OMAHA MAVERICKS. All-Time Series: --- Last Meeting: First all-time meeting

Transcription

1 OMAHA MAVERICKS For Immediate Release: Nov. 15, 2017 Contact: Shad Beam Office Phone: (402) Cell Phone: (402) Social OMAHA VISITS FIU IN NCAA TOURNAMENT FIRST ROUND THIS WEEKEND S SCHEDULE OMAHA MAVERICKS Statistical Leaders 2017 Record: Points: E. Ibisevic - 19 Head Coach: Jason Mims Goals: E. Ibisevic - 9 Record at School: (7th Year) Assists: Xavier Gomez - 8 Career Record: Same Saves: J. Ghitis - 54 Last Match: T, 1-1 vs. Denver (Nov. 10) (W, 9-8 S.O.) FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL PANTHERS Record: Head Coach: Kevin Nylen Record at School: (1st Year) Career Record: same Last Game: L, 1-3 vs. Charlotte (Nov. 10) All-Time Series: --- Last Meeting: First all-time meeting Thursday, Nov. 16, 2017 OMAHA at Florida Atlantic 6 p.m. (CT) FIU Soccer Stadium - Miami, Fla. Live Stats: OMavs.com Live Video: OMavs.com TV: None Radio: MavRadio.fm This Week Fresh off its first Summit League Championship, the Omaha men s soccer team visits Florida International for the first round of the NCAA Championship on Thursday, Nov. 16 at 6 p.m. CT at the FIU Soccer Complex in Miami, Fla. Follow the Match Links to live stats, audio and video are available on OMavs.com for the match. Owen Godberson will handle the play-byplay with Harrison Popp adding color commentary. Keeping Up with the Mavericks Stay current with everything going on with the Mavericks by following Omaha men's soccer on Twitter (@OmahaMSOC), Instagram (@OmahaMSOC) and "liking" the Mavericks on Facebook at 'OmahaMSOC.' Scouting Omaha Omaha finished the regular season winning two of its last three for a overall record and a mark in Summit League play. The Mavericks earned the third seed in the Summit League Tournament. UNO stopped second-seeded Western Illinois in the semifinals, and then played top-seed Denver to a 1-1 draw in double overtime. Omaha outlasted Denver 9-8 in an 11-round shootout to claim the conference s automatic bid the NCAA Tournament. The Mavericks average 1.5 goals and 1.72 assists per game. UNO led the Summit League in goals (27), assists (31) and points (85). Elvir Ibisevic leads Omaha with 19 points from nine goals and an assist. Xavier Gomez adds18 points from five goals and eight assists. Emmanuel Hamzat chips in 16 points on seven goals and two assists. The tandem of Joseph Ghitis and Ugo Tritz has recorded seven shutouts and a 0.79 goals-against average this season. Ghitis is with a 0.90 goals-against average with a.776 save percentage and five shutouts. Tritz is with two shutouts and three saves SCHEDULE/RESULTS Date Opponent Time (CT)/Score Aug. 13 No. 10 Notre Dame! L, 0-2 Aug. 25 Grand Canyon W, 2-1 (OT) Aug. 27 No. 17 Virginia Tech W, 5-1 Sept. 1 vs. Houston Baptist# W, 1-0 Sept. 3 at UTRGV# W, 1-0 Sept. 8 UC Riverside W, 1-0 Sept. 10 Bradley W, 2-1 Sept. 15 vs. Northern Illinois^ L, 0-1 Sept. 17 at Utah Valley^ W, 3-1 Sept. 23 at Eastern Illinois* T, 0-0 (2OT) Sept. 26 Creighton L, 0-1 Sept. 30 Fort Wayne* T, 1-1 (2OT) Oct. 3 at FGCU L, 2-3 Oct. 14 at Michigan L, 1-2 (OT) Oct. 21 Western Illinois* W, 2-0 Oct. 28 at Denver* L, 1-2 (OT) Nov. 4 Oral Roberts* W, 2-0 Nov. 9 Western Illinois& W, 2-0 Nov. 11 Denver& T, 1-1 (W, 9-8 SO) Nov. 16 Florida International% 6 p.m.! - Exhibition game * - Summit League game # - UTRGV Tournament ^ - UVU Tournament & - Summit League Tournament % - NCAA Tournament Home games in bold italics and played at Caniglia Field MEDIA AVAILABILITY Student-athletes and coaches are available for interviews after practice or by arrangement through the Omaha athletic communications office. All men s soccer interview requests must be arranged through Assisstant Director of Communications Shad Beam at least one day in advance. WHEN REFERRING TO THE MAVERICKS As part of a university-wide rebranding effort that began in 2011, media and fans are reminded to refer to the school as the University of Nebraska Omaha, Omaha or UNO. Nebraska Omaha and Nebraska-Omaha are no longer acceptable references. Scouting Florida International The Panthers enter Thursday s contest overall record and won the Conference USA regular season. FIU dropped a 3-1 decision to Charlotte in the Conference USA semifinals. Florida International is one of the top offensive teams in the nation, averaging 2.94 goals and 2.5 assists per game. FIU Primary Logo Secondary Logo

