LEADING OFF
The Omaha women's soccer team opens the regular season with a home match against the Southern Utah Thunderbirds on Thursday, Aug. 17. Kickoff at Caniglia Field is scheduled for 7 p.m.
QUICK KICKS
• The Omaha women's soccer team was tabbed third in the Summit League Preseason Poll after finishing third in the regular season last year.
• The Mavericks have been selected third in the preseason poll for the third-straight year. Omaha finished third in all of those seasons, reaching the league championship match in two of them.
• Grace Ostergaard and Regan Zimmers were named Players to Watch by the Summit League earlier this week.
• For Ostergaard, it is her second Player to Watch nomination after earning her third-straight All-League second team award for her efforts in 2022.
• For Zimmers, it is her first time on the Summit League's Players to Watch list. Regan was recently named to the United Soccer Coaches' Defenders to Watch list for the upcoming season.
• Head coach Tim Walters enters his seventh season at the helm. He has recorded 43 wins on the pitch, including three Summit League semifinal wins, one Summit League championship and an NCAA Tournament appearance.
• The goalkeeping duo of senior Mia Reedtz and sophomore Emma Konsmo combined for eight team-shutouts last season. Reedtz started 12 matches last season between the pipes with a save percentage of 72% and a goals against average of 1.25. Konsmo started 10 matches in net with a save percentage of 76.5% and an average of 1.54 goals against.
• The Mavericks' top-two goal scorers are back. Senior Emilie Erland and redshirt junior Marissa Gohr led Omaha with three goals last season.
• Senior Grace Crockett returns after leading the Mavericks with five assists last year.
• Five newcomers join the Mavericks this season, including four freshmen and one redshirt-sophomore transfer.
• Omaha played a total of three exhibitions, going 2-1 in preseason play.
SCOUTING THE SOUTHERN UTAH THUNDERBIRDS
The Thunderbirds of Southern Utah come to Omaha after a 2022 season that was their most successful in program history. SUU had nine wins for an overall record of 9-6-2, going 4-5-2 in Western Athletic Conference play. The 2022 team set six program records, including consecutive wins (5), goals in a single match (10), goals in a season (31), shutouts in a season (8), and season scoring average (1.76).
THUNDERBIRDS TO WATCH
• Whitney Gardner scored six times and tallied four assists for a team-high 16 points last season. Gardner started all 17 games, logging over 1,000 minutes and was named to the WAC all-freshman team.
• Sammie Sofonia notched a team-high seven goals last season for 14 points on the year. As a freshman, Sofonia recorded 805 minutes over 17 appearances.
• Julia Ortega looks to make an impact in net for the Thunderbirds after transferring from Arizona State. With the Sun Devils, Ortega played eight matches, recording a save percentage of 71% and goals against average of 1.7.
SERIES HISTORY
Omaha leads the all-time series, 1-0. The Mavericks defeated the Thunderbirds at home by a score of 1-0 in the first and only meeting between the teams in 2018.
