DENVER, Colo. – A goal in the 70th minute was all the Omaha men's soccer team needed, as the second-seeded Mavericks defeated third-seeded Purdue Fort Wayne, 1-0, on Thursday in The Summit League Championship semifinal at the University of Denver Soccer Field.

The Mavericks will meet top-seeded and No. 9-ranked Denver in the Summit League Championship final Saturday, Nov. 10, at 4 p.m. (CT).  The Pioneers advanced to the championship after defeating fourth-seeded Eastern Illinois, 1-0, in the day's first semifinal match.

Sophomore forward Diego Gutierrez jump-started the scoring play.  Following a corner kick that rebounded back to Gutierrez, he sent in a cross to Hugo Ellouk.  The French native then one-timed a volley on frame where forward Noor Hamadi headed past Mastodon goalkeeper Tor Erik Larsen for the game-winner.

With the win, the Mavericks improved to 7-7-1 on the season, while the Mastodons finish at 10-8-1 overall.

In Their Words
Head coach Bob Warming on his team's performance:
"I'm so proud of our guys because they stuck together, kept playing hard, kept improving and now we are just one win away from a conference championship."

On the team's play after halftime:
"We had nine new guys that didn't play last year. I said fellas; you have to enjoy this, you're controlling the game, you've got the ball. When you lose it, fight to get it back. We were too frustrated, and I thought we flowed a lot better I the second half, and it was fun."

Inside the Box Score
•    Purdue Fort Wayne finished with a 10-6 edge in shots, but Omaha led 5-4 in shots on goal.
•    The Mavericks had a 7-4 advantage in corner kicks.
•    Hamadi's goal was his first of the season and seventh of his career.
•    Ellouk picked up his second assist of the season, while Gutierrez earned his seventh.
•    Ugo Tritz made three saves in 90 minutes and improved to 7-3-1 with five shutouts.
•    There were a total of 22 fouls called in tonight's match.

News and Notes
•    The championship final's trip is Omaha's third straight and third against Denver.  The Mavericks and the Pioneers have split the first two match-ups.
•    Omaha won its first postseason championship last season in an 11 round shootout at Caniglia Field.
•    Gutierrez has scored or assisted on a goal in eight of the Mavericks 14 matches.