2 2017 OMAHA MEN'S SOCCER OMAHA MEN'S SOCCER ROSTER NUMERICAL ROSTER No. Name Cl. Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown (High School/Previous Schools) 0 Ugo Tritz So. GK Metz, France (Lycee Louis de Cormontaigne) 1 Joseph Ghitis Sr. GK Weston, Fla. (University School of NSU) 2 Stevie Siy Fr. MF Omaha, Neb. (Central) 3 Joel Kazhila So. D Johannesburg, South Africa (Mission Heights Prep) 4 Seth Rinderknecht So. D Cedar Rapids, Iowa (Prairie) 5 Michael Jaime Sr. D Omaha, Neb. (Omaha South) 6 Ed Gordon Fr. MF Omaha, Neb. (Creighton Prep) 7 Emmanuel Hamzat Sr. F Lagos, Nigeria (Santa Clara/West Valley College) 8 Ray Barajas Sr. D Mexico City, Mexico (Glendora/Loyola Marymount) 9 Elvir Ibisevic So. F Johnston, Iowa (Johnston) 10 Brahan Gamarra Sr. MF Snellville, Ga. (Brookwood/Tyler JC/Xavier) 11 Billy Hoffman Jr. D Longmont, Colo. (Niwot/Western Nebraska CC) 12 Fred Frimpong So. MF Ankeny, Iowa (Ankeny) 13 Oliver Bihuniak Fr. MF Prairie Village, Kan. (Shawnee Mission East) 14 Zac Marquess Jr. D Olathe, Kan. (Olathe East) 15 Denzel Woods Jr. D Santa Cruz, Trinidad & Tobago (St. Anthony s College) 16 Tim Kaftan Fr. MF Omaha, Neb. (Creighton Prep) 17 Noor Hamadi Jr. F Omaha, Neb. (Omaha South) 18 Cole Nelson Jr. MF Shawnee, Kan. (Shawnee Mission Northwest) 19 Joey McCain So. D Omaha, Neb. (Papillion-La Vista South) 20 Ethan Bowman So. MF Shawnee, Kan. (Shawnee Mission Northwest/Drake) 21 Miguel Gomez Fr. MF El Paso, Texas (Mission Heights Prep) 22 Jacob Weiler Sr. D Fargo, N.D. (Fargo South) 23 Xavier Gomez Sr. MF Chicago, Ill. (Maine West) 24 Gonzolo Ledesma So. D South Sioux City, Neb. (South Sioux City/Briar Cliff) 25 Connor Jokerst Fr. MF Olathe, Kan. (Olathe Northwest) 26 Diego Gutierrez Fr. F Omaha, Neb. (Ralston) 30 Quinn Nelson Jr. GK Omaha, Neb. (Westside) 31 Matt Smith Fr. GK Papillion, Neb. (Creighton Prep) Head Coach: Jason Mims (7th Year) Assistant Coach: Nate Baker (1st Year) Volunteer Goalkeeper Assistant Coach: Daniel Galvis (5th Year) Student Manager: Vicente Luis (2nd Year) 2017 OMAHA MEN'S SOCCER ROSTER ALPHABETICAL ROSTER No. Name Cl. Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown (High School/Previous Schools) 8 Ray Barajas Sr. D Mexico City, Mexico (Glendora/Loyola Marymount) 13 Oliver Bihuniak Fr. MF Prairie Village, Kan. (Shawnee Mission East) 20 Ethan Bowman So. MF Shawnee, Kan. (Shawnee Mission Northwest/Drake) 12 Fred Frimpong So. MF Ankeny, Iowa (Ankeny) 10 Brahan Gamarra Sr. MF Snellville, Ga. (Brookwood/Tyler JC/Xavier) 1 Joseph Ghitis Sr. GK Weston, Fla. (University School of NSU) 21 Miguel Gomez Fr. MF El Paso, Texas (Mission Heights Prep) 23 Xavier Gomez Sr. MF Chicago, Ill. (Maine West) 6 26 Ed Gordon Diego Gutierrez Fr. Fr. MF F Omaha, Neb. (Creighton Prep) Omaha, Neb. (Ralston) 17 Noor Hamadi Jr. F Omaha, Neb. (Omaha South) 7 Emmanuel Hamzat Sr. F Lagos, Nigeria (Santa Clara/West Valley College) 11 Billy Hoffman Jr. D Longmont, Colo. (Niwot/Western Nebraska CC) 9 Elvir Ibisevic So. F Johnston, Iowa (Johnston) 5 Michael Jaime Sr. D Omaha, Neb. (Omaha South) 25 Connor Jokerst Fr. MF Olathe, Kan. (Olathe Northwest) 16 Tim Kaftan Fr. MF Omaha, Neb. (Creighton Prep) 3 Joel Kazhila So. D Johannesburg, South Africa (Mission Heights Prep) 24 Gonzolo Ledesma So. D South Sioux City, Neb. (South Sioux City/Briar Cliff) 14 Zac Marquess Jr. D Olathe, Kan. (Olathe East) 19 Joey McCain So. D Omaha, Neb. (Papillion-La Vista South) 18 Cole Nelson Jr. MF Shawnee, Kan. (Shawnee Mission Northwest) 30 Quinn Nelson Jr. GK Omaha, Neb. (Westside) 4 Seth Rinderknecht So. D Cedar Rapids, Iowa (Prairie) 2 Stevie Siy Fr. MF Omaha, Neb. (Central) 31 Matt Smith Fr. GK Papillion, Neb. (Creighton Prep) 0 Ugo Tritz So. GK Metz, France (Lycee Louis de Cormontaigne) 22 Jacob Weiler Sr. D Fargo, N.D. (Fargo South) 15 Denzel Woods Jr. D Santa Cruz, Trinidad & Tobago (St. Anthony s College) MAVERICK PRONUNCIATION GUIDE Joseph Ghitis...GIT-iss Michael Jaime... HI-may Noor Hamadi... Nor ha-maw-dee Jacob Weiler... WHILE-err Xavier Gomez...ZAY-vee-er Stephen Siy... Sea Oliver Bihuniak... ba-whon-e-ack OMAHA QUICK FACTS GENERAL INFORMATION Name...University of Nebraska Omaha City...Omaha, Neb. Founded Enrollment... 15,731 Nickname...Mavericks School Colors... Crimson (PMS 186) and Black Affiliation... NCAA Division I Conference...The Summit League Chancellor...Dr. Jeffrey Gold Director of Athletics...Trev Alberts Home Facility...Caniglia Field (2013) MEN S SOCCER HISTORY First Year of Men s Soccer All-Time Record All-Time Summit League Record NCAA Division I Tournament Appearances... 0 TEAM INFORMATION 2016 Record Summit League Record (Place) (1st place tie) Letterwinners Returning/Lost...18/6 Starters Returning/Lost...7/4 Newcomers... 9 COACHING/SUPPORT STAFF Head Coach...Jason Mims (7th year) Alma Mater...Saint Louis (1999) Record at UNO Career Record...same Office Phone...(402) jasonmims@omavs.com Assistant Coach... Nate Baker (1st year) Alma Mater...American (2007) Volunteer Assistant Coach/Goalkeepers.Daniel Galvis (5th year) Alma Mater... Bellevue (2006) OMAHA'S ACTIVE CAREER LEADERS Points... Elvir Ibisevic...30 Goals... Ibisevic/Emmanuel Hamzat...13 Assists... Xavier Gomez...11 Game Winners... Elvir Ibisevic...6 Shots Attempted... Elvir Ibiseviz...92 Shots On Goal... Elvir Ibisevic...38 Saves... Joseph Ghitis Save Percentage... Ugo Tritz Goals-Against... Ugo Tritz Most Shutouts... Joseph Ghitis...16 Games Played... Xavier Gomez...66 Games Started... Cole Nelson...43 Minutes Played... Xavier Gomez

