OMAHA, Neb. – The Omaha women's soccer team won its first-ever Summit League Championship match, with a 3-1 victory over top-seeded South Dakota State, on Thursday at the Fishback Soccer Complex in Brookings, S.D.
The Mavericks advance to the Summit League Championship final against second-seeded Denver on Saturday at noon. Links to live stats, video and radio are available on OMavs.com. The winner will receive the Summit League's automatic berth into the NCAA Women's Soccer Championship.
Keeping up with the Mavericks
All tournament games will be broadcast through the Summit League's championship site. Jon Hiatt will handle play-by-play duties with Mekonnen Afa on color commentary. MavRadio will also provide a radio broadcast of the match on MavRadio.fm with Owen Godberson and Harrison Popp on the call.
Linking to Omaha
Links to live stream, stats and radio are available on OMavs.com.
First Touches
• No. 4-seed Omaha upset top-seed South Dakota State, 3-1, in the Summit League Women's Soccer Championship semifinal on Thursday.
• Sophomore
Bailey Cascio recorded the third hat trick in Summit League Tournament history.
• Senior
Emily Romero, junior
Taylor Gelling and freshmen Katie Guhl and
Brylie Meyers each had an assist.
• Junior
Erin Bunker made four saves to improve her season record to 7-5-1.
• With the win, UNO secured its first Summit League Tournament victory in the Division I era.
• The Mavericks won their first postseason match since 2007 when they defeated Minnesota State-Mankato 2-0 in the NCAA Division II Tournament.
• 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 Saturday's match on a three-match winning streak and are 5-1-1 in its last seven matches. The Mavericks are 8-10-2 overall and finished fourth in the Summit League with a 4-3-1 mark.
Sophomore
Bailey Cascio is the team-leader in points (17) and goals (seven).
Andrea Daves leads the team with six assists. Senior
Emily Romero adds eight points on three goals and two assists, while
Kiana Dualan is next with six points on two goals and two assists.
Erin Bunker and freshman
Ina Gudjonsdottir have split time in goal this season. Bunker has appeared in 13 matches with 12 starts. She has a 7-5-1 record and four shutouts with a 1.18 goals-against average and a .774 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 a 13-19-3 mark. Assistant coach
Kelly Farrell, volunteer assistant
Nick Miller and graduate assistant
Ava Doetsch round out the Omaha staff.
Getting to Know the Denver Pioneers
• Denver enters Saturday's match on a five-match winning streak and are 9-1 in its last 10 matches.
• The Pioneers are 12-5-2 season and finished as Summit League Co-Champions with a 7-1 league mark.
• Denver won the Summit League Tournament last season and claimed a share of the 2016 regular-season crown.
• The Pioneers had four first-team and four second-team All-Summit League selections this season.
• DU is outscoring (34-14) and outshooting (288-185) its opponents this season.
• Head coach Jeff Hooker is in his 26th year at the helm of the Pioneer program with a career mark of 339-140-45. Hooker earned this season's Summit League Coach of the Year honor.
Tracking the Pioneers
• No. 19 Hannah Adler (Jr., MF) – First-Team All-League selection…19 points on six goals and seven assists.
• No. 18 Samantha Feller (Fr., F) – Summit League Freshman of the Year…First-Team All-League selection...team-leader with 20 points and nine goals.
• No. 21 Meg Halvorson (So., MF) – First-Team All-League selection…16 points on six goals and four assists.
• No. 6 Cheyenne Shorts (Jr., D) – First-Team All-League selection…19 starts with two assists.
• No. 1 Brittany Wilson (Jr., GK) – has played every minute this season for DU with a 12-5-2 mark with a 0.70 goals-against average and a .835 save percentage.
Series Facts
Omaha and Denver are meeting for the second time this season and for the seventh time overall. DU leads the all-time series 5-1. Earlier this season, the Pioneers defeated the Mavericks 3-1 in Denver, Colo.
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.
