OMAHA, Neb.- Omaha returned home to post their first Summit League win of the year, a convincing 2-1 win over St. Thomas at Caniglia Field.
The Mavericks (6-2-2, 1-1) controlled much of the match with the Tommies (3-4-2, 0-2-0), outs hooting the University of St. Thomas 16-6, limiting them to just one shot in the second half. Omaha had seven shots on goal, and St. Thomas only two.
Omaha trailed 1-0 when UST's Charlie Hoelscher scored 37:36 into the match on the team's first shot on goal. But the Mavericks kept attacking in waves, and in the final minute of the opening half, a well connected play gave sophomore Theo Jenkins the chance to drive home his first career goal with the Mavericks at 44:01. He was assisted by freshmen Mikey Stukenholz and Maguire Perkins.
In the 76th minute, Omaha's leading scorer, senior Theo Klein, came through with an assist from Martin Lago. Klein's fourth goal of the season and second game-winner move him closer to the top of Omaha's DI career records in both categories. He now has 17 career goals, trailing Vance Rookwood with 19, and with six career game-winning goals, he and teammate Mathis Pilon St-Louis (also with six) are two shy of Rookwood's mark of eight.
"I (was) happy for for Italo to get his first, I know he's been gunning for that and it was a fantastic goal," head coach Donovan Dowling said. "And then the second half, we knew, that they were gonna put up a really good fight not to concede and try to catch us, which they certainly did. I thought we did a nice job of staying patient and, you know, their keeper had a couple really good saves."
"I thought we scored two really good goals tonight," Dowling said. "And anytime you can get three points in conference, we'll certainly take it and, move on."
Omaha continues the Summit League slate against Kansas City Saturday, October 5. The night is Men's Soccer Alumni Night at Caniglia Field, with kickoff slated for 4 p.m. CT. The match will be televised on the Summit League Network.
The Mavericks then close out the homestand against cross-town foe Creighton in their only remaining non-league game of the season, October 9 at 7 p.m. CT. Tickets for all Omaha home games can be purchased online through OMavs.com/tix.