3 OMAHA MEN'S SOCCER also leads the nation in total points (134), goals (47) and assists (40). Santiago Patino leads the Panthers with 35 points from 15 goals and five assists. Alessandro Campoy has 22 points from seven goals and eight assists, while Paul Marie has seven goals and four assists. Hugo Fauroux has recorded three shutouts and a 1.22 goals against average this season. Maverick-Panther History Omaha and Florida International have never met on the soccer pitch in program history. The Panthers are the ninth new opponent on the UNO schedule this year, including Creighton, Florida Gulf Coast, Houston Baptist, Michigan, Northern Illinois, Utah Valley, UTRGV, and Virginia Tech. The Mavericks own a 4-4 mark against new foes this year, including wins over Houston Baptist, Utah Valley, UTRGV and Virginia Tech. Omaha played road matches (2-2) against new opponents FGCU, Michigan, Utah Valley and UTRGV, and neutral site (1-1) games against Houston Baptist and Northern Illinois. Looking Back Summit League Title For the first time in school history, the Omaha men's soccer team earned a Summit League Men's Soccer Tournament title and a berth in the NCAA Tournament. After a 1-1 draw, Omaha outlasted top-seeded Denver 9-8 in an 11-round shootout Saturday afternoon at Caniglia Field. Emmanuel Hamzat converted two penalty kicks in an 11-round shootout and was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament and a member of the All-Tournament team. Goalkeeper Joseph Ghitis made three saves and converted a penalty kick in the shootout. Scott DeVoss' header gave Denver the lead in the 26th minute off a set piece service from Jacob Stensson. Stensson served a ball into the penalty area where a Denver player put a header over Ghitis, and Devoss outmuscled a Maverick defender to finish the opportunity and put the Pioneers ahead 1-0. The Mavericks trailed for 1:19 before Xavier Gomez fired a penalty kick into the lower left corner to level the score 1-1. After beating a Denver defender into the penalty area, Hamzat was taken down by another Pioneer defender to earn the penalty kick. Gomez nearly put Omaha ahead in the 75th minute, but his shot from the top of the box bounced off the crossbar. Less than a minute later, the Pioneers' Alex Underwood fired a shot from 25-yards out forcing Ghitis to make a diving save. Hamzat crushed a shot from inside the penalty area in the 78th minute forcing Denver's Nick Gardner to make a save. The second session of overtime saw an early chance for Omaha on a shot from Hamzat that was saved by Gardner. The best chance of overtime was in the 108th minute on a well-struck shot by Denver's Kenny Akamatsu. However, Ghitis made a diving fingertip save to keep UNO in the game and push the match into a shootout. The shootout began with DU's Alex Underwood converting on his penalty kick attempt, while Omaha's Hamzat scored against Denver's backup goalkeeper Will Palmquist, who was brought in for the shootout, replacing Gardner. Denver's Shae Smalley, Graham Smith and Jacob Stensson each scored their penalty kicks. Omaha's Xavier Gomez, Jacob Weiler and Joseph Ghitis kept things level by making their shots. Summit League Offensive Player of the Year Andre Shinyashiki had his shot stopped by Ghitis. Palmquist kept the Pioneers in the match by stopping Omaha's fifth shooter. AJ Fuller and Kyle Morlack each hit their PK's for Denver, and Omaha answered with goals by Diego Gutierrez and Cole Nelson. Ghitis then stopped Akamatsu's attempt to give the Mavericks another shot at the win. Palmquist again denied UNO's attempt. Blake Elder and Ryan Barlow kept the pressure on Omaha by making their shots, but Miguel Gomez and Ethan Bowman each converted their chances. Smith stepped up for his second chance in the shootout for the Pioneers, but this time Ghitis stopped his shot. Hamzat then blasted a shot just over the outstretched arms of Palmquist to give Omaha its first Summit League title and berth to the NCAA Tournament. Maverick Tidbits Omaha s 10 wins are tied for the most in program history (2016, 2014). UNO advanced to the championship of the Summit League Tournament for the second-straight year. Omaha played Creighton in front of a program-high 4,986 fans at Caniglia Field on Sept. 26. Through 17 games this season, UNO has started 19 different players. Four different Mavericks have played over 1,300 minutes in defender Seth Rinderknecht, goalkeeper Joseph Ghitis and midfielders Xavier Gomez and Cole Nelson. Elvir Ibisevic and Jacob Weiler each have played over 1,150 minutes. Nine players have made their Omaha debuts this year, highlighted by Diego Gutierrez, Stevie Siy and Miguel Gomez combing for 29 starts, two goals and eight assists. Outscoring teams on the season thus far, Omaha has outscored opponents 16-5 in the first half of the match. UNO is when it concedes the first goal and 8-3 when scoring first. TRACKING THE OPPOSITION as of Nov. 14 Team...Record... Streak Bradley T1 Creighton L2 Florida Gulf Coast L1 Grand Canyon L2 Houston Baptist L5 *Michigan L1 Northern Illinois L4 UC Riverside L1 Utah Valley L2 UTRGV L1 *Virginia Tech L1 * NCAA Tournament Teams MAVERICKS VS. OTHER CONFERENCES Team... Record ACC (1) ASUN (1) Big East (1) Big 10 (1) Big West (1) MAC (1) Missouri Valley (1) WAC (4) GAMES STARTED STREAKS Player... Current...Long Ray Barajas Ethan Bowman Fred Frimpong Brahan Gamarra Joseph Ghitis Miguel Gomez Xavier Gomez Ed Gordon Diego Gutierrez Noor Hamadi Emmanuel Hamzat Elvir Ibisevic Michael Jaime Joel Kazhila Zac Marquess Joey McCain Cole Nelson Seth Rinderknecht Stevie Siy Ugo Tritz Jacob Weiler Denzel Woods

