Tulsa, Okla. -- For the first time since 2017 the Omaha Mavericks have been crowned the Summit League Tournament Champions. The Mavericks defeated the Kansas City Roos 2-0 in Saturday afternoon's match. Omaha finished the tournament not having a single goal against.
The Mavericks improve to a 8-7-4 overall record on the season.
All-Tournament Team
Naz Astwood, Omaha
Robin Balters, Kansas City
Thore Boehm, Omaha
Mael Caisson, Kansas City
Luis Flores, Oral Roberts
Carson Lindsey, Kansas City
Oje Ofunrein, Denver
Aidan O'Toole, Denver
Mathis Pilon St-Louis, Omaha
Joel Quashie, Oral Roberts
Nathanael Sallah, Omaha (Championship MVP)
How It Happened
• The Mavericks wasted no time asserting themselves into the action today. Just 25 seconds into the match,
Sokol Ymeraj got a shot on net, that was just inches from going in, but bounced off the post.
•
Nathanael Sallah had his first big save of the night at the 19:25 mark, saving the ball from sneaking in the bottom right corner.
• In the 25th minute
Martin Lago was playing the ball in the box, and got fouled by KC's Carson Lindsey, resulting in a penalty kick.
• None other than
Theo Klein set up for the kick. The king of PKs did it once again, recording his sixth PK of the season.
• With a good kick, the Mavericks were up 1-0 early in the match. Despite the lead, the Mavericks knew they had to stay focused defensively, as it was only a one goal lead with 65 minutes remaining.
• Sallah made another huge save from a shot up the middle in the 30th minute to contain the one-goal lead.
• KC would get one final shot off in the first, until the clock ran to 45 minutes and the Mavericks went to the locker room up 1-0.
• The Roos came into the second half, looking for an equalizer. 45 seconds into the second, Sallah would make another save, once again keeping them scoreless.
• Starting at the beginning of the 51st minute with a shot by
Junior Casillas, followed by a Mavericks corner kick resulting in two additional shots on goal.
• Just as the match was coming to the close, in the 87th minute, Omaha found the back of the net once more.
•
Wawa Palga grounded the ball after a punt from Sallah. He passed it off to Klein who threaded it back up Palga on the left side. Palga crossed it to
Ede Gramberg at the arc of the box. Gramberg fired a shot that was initially saved. The shot bounced off the keepers hands giving Gramberg a second shot and this time he would find the back of the net.
• With a 2-0 lead, all the Mavericks had to do was play defense for the remaining 3:41 of the game.
• In a turn of events, Omaha was called for a foul in their own box, giving the Roos an opportunity at the penalty kick.
• No doubt, Sallah made the save on the PK, keeping the Roos scoreless.
• Omaha would fire off two more shots, before the final horn would sound and they clinched the title in a 2-0 victory.
Inside the Box
• The Mavericks were out-shot 15-12 by the Roos.
• Omaha trailed in corner kicks as they gave up six and were only allowed three.
• The Mavericks tripled the amount of fouls the Roos were called for (21-6, respectively).
• Casillas and Gramberg led the team with three shots each.
• Klein scored his eighth goal of the season, six coming from penalty kicks. He also recorded his second assist of the year.
• Gramberg scored his sixth goal of the season, giving him 12 points collectively.
• Palga collected his fourth assist of the season, giving him a collective six points on the season.
• Sallah tied his career high seven saves for the third time this season.
• Sallah collected his sixth shutout of the season and improved to a 5-4-2 record.
Point Break Down
•
Theo Klein- 3 pts (1G, 1A)
•
Ede Gramberg- 2 pts (1G)
•
Wawa Palga- 1 pt (1A)
The More You Know
• The last time a No. 3 seed won the tournament was Denver in 2019 when the Pioneers defeated No. 4 seed Omaha, which was also the last time these two seeds met in the final.
• Omaha appeared in the tournament title match in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 with the Mavericks winning their only previous title in a penalty shootout against top-seeded Denver in 2017. Thus this makes it the first time the Mavericks win a title game in regulation.
Up Next
Join us at Backlot Taphouse in Aksarben Village Monday at 1 p.m. to find out the fate of who the Omaha Mavericks will be matched up with in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
