LEADING OFF
The Omaha men's soccer squad (6-4-3, 1-2-1) hosts Oral Roberts (5-4-3, 2-2-0) in Summit League play Saturday at 4 p.m. CT at Caniglia Field.
The match will be televised on The Summit League Network.
Omaha is coming off a 2-0 shutout loss at Denver Wednesday night, the top ranked team in the West Region and the 14th ranked team in the nation, according to United Soccer Coaches rankings.
Their only other loss in Summit League play came against Oral Roberts (see below).
The Mavericks finish the regular season with their second round of conference matches. Omaha lost their league opener at Oral Roberts, and 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) and a loss at #14 Denver (2-0, 10/16).
Omaha and ORU play in one of the toughest leagues in NCAA DI. According to the college soccer Massey Ratings, the Summit League plays the third toughest schedule in the country, trailing the ACC and Big Ten. The Mavericks' slate ranks 64th in difficulty nationally and second toughest in the Summit League behind Denver; Oral Roberts' schedule ranks 65th.
Omaha's season has been about defense. The Mavericks rank 66th nationally (1.154) in goals against average, down from 45th (1.083) before the loss at Denver. They stand just behind Denver in the Summit League (1.15 goals against average) and are second in the conference in fewest goals allowed (15), level with ORU. 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 (51, 42nd nationally), saves per game (3.5) and save percentage (74%). Omaha has allowed just 11.4 shots per game.
Offensively, the Mavericks are led by senior Theo Klein (11 pts, 4 goals, 3 assists, 36 shots, 17 shots on goal), senior Mathis Pilon St-Louis (6 pts, 3 g, 18 shots, 12 sog), senior Wawa Palga (5 pts, 2 g, 1 a, 13 shots, 10 sog) and sophomore Italo Jenkins, who has two goals, 11 shots and 7 shots on goal, despite starting only 4 games.
In NCAA DI rankings this week, Klein ranks 51st in shots per game (2.77) and 56th in shots on goal per game (1.31) As a team, the Mavericks are accurate, second in the conference to ORU and 26th in the nation for shot accuracy (48%).
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 13 games this season. Boehm's 64 career matches played are the most among active Mavericks. Boehm, Klein and Sallah are 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, #7 in West; 1-0 win over SIUE, #9 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 in 2024).
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.
In the Summit League Preseason Poll, Omaha was picked to finish second behind Denver. Oral Roberts was projected to finish third.
Omaha has four remaining games in the regular season, all against Summit League foes (10/19 at home vs. ORU; 10/26 at Kansas City; 11/2 at St. Thomas; 11/9 at home against Denver).
Tickets for the two remaining home matches are available at Omavs.com/tix.
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES
Oral Roberts is 5-4-3 and 2-2 in league play, their Summit losses at Denver (3-2) and at home to Kansas City (2-1) Wednesday night. They are 1-3-2 on the road. They are led by Omar Mora, who leads the league with nine goals, and goalkeeper Joao Mesquita, who leads the league in save percentage (.813) and shutouts (4, tied with two others).
OMAHA-ORAL ROBERTS HISTORY
ORU leads the series 10-7-2, winning six of the last seven meetings. Omaha's one win in that stretch was one of the most dramatic victories in Mavericks DI history, a 1-0 victory in the Summit League Tournament semifinals a year ago. The Mavericks went on to claim the tournament title and the NCAA bid that goes with it. Mathis Pilon-St Louis' goal in the 81st minute was the winner.
The most recent meeting came 9/28 in Tulsa as Omaha opened Summit League play with a 1-0 loss in a tight battle. The Golden Eagles scored the game's only goal in the 67th minute when Benjamin Morgan redirected a blocked shot against a stingy Mavericks defense that had allowed an average of one goal per game this season. Omar Mora was credited with an assist. Theo Klein's penalty kick with 6:53 remaining was stopped by Joao Mesquita (4 saves) and Klein twice drove shots towards the goal in the final minute as the Mavericks wouldn't go down without a fight. Klein finished with a game and season-high five shots. In a tightly played first half, one of Omaha's best tries came off the foot of Mathis Pilon St-Louis. Starting after missing the previous game due to concussion protocol, the senior from Montreal struck the crossbar in the 20th minute. The Mavericks outshot the Golden Eagles in the game (11-4 shots, 9-4 shots on goal). The second half was a physical exchange between two teams expecting to challenge for the league title. Seven yellow cards were shown in the second half (ORU 4 YC, Omaha 3 YC) while 15 of 26 combined fouls for the match were committed in the second half.