4 OMAHA MEN'S SOCCER Helpers UNO has racked up the assists this season. The 32 total assists are tied for most in program history (2014). Fourteen Mavericks have contributed assists this season, led by eight from Xavier Gomez. Defensive Minded Against Western Illinois, UNO registered its seventh shutout of the season. It was the Mavericks third shutout in the last four games. Omaha has posted the second-most clean sheets in program history with seven. The school record of eight was set in Golden Feet Over the past two seasons, Elvir Ibisevic and Emmanuel Hamzat have had the right touch, collecting a combined 11 game-winning goals. Ibisevic and Hamzat each have three winners in Ibisevic has six career-game winning strikes and ranks second all-time, while Hamzat has five. Marvelous Mavericks Eleven Omaha players were named to the 2017 All-Summit League Men's Soccer Teams before the start of the conference tournament. The first team included five Mavericks: senior midfielder Xavier Gomez, senior forward Emmanuel Hamzat, sophomore forward Elvir Ibisevic, sophomore defender Seth Rinderknecht and senior defender Jacob Weiler. Two more UNO players earned a spot on the second team: senior goalkeeper Joseph Ghitis and junior midfielder Cole Nelson. Four additional Mavericks garnered a spot on the all-newcomer team: senior midfielder Brahan Gamarra, freshman midfielder Miguel Gomez, freshman midfielder Diego Gutierrez and freshman defender Stevie Siy. Ghitis, Hamzat, Ibisevic, Rinderknecht and Weiler repeated as all-conference picks. Ghitis, Hamzat, Ibisevic and Rinderknecht were previously first-team selections in 2016, while Weiler was a second-team honoree. X-Factor Xavier Gomez has an outstanding senior campaign. Gomez is second on the team in total points (18) and minutes played (1400). He also leads the Summit League in assists with eight. The Chicago, Ill. native has added five goals this season including the game-winner against Oral Roberts. Gomez picked up his first career Summit League Offensive Player of the Week award on Nov. 6. Gomez ranks third in program history with 11 assists, and seventh on the career charts in total points (27) and goals (eight). Exciting Elvir Elvir Ibisevic has already put together an impressive campaign. The sophomore leads the Mavericks with nine goals and 19 points, figures that rank the Johnston, Iowa, product among the top-5 in the Summit League in their respective categories. Ibisevic is inching closer to etching his name among the top offensive players in Maverick history. His 13 career goals currently rank him third on Omaha s all-time goal scorer chart. Ibisevic s 30 career points also have him fifth in that category. Get It, Ghitis! Goalkeeper Joseph Ghitis became the standard-bearer for Omaha goalkeepers this season. Ghitis collected his program-best 147th save against Florida Gulf Coast on Oct. 3. Entering the 2017 season, Ghitis already set program milestones in save percentage, goals-against average, wins, shutouts, goalkeeper games played and goalkeeper minutes. The only other two Mavericks to reach at least 10 wins and 100 saves are Josh Christensen ( ) and Matt Grosey ( ). The Ups and Downs of 2017 After a quick start to the 2017 schedule, the Mavericks have hit a bit of a rough stretch over the last month, and nothing demonstrates this fact better than comparing the team s first eight matches with its next eight. The squad began the year with only one loss in its first eight outings, but the team that took the field the following eight times had only two wins. The difference in squads over those two periods of the 2017 season is apparent by much more than just looking at wins and losses. In its first eight matches, the Omaha defense was almost unbreakable, conceding only five goals and amassing an opponent scoreless streak of nearly 350 minutes. In the following seven outings, Omaha s defense struggled. In games 9-17, the Mavericks allowed eight goals, which included three matches with multiple shots finding the back of the net.. SUMMIT LEAGUE STANDINGS Final Standings School Conf Overall Denver Western Illinois Omaha Eastern Illinois Oral Roberts Fort Wayne LEAGUE OFFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK Player School Date Elvir Ibisevic...Omaha... Aug. 28 Elvir Ibisevic...Omaha...Sept. 5 Emmanuel Hamzat...Omaha...Sept. 11 Fernando Pacheco...Western Illinois...Sept. 18 Drew Whalen...Western Illinois...Sept. 25 Romain Lopez...IPFW...Oct. 2 Eric Kronenberg...Denver...Oct. 9 Andre Shinyashiki...Denver...Oct. 16 Andre Shinyashiki...Denver...Oct. 23 Andre Shinyashiki...Denver...Oct. 30 Aljendro Pacheco...Western Illinois...Oct. 30 Alex Underwood...Denver... Nov. 6 Xavier Gomez...Omaha...Nov LEAGUE DEFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK Player School Date Stevie Siy...Omaha... Aug. 28 Dan Mooney...Denver...Aug. 28 Mike Novotny...Eastern Illinois...Sept. 5 Jacob Weiler...Omaha...Sept. 11 Seth Rinderknecht...Omaha...Sept. 18 Joseph Ghitis...Omaha...Sept. 25 Mike Novotny...Eastern Illiinois...Sept. 25 Tim Trilk...Western Illinois...Oct. 2 Thibaut Giquel...Oral Roberts...Oct. 9 Mike Novotny...Eastern Illiinois...Oct. 16 Ugo Tritz...Omaha... Oct. 23 Scott DeVoss...Denver...Oct. 23 Graham Smith...Denver...Oct. 30 Tim Trilk...Western Illinois...Oct. 30 Nick Gardner...Denver... Nov. 6 Joseph Ghitis...Omaha...Nov. 6

