LEADING OFF
The Omaha men's soccer squad (6-3-3, 1-1-1) visits #14 Denver (7-2-4, 2-1-0) in a key Summit League clash Wednesday night at 7 p.m. CT..
The match will be televised on The Summit League Network.
The Mavericks look to bounce back from a non-conference loss to cross-town rival Creighton as they resume their league slate for the remainder of the regular season. Omaha lost their league opener at Oral Roberts, but since earned a league win (2-1 at home Over St. Thomas, 10/2) and a tie (1-1 at home with Kansas City, 10-5). Denver, #14 in United Soccer Coaches National Rankings and #1 in the West Region, dropped their first Summit League match at Kansas City (10/12).
Omaha and Denver play in one of the toughest leagues in NCAA DI. According to the college soccer Massey Ratings, the Summit League plays the fourth toughest schedule in the country, trailing the ACC, Big Ten and Sun Belt. The Mavericks' slate ranks 61st in difficulty nationally and second toughest in the Summit League behind Denver, which plays the nation's seventh rated schedule.
Omaha's season has been about defense. The Mavericks rank 45th nationally in goals against average (1.083) and only 57 schools have given up fewer total goals (13). They stand just behind Denver (1.0) in the Summit League (1.08 goals against average) and are level in the conference in fewest goals allowed with Denver (13). Senior goalkeeper Nathanael Sallah's 13 career shutouts rank 32nd in NCAA DI among active players. Sallah is second in the conference in total saves (40) and save percentage (40/13/.755%). Mavs defensive stalwart Naz Astwood returns to the lineup after missing the last game with a minor shoulder injury. The senior has missed just two games in the past two years. Omaha has allowed just 11.25 shots per game and 58 total shots on goal through 12 games (4.83).
Offensively, the Mavericks are led by senior Theo Klein (11 pts, 4 goals, 3 assists, 35 shots, 17 shots on goal), senior Mathis Pilon St-Louis (6 pts, 3 g, 16 shots, 11 sog), senior Wawa Palga (5 pts, 2 g, 1 a, 13 shots, 10 sog) and sophomore Italo Jenkins, who has two goals in the last three games coming off the bench.
In NCAA DI rankings this week, Klein ranks 39th in shots per game (2.92), 45th in shots on goal per game (1.42) and 75th in accuracy (49%). As a team, the Mavericks are also quite accurate, leading the conference and ranking 17th in the nation for shot accuracy (49%).
Klein's 17 career goals are just two shy of the Mavericks career mark of 19 held by Vance Rookwood (2011-2014). Klein and Mathis Pilon St-Louis each have six career game winning goals at Omaha, two fewer than Rookwood.
Theo Klein, Martin Lago and Thore Boehm have started all 12 games this season. Boehm's 63 career matches played are the most among active Mavericks. Boehm, Klein and Sallah are co-captains.
The Mavericks fell from the United Soccer Coaches West Region poll, despite their strong showing against other teams ranked in their regions: (1-1 tie vs. Kansas City, #6 in West; 1-1 tie vs. Drake, #5 in West; 1-0 win over SIUE, #10 in North; 1-0 loss to ORU, #8 in West). Omaha has been ranked as high as #6 in the West this season, when they also received votes in the national poll.
Under Donovan Dowling, the Mavericks have an impressive mark of 15-5-5 at Caniglia Field, including this year's seven match unbeaten string to open the slate (4-1-3). The last team to be unbeaten at Caniglia Field that late in the season was the 2017 NCAA tournament team.
The Mavericks are home for 10 of their 17 matches this season, equaling the most dates at Caniglia Field in a season in school history (2017).
The Mavericks started the regular season 4-0 for the second time in school history and the first time since 2017, when they opened the season 6-0 en route to regular season and post-season Summit League titles, including the school's first Division I NCAA bid.
SCOUTING THE PIONEERS
Denver has been a force this season, losing their only two matches of the season entering this match, 2-0 at #1 Pittsburgh and 1-0 at Kansas City(RV), now ranked 6th in the West Region by USC. Denver remains the top team in the USC West Region.
Senior attacking midfielder Sam Basset was named to the 2024 MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List on August 22. Bassett had career highs in goals (8), assists (7) and points (23) in his 2023 All-American season.Through the first 13 matches of the season, Bassett has 20 points on six goals and eight assists.
Denver is 138-10-18 when scoring first since head coach Jamie Franks joined the staff as an assistant in 2012.
Defensively, they have allowed just 7.69 shots per game and 35 total shots on goal through 13 games (2.69 sog per game).
OMAHA-DENVER HISTORY
Denver leads the series 11-2-2, winning the last three meetings by tight 1-0 margins. The Mavericks last win in the series (10/30/21) was a 2-0 shutout at Denver. Goalkeeper Sallah posted the clean sheet. Sallah and Thore Boehm are the lone holdovers from that team for Omaha.
