OMAHA, Neb. - After winning the Rio Grande Valley Invitational last weekend, the No. 17 Omaha men's soccer team opens a two-match homestand this weekend. The Mavericks will take on UC Riverside on Friday, Sept. 8 at 7:30 p.m. After that, Omaha faces off against the Bradley Braves on Sunday, Sept. 10 at 6 p.m.
Follow the Match
Links to live stats, audio and video are available on OMavs.com for both matches. Owen Godberson will handle the play-by-play on both games with Harrison Popp adding color commentary.
Maverick fans can also stay updated through the Omaha men's soccer Twitter feed:
Twitter.com/OmahaMSOC.
Scouting Omaha
Last week, the Mavericks went 2-0-0, taking down Houston Baptist and UTRGV in a pair of 1-0 shutout victories.
Elvir Ibisevic's goal against Houston Baptist, his second game-winner and team-high fourth goal of the season, gave Omaha its first-ever win over the Huskies.
Emmanuel Hamzat matched Ibisevic with his second game-winner of the year against UTRGV, which also gave him three goals on the year. For Hamzat, that goal put him fifth all-time in Maverick history in goals scored.
Nine different Mavericks own assists for Omaha with
Miguel Gomez leading the way with three.
Stevie Siy and
Ethan Bowman each have two assists.
Joseph Ghitis is 4-0-0 in goal with a 0.51 goals-against average and a .846 save percentage. He owns 11 saves and two shutouts in his four starts.
Scouting UC Riverside
- The UC Riverside Highlanders enter Friday's match with a 0-3-0 (0-0-0 Big West) overall record.
- Ricardo Ruiz and Edward Benito have scored goals this season for the Highlanders. Anthony Lopez has both assists this year.
- In goal, Vincent Morales is 0-3-0 with a 2.00 goals-against average and a .625 save percentage. He has made 10 saves on the season.
History vs. UC Riverside
Friday is the second all-time meeting between Omaha and UC Riverside. The Highlanders defeated the Mavericks 1-0 in Riverside, Calif., in 2012.
Scouting Bradley
- Bradley enters the weekend with a 2-2-0 (0-0-0 MVC) overall mark. The Braves topped Aurora 3-0 Wednesday evening, and play Incarnate Word on Friday.
- Roman Schindler and Matt Perry each have two goals this season for the Braves. Schindler is the team leader with five points.
- In goal, Brandon Barnes is 2-2-0 with a 1.19 goals-against average, and a .792 save percentage. He has made 19 saves on the season with one shutout.
History vs. Bradley
Sunday is the fifth all-time meeting between Omaha and Bradley. The Mavericks defeated the Braves 4-0 last season in Peoria, Ill.
The Polls
Omaha moved up in all four major polls this week. The Mavericks are No. 11 according to Top Drawer Soccer, No. 16 according to College Soccer News and No. 17 according to Soccer America and the United Soccer Coaches.
The rankings from all four polls are the highest in program history.
Ibisevic Repeats as Player of the Week
Elvir Ibisevic was named Summit League Offensive Player of the Week for his performance the week of Aug. 28-Sept. 3.
Ibisevic collected the second offensive player-of-the-week honor of his career after scoring the game-winning goal in a 1-0 victory vs. Houston Baptist at the UTRGV Invitational.
Caniglia Dominance
Since opening Caniglia Field in 2013, the Mavericks have dominated the opposition, going a combined 22-5-4 and outscoring opponents 66-29. The Mavericks have a record of 8-2-1 in Summit League action (2013-16) at Caniglia Field. Since the inception of the program, UNO has a 28-13-5 home mark and has outscored opponents 87-54.
Welcome Back
The Mavericks return 18 letterwinners to the program for the 2017 season, including seven starters for the 2016 Summit League regular-season champions.
Of the 87 points tallied as a team last season, the Omaha offense returns 50 of those points. Offensively last season,
Emmanuel Hamzat tallied 14 points on six goals and two assists.
Elvir Ibisevic had 11 points on four goals and three assists, while
Seth Rinderknecht added two goals and two assists.
In the net,
Joseph Ghitis returns for his senior season. Along with Ghitis,
Ugo Tritz is back for his sophomore season. Last year, Ghitis went 9-4-4, recorded six shutouts, posted a goals-against average of 1.06 and tallied 62 saves. Tritz went 1-1 with a 0.50 goals-against average.
The Newcomers
The Mavericks welcomed 11 newcomers in freshmen
Oliver Bihuniak,
Miguel Gomez,
Ed Gordon,
Diego Gutierrez,
Connor Jokerst,
Tim Kaftan, Stephen Siy and
Matt Smith and transfers
Brahan Gamarra,
Gonzalo Ledesma and
Billy Hoffmann.
Oh Captains, My Captains
Cole Nelson and
Jacob Weiler have been named the captains of the 2017 Omaha men's soccer team.
Weiler has played in 28 matches, which includes 19 starts, scored two goals and added two assists.
Nelson has played in 37 games, which includes 27 starts, netted one goal and one assist.
Looking Forward
Omaha returns to the road next weekend traveling to Orem, Utah for a pair of games. The Mavericks play a neutral site game against Northern Illinois on Friday, Sept. 15 before playing Utah Valley on Sunday, Sept. 17.