5 2017 OMAHA MEN'S SOCCER 5 MAVERICKS BY THE NUMBERS OVERALL Overall Home Road Neutral On Mondays On Tuesdays On Thursdays On Fridays On Saturdays On Sundays SCORING When Scoring First When Opp. Scores First When Leading at Half When Trailing at Half When Tied at Half BY MONTH In August In September In October November BY GOAL When Scoring 0 Goals When Scoring 1 Goal When Scoring 2 Goals When Scoring 3 Goals When Scoring 4 + Goals When Allowing 0 Goals When Allowing 1 Goal When Allowing 2 Goals When Allowing 3 Goals When Allowing 4 + Goals BY SHOTS When Outshooting Opp When Being Outshot When Tied in Shots BY RANKINGS vs. RPI 1-25 Opp vs. RPI Opp vs. RPI Opp vs. RPI Opp vs. RPI Opp vs. NSCAA Ranked Opp vs. NSCAA Unranked Opp vs. NSCAA Top 10 Opp The last three games have seen Omaha right the ship and recapture its winning ways. Over its last three matches, UNO is and have allowed only one goal. Mavericks in the Classroom Omaha was named a United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Award winner for the academic year, the association announced Thursday. Formerly the NSCAA, United Soccer Coaches recognized 824 collegiate teams (286 men, 538 women) that posted a cumulative team grade point average of 3.0 or higher in Omaha was among one of 202 schools to have both its men's and women's teams honored. The Omaha men's soccer team finished the year with a 3.30 team GPA. This award is the fifth overall team academic honor for the men's side. Hamzat Earns TDS Honor Emmanuel Hamzat was named to the Topdrawer Soccer Team of the week on Nov. 14. The MVP of the Summit League tournament, Hamzat hit two penalties in the 11-round shootout win over Denver. He earned the penalty kick in regulation against DU and assisted on the game-winning goal in a semifinal win against Western Illinois. Nelson Earns a National Honor On Tuesday (Sept. 12), Cole Nelson was named to the Top Drawer Soccer National Team of the Week. Nelson was one of 11 players across the country to earn the honor. The Kansas native figured in the scoring of Omaha s first goal in the come-from-behind win over Bradley. National Recognition Following the first three-goal game in program history, Elvir Ibisevic was named the United Soccer Coaches National Player of the Week on Aug. 29. His national player of the week honor was the first of his career and the first in program history. The NCAA also named the Omaha men s soccer team their team of the week on Aug. 31. Ibisevic Named to the TDS Team of the Week Following his seven-point performance against Virginia Tech, Elvir Ibisevic earned a spot on the Top Drawer Soccer Division I Men s Soccer Team of the Week (Aug ). The sophomore had a hat trick and an assist during Omaha s 5-1 rout of No. 17 Virginia Tech. Ibisevic Sets Omaha Single-Match Record Elvir Ibisevic set a school single-match record when he scored three goals against No. 17 Virginia Tech (Aug. 27). Ibisevic also set a single-game mark with seven points in the game. Previously, seven different Mavericks had scored two goals in a match, but no one had scored three. Quick Strike Elvir Ibisevic needed just over 10 minutes to find the back of the net three times in a 5-1 win against Virginia Tech. Ibisevic scored the second-fastest hat trick in DI soccer history. Night of Firsts During Omaha s match against No. 17 Virginia Tech (Aug. 27), the Mavericks set three program records. UNO totaled 17 points on five goals and seven assists. Welcome Back The Mavericks return 18 letterwinners to the program for the 2017 season, including seven starters for the 2016 Summit League regular-season champions. Of the 87 points tallied as a team last season, the Omaha offense returns 50 of those points. Offensively last season, Emmanuel Hamzat tallied 14 points on six goals and two assists. Elvir Ibisevic had 11 points on four goals and three assists, while Seth Rinderknecht added two goals and two assists. In the net, Joseph Ghitis returns for his senior season. Along with Ghitis, Ugo Tritz is back for his sophomore season. Last year, Ghitis went 9-4-4, recorded six shutouts, posted a goals-against average of 1.06 and tallied 62 saves. Tritz went 1-1 with a 0.50 goals-against average. The Newcomers The Mavericks welcomed 11 newcomers in freshmen Oliver Bihuniak, Miguel Gomez, Ed Gordon, Diego Gutierrez, Connor Jokerst, Tim Kaftan, Stephen Siy and Matt Smith and transfers Brahan Gamarra, Gonzalo Ledesma and Billy Hoffmann.

