LEADING OFF
Omaha (6-5-3, 1-3-1) men's soccer enters their final stretch of the Summit League regular season, faced with must-win scenarios each match, starting in Kansas City against the Roos (8-3-3, 3-1-1) Saturday night at 7 p.m. CT.
The match will be televised on The Summit League Network.
The most recent meeting between the teams was October 5 in Omaha when the teams played to a 1-1 tie (see below). Omaha is winless since that match, dropping a 2-1 non-conference home match with Creighton (10/9), falling 2-0 on the road at Denver (10/16) and losing 1-0 at Caniglia Field to Oral Roberts (10/19).
HEAD COACH DONOVAN DOWLING:
"We're eager to play Kansas City for the second time this year. We know they present a big test, and we have been extremely diligent in trying to improve in certain areas that have been eluding us the past couple weeks. It's been really nice to have a full week of preparation, and I'm looking forward to seeing the boys performance on Saturday."
In the Summit League this season there is no men's tournament, so the league championship - and NCAA bid that goes with it - will be determined in a matchup of the top two teams. Omaha (1-3-1, .300) currently sits in 4th place behind Kansas City (3-1-1, .700), Denver (3-1-0, .750) and ORU (3-2-0, .600). But with positive results in their final three matches, the Mavericks can still find a spot.
The Summit League is one of the toughest 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 72nd in difficulty nationally and second toughest in the Summit League behind Denver; Kansas City's schedule ranks 53rd.
Omaha's season has been about defense. The Mavericks rank 65th nationally (1.143) in goals against average. They stand just behind Denver in the Summit League and are second in the conference in fewest goals allowed. Senior goalkeeper Nathanael Sallah's 13 career shutouts rank 32nd in NCAA DI among active players. Sallah is third in the conference in total saves (44, 46th nationally), saves per game (3.38) and goals against average (1.23) and second in save percentage (.733). Omaha has allowed just 11.4 shots per game.
Offensively, the Mavericks are led by senior Theo Klein (11 pts, 4 goals, 3 assists, 40 shots, 19 shots on goal), senior Mathis Pilon St-Louis (6 pts, 3 g, 22 shots, 13 sog), senior Wawa Palga (5 pts, 2 g, 1 a, 14 shots, 10 sog) and sophomore Italo Jenkins, who has two goals, 11 shots and 7 shots on goal, despite starting only 5 games.
In NCAA DI rankings this week, Klein ranks 44th in shots per game (2.86) and 51st in shots on goal per game (1.38) As a team, the Mavericks are accurate, second in the conference to ORU and 55th in the nation for shot accuracy (0.447).
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 14 games this season. Boehm's 65 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.
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.
Omaha has three remaining games in the regular season, all against Summit League foes (10/26 at Kansas City; 11/2 at St. Thomas; 11/9 at home against Denver).
Tickets for the remaining home match are available at Omavs.com/tix.
SCOUTING THE ROOS
Kansas City's school record seven game unbeaten streak came to an end at the hands of St. Thomas Saturday, 2-1 on a penalty kick goal. They are led by Elie Kisoka (22 pts, 9 goals, 4 assists) and Raphael Kistman (17, 7, 3). KC leads the league in goals, shots and offensive points.
OMAHA-KC HISTORY
The Mavericks lead the all-time DI series 5-3-3. KC has not won in the series since 3/25/21. Since then Omaha is 2-0-2 against the Roos. In the most recent meeting at Caniglia Field, the teams played to a 1-1 tie (10/5/).
Omaha's Mathis Pilon St-Louis broke the scoreless tie with a goal in the 65th minute, his first try blocked free and returned to him on an assist by Wawa Palga. It was Pilon St-Louis' third goal of the year and Palga's second assist. It was Pilon St-Louis' third career goal against Kansas City.
Kansas City came in with the Summit League's highest scoring offense, but was limited to a goal by Jeremy Francou (2), assisted by Julien Le Bourdoulous 80:57 into the match.
The Mavericks and Roos both had significant chances in the second half. Omaha equaled a season high with 17 shots, 12 coming after intermission; Kansas City had 18 shots. Mavericks goalkeeper Nathanael Sallah equaled a season-high with seven saves.
