LEADING OFF
The (4-1-1) Omaha men's soccer team hosts Drake University (4-2-0) in a non-league match Tuesday night at Caniglia Field at 7 p.m. CT.
The match will be televised on The Summit League Network. The Mavericks travel to Southern Illinois Edwardsville for a noon CT match on September 22.
After being ranked 6th earlier in the season, the Mavericks are currently 10th in the United Soccer Coaches poll for the West Region this week. Drake makes its first appearance in the rankings this season; they are sixth in this week's poll.
The Mavericks are coming off their longest in-season break of 2024 with eight days between matches. In their most recent outing last Monday at Caniglia Field, Omaha led 2-0 until Houston Christian rallied for a 2-2 tie despite the Mavericks outshooting the Huskies 15-8.
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 is unbeaten at home (3-0-1). Under head coach Donovan Dowling the Mavericks are 14-4-4 on the Caniglia Field pitch.
The Mavericks have been productive in the first half of games, outscoring the opposition 6-3 before intermission. Omaha has outscored opponents 9-7 overall.
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).
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
The Bulldogs of the Missouri Valley Conference have won four straight matches including home wins against teams familiar to Omaha, Houston Christian (Sep. 6) and Kansas City (Sep. 9). At 4-2 overall, Drake and is one of four MVC teams with at least four victories.
The Bulldogs are led by Damian Segura with 11 points, including five goals and two game winners. In goal, Tomas Butkovic has 19 saves and a .679 save percentage.
OMAHA-DRAKE HISTORY
The two schools have a competitive Division I history. The series is about as even as one can be at 2-2-3. Last year (9/13/23) in Des Moines, the teams played to a 2-2 tie. Theo Klein scored on a penalty kick and Wawa Palga had an assist, as the Mavericks played more than half the match a man down due to a red card.
The previous meeting in Omaha, the teams also tied 2-2 (9/6/22) Klein amd Mathis Pilon St-Louis scored for Omaha. It was Klein's first goal as a Maverick.
9/13/2023 2-2 tie at Drake
9/6/2022 2-2 tie at Omaha
9/3/2021 1-2 loss at Drake
9/2/2016 3-0 win at Omaha
10/20/2015 1-1 tie (2OT) at Drake
10/28/2014 2-0 win at Omaha
9/13/2013 3-4 loss at Drake