6 OMAHA MEN'S SOCCER Local Talent a Strong Influence on 2017 Roster The 2017 Mavericks will have plenty of homegrown talent on the roster as 10 players are from Nebraska. Nine of those players are from the Omaha metro area while one is from South Sioux City. It s not only the players that have Omaha ties as head coach Jason Mims spent 10 years at Creighton University as an assistant coach. Goalkeeper coach Daniel Galvis played two years at Bellevue University before moving on to coach with the Bruins and Bluejays. Players from the Omaha metro area: Ed Gordon, Diego Gutierrez, Noor Hamadi, Michael Jaime, Tim Kaftan, Joey McCain, Quinn Nelson, Stevie Siy and Matthew Smith. Players from South Sioux City, Neb.: Gonzalo Ledesma Getting to Know Coach Mims Omaha appointed Jason Mims as the first head coach in program history in Since then Mims has built a program that has received national recognition across the country. Last season, the Mavericks (10-5-4, Summit League) earned a share of their second Summit League regular season title and the top-seed in the conference tournament. In 2014, Mims' team achieved the program's first Top 25 ranking after starting the season He earned Summit League Coach of the Year honors following the 2014 season in which the Mavericks tied for the Summit League regular-season title. OMAHA IN THE JASON MIMS ERA Season Overall Record Independent (Division I) Total Summit League (Division I) * * Total Career * - Summit League Regular Season champs THE LAST TIME OMAHA AS A TEAM Scored 0 Goals VS. N0. 25 Creighton (9/26/17) Scored 1 Goal vs. Denver (11/11/17) Scored 2 Goals vs. Oral Roberts (11/4/17) Scored 3 Goals vs. Utah Valley (9/17/17) Scored 4+ Goals vs. No. 17 Virginia Tech (8/27/17) Defeated a Ranked Opponent vs. No. 17 Virginia Tech (8/27/17) Tied a Ranked Opponent vs. No. 4 Denver (10/30/16) Lost to a Ranked Opponent 1-2, at No. 24 Michigan (10/14/17) Attempted Fewer Than 10 Shots 4 at at Denver (10/28/17) Attempted Shots 20 vs. Penn (9/11/16) Attempted 30 + Shots vs. Bradley 37 (9/19/15) Had 0 Corner Kicks vs. Eastern Illinois (10/8/16) Had Corner Kicks 13 vs. DePaul (9/9/16) Had 10+ Saves 10 at Milwaukee (10/16/12) Won in Overtime vs. Grand Canyon, 2-1 (8/25/17) Lost in Overtime 1-2, at Denver (10/28/17) Tied in Overtime vs. Denver (11/11/17) Won in a Shootout vs. Denver (11/11/17)

7 OMAHA MEN'S SOCCER 2017 OVERALL STATS

8 OMAHA MEN'S SOCCER 2017 SUMMIT LEAGUE ONLY STATS

9 OMAHA MEN'S SOCCER 2017 MATCH-BY-MATCH TEAM STATS

10 OMAHA MEN'S SOCCER 2017 MATCH-BY-MATCH COMPARISON STATS

11 OMAHA MEN'S SOCCER 2017 INDIVIDUAL SEASON/CAREER STATS

12 OMAHA MEN'S SOCCER 2017 BOX SCORES MATCH 1: OMAHA 2, GRAND CANYON 1 (OT) MATCH 2: OMAHA 5, NO. 17 VIRGINIA TECH 1 MATCH 3: OMAHA 1, HOUSTON BAPTIST 0 MATCH 4: OMAHA 1, UTRGV 0

13 OMAHA MEN'S SOCCER 2017 BOX SCORES MATCH 5: OMAHA 1, UC RIVERSIDE 0 MATCH 7: NORTHERN ILLINOIS 1, OMAHA 0 MATCH 6: OMAHA 2, BRADLEY 1 MATCH 8: OMAHA 3, UTAH VALLEY 1

14 OMAHA MEN'S SOCCER 2017 BOX SCORES MATCH 9: OMAHA 0, EASTERN ILLINOIS 0 (2OT) MATCH 10: NO. 25 CREIGHTON 1, NO. 24 OMAHA 0 MATCH 11: OMAHA 1, FORT WAYNE 1 (2OT) MATCH 12: FGCU 3, OMAHA 2

15 OMAHA MEN'S SOCCER 2017 BOX SCORES MATCH 13: N0. 24 MICHIGAN 2, OMAHA 1 (OT) MATCH 14: OMAHA 2, WESTERN ILLINOIS 0 MATCH 15: DENVER 2, OMAHA 1 MATCH 16: OMAHA 2, ORAL ROBERTS 0

16 OMAHA MEN'S SOCCER 2017 BOX SCORES MATCH 17: OMAHA 2, WESTERN ILLINOIS 0 (SUMMIT LIEAGUE TOURNAMENT) MATCH 18: OMAHA 1, DENVER 1 (2OT) (OMAHA WINS 9-8 PKS) MATCH 19: OMAHA AT NO. 8 FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL

