't necessarily want people to remember me, as much as what [the team] did this year.  I love these guys and what we accomplished this year. I'm happy I was a part of it. We were able to come down to Miami and play an NCAA tournament game. I hope that all the freshmen and sophomores will embrace this experience."