LEADING OFF 
The Omaha men's soccer squad (6-2-3, 1-1-1, Summit League) hosts Creighton University (4-4-3, 0-2-1, Big East)  (3-3-2, 0-1) in what is touted locally as the Dodge Street Derby. The home pitches for the two schools are separated by roughly nine miles, mostly along Dodge Street through Omaha's Midtown District (Caniglia Field and Morrison Stadium).

The match will be televised on The Summit League Network. It's the final non-league match of the regular season for both schools.

The Mavericks' start to the season is one of the best in school history. This year's team is 6-2-3, their 21 total points. In a COVID shortened 2020 season (with games played during the spring of 2021), the Mavericks played only nine regular season matches (6-2-1). Last season, the Mavericks also started 6-2-3. Both teams represented Omaha in the NCAA DI post-season. 

Omaha's start is even more impressive considering they 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 only the ACC and Big Ten. The Mavericks' slate ranks 42nd in difficulty nationally and second toughest in the Summit League behind Denver. Creighton's schedule rates 53rd.

Omaha's season has been about defense.  The Mavericks rank 45th nationally in goals against average (1.0) and only 33 schools have given up fewer total goals. They stand level with Denver in the Summit League (1.0 goals against average) and lead the conference in fewest goals allowed (11). Senior goalkeeper Nathanael Sallah's 13 career shutouts rank 32nd in NCAA DI among active players.

Offensively, the Mavericks are led by Theo Klein (11 pts, 4 goals, 3 assists, 29 shots, 17 shots on goal), Mathis Pilon St-Louis (6 pts, 3 g, 16 shots, 11 sog) and Wawa Palga (5 pts, 2 g, 1 a, 12 shots, 9 sog). In NCAA DI rankings this week, Klein ranks 29th in shots on goal per game (1.55) and 24th in accuracy (0.586). As a team, the Mavericks are also quite accurate, leading the conference and ranking 18th in the nation for shot accuracy (0.493). 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.

The Mavericks fell from the United Soccer Coaches West Region poll last week, despite their strong showing against other teams ranked in their regions: (1-1 tie vs. Kanssas City, #8 in West; 1-1 tie vs. Drake, #5 in West; 1-0 win over SIUE, #10 in North; 1-0 loss to ORU, #10 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 15-4-5 at Caniglia Field, including this year's 4-0-3 unbeaten string to open the slate. The last team to be unbeaten at Caniglia Field this 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 BLUEJAYS
After a solid start, Creighton is winless in the last four matches: Georgetown (1-0 loss at home), at Providence (2-2 tie), at (RV) Missouri State (1-0 loss), and at home to DePaul (2-0 loss, despite outshooting the Blue Demons 23-4). They began the season 4-1-2, including a 1-0 win over Grand Canyon in Phoenix and a 3-1 loss to one of the nation's top ranked teams, Denver.  The Bluejays have a deep offensive ledger, with ten players providing multiple points thus far, led by Jackson Castro (3g, 3a, 9 pts), Gavrilo Civric (3g, 1a, 7 pts), Miguel Arilla (2g, 3a, 7 pts), Ali Ramadan (2g, 1a, 5 pts) and Roman Torres (2g, 1a, 5 pts). 

OMAHA-CREIGHTON HISTORY
The Omaha-Creighton history dates back to the pre-DI era and includes several exhibitions over the years. In Division I history, however, the Mavericks have managed just one win and one tie in the seven clashes. Most recently (10/3/23), the teams battled to a 2-2 draw in a match at Morrison Stadium that was scoreless at half before the teams traded goals in the second half. Theo Klein scored on a penalty kick to open thr scoring and Junior Casillas scored in the 68th minute for the ultimate equalizer. The match included significant physical play, with 25 fouls, five yellow cards and two red cards combined. Omaha's lone victory in the series came after the fall season was delayed due to COVID, and the Mavericks blanked Creighton 3-0 at Caniglia Field (2/27/21).