EDINBURG, Texas – Senior Emmanuel Hamzat's sixth-minute goal was all the Omaha men's soccer team would need as the Mavericks pitched their second shutout of the season in a 1-0 win at UTRGV Sunday evening.
With the win, the Mavericks improve to 4-0 (0-0 Summit League) overall, while the Vaqueros drop to 0-1-1 on the season.
Hamzat broke the ice at the 5:13 mark as sophomore Ethan Bowman and senior Xavier Gomez connected on passes down the right side. Bowman found Hamzat in the box, who finished with a perfect shot into the right side of the net for his third goal of the season.
Omaha did not allow UTRGV to get a shot off in the first half and took a 1-0 lead into halftime.
The Mavericks controlled play throughout the majority of the second half and did not allow a shot until early in the second half. Joseph Ghitis stopped a chance by Juanito Ramirez in the 58th minute, and then stopped a point-blank shot in the waning moments of the match to keep UTRGV off the scoreboard.
Inside the Box Score
• UTRGV outshot Omaha 10-3 in the match. Both teams had two shots on goal.
• Joseph Ghitis played all 90 minutes for UNO and recorded two saves.
• Emmanuel Hamzat and Elvir Ibisevic each had one shot on goal.
• Between the two teams, there were 27 fouls. UTRGV was issued four yellow cards, while Omaha received two.
• Ghitis, Ibisevic, Stevie Siy and Denzel Woods were named to the all-tournament team with Ghits earning Defensive MVP honors and Ibisevic taking home Offensive MVP accolades.
News and Notes
• The Omaha defense has not allowed a goal in 212:51 minutes.
• Joseph Ghitis has 22 shutouts for his career, the most by any Omaha goalkeeper.
• The goal by Emmanuel Hamzat was the ninth of his career. He is now fifth all-time in goals scored.
Up Next
The Mavericks return home on Friday, Sept. 8 against UC Riverside. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at Caniglia Field. Links to audio, live stream and stats can be found on OMavs.com.