17 OMAHA MEN'S SOCCER MEDIA CLIPS UNO men look to keep rolling at home for first time as ranked team By Tony Boone, World-Herald staff writer Sept. 7, 2017 UNO men s soccer will celebrate another milestone on Friday. For the first time in its short history, it will play a home match as a nationally ranked team. The Mavericks (4-0) enter their nonconference game with UC Riverside (0-3) at Caniglia Field rated 17th in the United Soccer Coaches poll. It s the highest ranking UNO has achieved in its seven years of soccer. Co-captain Cole Nelson expected this to happen at some point this season, although not this quickly. The junior midfielder is looking forward to UNO having the chance to preserve its ranking on the home turf. We always like to play in front of our home fans because they always bring an awesome environment, he said. I think that they ll be a lot more hyped since we re nationally ranked. But at the end of the day, it s the same. It s the same emotion walking out of that tunnel. It s going to be an awesome weekend. The Mavs also host Bradley (1-2) on Sunday as they seek their best-ever start to a season. UNO opened the 2015 campaign at 6-1 to earn its first national ranking. But its No. 23 spot in the coaches poll lasted only a week. The Mavs drew at IUPUI that Friday and lost at Valparaiso on Sunday. They hadn t been ranked again until last week, when they entered the USC poll at No. 21. Coach Jason Mims said his players understand how precarious that position in the rankings can be going forward. They know the only way they stay in that is to win games. You lose and no one feels sorry for you, Mims said. The hard part is keeping it here. We got here before, but now you ve got to win games. UNO took care of business on the road in Texas last weekend in its first matches as a ranked team. I was happy for the guys. It was tough, Mims said. We had two clean sheets, two 1-0 victories. That s all you want to do on the road is win. Two different types of opponent. We had no idea what to expect. Mims said the 1-0 win over Houston Baptist at the Rio Grande Valley Invitational featured an opening 25 minutes played at 100 miles an hour. Elvir Ibisevic, named the Summit League player of the week for the second time already this fall, scored the lone goal in the 14th minute. Emmanuel Hamzat s tally early in Sunday s victory over UTRGV accounted for the score in that outing. UNO held on late in both matches. We knew that, with us being ranked, we were going to have a target on our heads, Nelson said. We knew that they were going to bring it. It s nice to get two more wins, stay ranked and keep moving up. UNO earned its spot in the national poll by blitzing then-no. 17 Virginia Tech 5-1 on the opening Sunday of the season, two nights after the Hokies won at Creighton. The Mavs led 4-0 at halftime in that match. That came two days after the Mavs rallied to beat Grand Canyon. They are 4-0 for the second time. I didn t expect it this quickly. But I did expect us to come out flying, Nelson said I knew that, with all the guys coming in fit in the preseason, we were going to have a good start. With that Virginia Tech game here, that really started it all and got everybody excited about what we ve got going on here. Mims said UNO has been OK to this point. Confidence and team chemistry have been the key, he said. I m sure we ll have some times where it won t go as well for us as it s going now and we ll have to have some adversity to face, he said. For now, they re having so much fun. I just tell them to embrace it. Through four matches, UNO s forwards have been scoring, goalkeeper Joseph Ghitis has been solid and the defensive line in front of him hasn t allowed many chances. And Mims said his midfielders bought in to working harder than their opponents to get forward more on offense and back more on defense. Seven of the team s nine goals so far have come from the forwards, Ibisevic and Hamzat. Midfielder Xavier Gomez has the other two goals. Mims said eventually someone else will need to find the net. The well is going to go empty at some point, he said. We re going to still have to manufacture goals somehow because there s going to be a day when the forwards stop scoring. Let s hope that they don t. UC Riverside has been outscored 6-2 in its three outings. The Highlanders surrendered a late goal in a 3-2 loss to Oregon State in their last match, but Mims expects them to be an athletic bunch. In its return home, UNO hopes to match the intensity it had during the opening weekend at Caniglia. With the media attention and the rankings, there s probably a lot of people out there that want to come check out our team and see what we re all about, Mims said. Hopefully, that helps us, too.

18 OMAHA MEN'S SOCCER MEDIA CLIPS Early conference bye might be the break that Mavs needed By Tony Boone, World-Herald staff writer Friday, Sept. 30, 2016 Seniors Joseph Ghitis and Xavier Gomez vividly remember their freshman year at UNO. Gomez recalled the Mavericks having good players in But the team, he said, wasn t great. UNO was 1-5 through six matches in its third season. It finished with six victories that year. The Mavs have equaled that total already this fall. And they ve played only six games. UNO (6-0) is one of nine unbeaten, untied teams remaining in Division I soccer. Tuesday, it established a new program benchmark by entering the top 10 of the United Soccer Coaches rankings for the first time. The Mavs are tied with Clemson for 10th in the weekly ratings, up seven spots from last week. It s kind of crazy how this just happened, Ghitis said. It feels really good, obviously. But I could ve never expected this. We knew we were all going to put in our work. We re finally here. We ve made it. UNO s senior goalkeeper said it s a surreal feeling to be thought of as one of the nation s best teams. The season is only three weekends old, yet his team is already only four wins shy of its school-best total. Gomez finds himself lying in bed at night and pondering the 6-0 start by the Mavs, who meet Northern Illinois (2-3) and previously ranked Utah Valley (3-1) at the UVU tournament in Orem, Utah, this week. Not a lot of teams have the opportunity to start out 6-0, the senior midfielder said. Even good teams like Akron, Stanford and UCLA, they re not 6-0. I want to show all these underclassmen that we might not have this opportunity again. We have to live in the moment now and take full advantage of it. UNO has done a pretty good job of that to date. Its opening weekend included a come-from-behind overtime win over Grand Canyon and a 5-1 rout of then-ranked Virginia Tech. Consecutive 1-0 victories over Houston Baptist, UTRGV and UC Riverside were next, followed by a late rally past Bradley on Sunday. Mavs coach Jason Mims said it s been quite an initiation for the numerous newcomers on his team. I think the new guys have had a dream start, he said. They re loving life. This is awesome. Ghitis said the upperclassmen reminded the rookies last weekend that it hasn t always been like this. You guys have no idea what it is to lose, he said. We re winning, but you guys have no idea. We used to lose and lose and lose and lose. Now, this is the expectation. I hope these guys can keep that going. The new school-best ranking changes little about the season, Mims said, admitting that it is cool. The guys feel great about it, he said. Nothing has changed as far as them having a target on their backs and having to live up to those standards. It s great for the program and great for the university. UNO s seventh-year coach said things can go one of two ways for the Mavs from here. He s been impressed with the way his group has handled its newfound attention. When you re ranked like this and you keep on moving up, you can get complacent and satisfied or you work harder, he said. As a coach, losing always motivates me. But we ve been winning, and these guys have been more motivated. I ve seen more guys out here before practice and after practice, and wanting to watch film and do things when we re winning, which is a cool thing to see. Usually, you see that when you re losing games. But these guys want to get better. That s just part of them embracing it. Mims has witnessed good team chemistry, guys playing for each other. His players have seen it, too. It doesn t matter who s playing, Ghitis said. I see everybody is super invested, especially when we re on the road. When guys aren t playing, they re still screaming. I ve never seen the bench so animated. Every player on the UNO roster is contributing, Gomez said, so each one feels accountable. What really helps us out this year is our team is so deep, he said. We have guys that can come onto the pitch and keep the level, if not make it higher. We have a 29-man roster. (With) guys 1 through 29, everyone is a good soccer player. It s a great team to be on right now. Our team comes to work every day and doesn t need much to be said about staying level-headed or focused on what the prize is.

