OMAHA, Neb. – The Omaha women's soccer team makes its Summit League Women's Soccer Championship debut this week, Nov. 1-3, at Fishback Soccer Complex in Brookings, S.D. The fourth-seeded Mavericks open the tournament against top-seeded South Dakota State on Thursday, Nov. 1 at 3 p.m., and links to live stats, video and radio will be available on OMavs.com.
First Touches
• Omaha capped the 2018 regular season by defeating Western Illinois 2-1 at Caniglia Field.
• With the win, the Mavericks secured the first Summit League Tournament berth in the Division I era.
• Freshman
Kiana Dualan scored both goals for the Mavericks
• Sophomore
Andrea Daves has a pair of assists.
• Freshman
Hannah Heinemann also had an assist.
• Junior
Erin Bunker made four saves to improve her season record to 6-4-1.
• The Mavericks return 14 letterwinners and eight starters from last year's squad that finished 6-10-1. Omaha notched a fifth-place finish in the Summit League with a 3-4 record.
• Head coach
Tim Walters is in his second season at the helm of the Maverick women's soccer program.
Getting to Know the Omaha Mavericks
Omaha enters the Summit League Women's Soccer Championship winners of two straight and are 4-1-1 in its last six matches. The Mavericks finished the regular season with a 7-10-2 overall record and a 4-3-1 mark in The Summit League. UNO finished in fourth place in the final league standings.
Sophomore
Bailey Cascio is the team-leader in points (11) and goals (4).
Andrea Daves leads the team with six assists. Senior
Emily Romero adds seven points on three goals and an assist, while
Kiana Dualan is next with five points on two goals and an assist.
Erin Bunker and freshman
Ina Gudjonsdottir have split time in goal this season. Bunker has appeared in 12 matches with 11 starts. She has a 6-5-1 record and four shutouts with a 1.19 goals-against average and a .772 save percentage. Gudjonsdottir has appeared in nine matches with eight starts. She is 1-5-1 and a shutout.
Tim Walters is in his second season as head coach of the Mavericks, posting an 12-19-3 mark. Assistant coach
Kelly Farrell, volunteer assistant
Nick Miller and graduate assistant
Ava Doetsch round out the Omaha staff.
Getting to Know the South Dakota State Jackrabbits
• South Dakota State finished the regular season with a 12-5-1 overall record and a 7-1 Summit League mark.
• SDSU tied for the regular season title and claimed the tournament's top seed after claiming the tiebreaker with Denver.
• This is the second consecutive season the Jackrabbits have claimed the regular season crown. They also were tournament champions three consecutive year (2014-16).
• South Dakota State is 8-2 in matches played at the Fishback Soccer Complex this season.
• The Jackrabbits are 7-1 in their last eight matches.
• SDSU is outscoring (25-11) and outshooting (284-189) its opponents this season.
• Head coach Brock Thompson is in his second season leading South Dakota State with a 23-10-4 record and is the reigning Summit League Coach of the Year. Thompson's career record is 80-54-4 with stops at Mary and North Dakota.
Tracking the Jackrabbits
• No. 11 Leah Manuleleua (F, Jr.) leads SDSU in points (13) and is tied for the lead in goals (five)
• No. 20 Karlee Manding (MF, Fr.) is tied for the team lead in goals (five) and is second in points (12).
• No. 7 Carina McLennan (MF, Jr.) is the team leader with five assists.
• No. 1 Maggie Smither (GK, Jr.) has started all 18 matches and is 12-5-1 on the season with 10 shutouts. Smither has an 0.60 goals-against average and a .875 save percentage.
Series Facts
Omaha and South Dakota State are meeting for the second time this season and for the 13th time overall. UNO leads the all-time series 6-5-1, but SDSU leads in the Division I era 5-2. Earlier this season, the Jackrabbits scored with 12 seconds left in regulation to defeat the Mavericks 1-0 in Brookings, S.D.
Connect with the Mavericks on Social Media
Fans are encouraged to connect with the Mavericks on Facebook (OmahaWSOC), Instagram (@OmahaWSOC) and Twitter (@OmahaWSOC). They are also encouraged to use #EveryoneForOmaha in social media posts.