19 OMAHA MEN'S SOCCER MEDIA CLIPS UNO coach Jason Mims envisioned the Mavericks' soccer growth from start-up program to ranked contenderby Tony Boone, World-Herald staff writer Sept. 23, 2017 If he wasn t coaching one of the teams, Jason Mims would be hanging out in the stands when 23rd-ranked UNO hosts Creighton in the Dodge Street Derby on Tuesday night at Caniglia Field. The Mavericks seventh-year head coach, who spent 10 seasons as a Bluejay assistant, is a selfproclaimed soccer junkie. He s enjoying the fact that the two schools are sharing the spotlight in Omaha. I think it s great for the soccer community, Mims said. Some days, I wish I wasn t doing all the prep work and coaching and being so involved in it. As a soccer junkie, one week I d be at Creighton and one week I m at UNO. That s kind of the best-case scenario. There s no professional team here. To be able to go watch two top college teams, I think that s awesome. I m jealous of the soccer fan here in Omaha. UNO is expecting an invasion of those fans Tuesday, when Creighton makes its first regularseason appearance at Caniglia Field. The Mavs and Bluejays first met last September at Morrison Stadium, playing to a 1-1 draw. UNO was ahead for nearly 40 minutes before No. 8 Creighton netted the equalizer. The Mavs are the ranked team this time. UNO stunned Virginia Tech on the opening weekend of the season, two days after the Hokies topped the Bluejays at Morrison. The results vaulted the Mavs into the Top 25 for the second time in program history while Creighton dropped out of the poll. Mims said none of that will matter Tuesday. Anytime you have two local teams play against each other, just throw out rankings, he said. No one even looks at that. It doesn t matter if UNO is 0-8 and Creighton is 8-0 or both teams are 4-4. It s a local derby. You want to play. The guys are excited. They know it s going to be the biggest crowd of the year. Creighton is aware of UNO s success this fall. Coach Elmar Bolowich said the Bluejays have been following the Mavs. He s seen a team with good players that he thinks has postseason potential. There s a reason why they are where they are right now, Bolowich said. I think they will be an NCAA team at the end of the year. They could win their conference and get an automatic bid. But even if not, I think they would be well in (the range) to be an at-large. They have talent on that team, there s no question. The kids work hard. It s a hard-working team. You have to beat them. They don t beat themselves. Mims envisioned this when he agreed to build UNO s program from the beginning. He left Penn State, where he was an assistant under former Creighton coach Bob Warming, to return to Omaha. Making the program a reality was a dream come true, Mims said. Some coaching colleagues told him he was crazy for leaving the Big Ten to coach a start-up. He felt differently. First, he loved Omaha and respected the way the community supported its local teams. And second, he believed his vision for what UNO soccer could become was in line with that of Athletic Director Trev Alberts and Associate A.D. Mike Kemp, both of whom offered their full support. You always have goals, he said. You have short-term goals. You have long-term goals. Certainly, I set out a plan of what we wanted to accomplish here. Obviously, I didn t know everything that I know now. When you re going into a brand new job at a new place, you want to be organized and have a goal set. Mims aided Warming in building Creighton into a nationally ranked program out of the Missouri Valley. He firmly believed UNO could eventually become the same through the Summit League. I definitely expected it, he said. I wouldn t have left Penn State if I didn t feel like I could get things accomplished here. If I didn t think it was possible to establish a Top 25 program, I wouldn t have taken the job.... I was in a good place at Penn State. But it was an easy sell once I came here. Mims sought advice from Warming and Kemp. Both had built programs from scratch as coaches in Omaha. He patterned his squad after Dana Altman s basketball teams at Creighton. He said he enjoyed watching the Bluejays play because they worked hard. It was very rare to see a Dana Altman-coached team get outworked, he said. I took that philosophy, too. We may play teams like Stanford, UCLA and Penn State. And they re going to have more talent than us. But nobody can take away how hard you work and your mentality and belief in playing together. Once you get a team that buys into the coach, the system and working hard, the rest of it becomes a little bit easier. Once you get that established, you then figure out a system and how you want to play. It didn t happen overnight, but Mims has the Mavs on the rise. Bolowich said Creighton has tried to assist by helping UNO get matches. We share opponents with them, he said. We d invited these top-ranked teams to come to play us (and then they d play UNO on the same trip).... We helped them build their brand. Mims appreciates that. And he s happy the Mavs are no longer just the other team Creighton opponents play on their trips to Omaha. He said it s neat that UNO is finally able to do its part. I think when teams now come in here and do play both teams... they get two good games out of it, he said. They get to play at two of the better venues in the country in college soccer, and they re playing two of the better teams in the country. To have two teams like that in one city, I think that s cool. Mims said he d love for the Mavs and Bluejays to meet on an annual basis in a soccer showcase for Omaha. Ideally, he d like to play Creighton at the same time every year so fans could look forward to it. Their current agreement was a two-year, home-and-home deal. This meeting could be the last. Obviously, we d love to keep it going, Mims said. But, right now, nothing has been scheduled. To have a local rivalry like that, I think it s pretty cool. You don t look at the rankings or who s supposed to win. I think it s just cool that you play each other. It s usually going to be a pretty competitive match. Bolowich isn t as sold on the idea of an annual match with UNO yet, saying the intensity of the budding rivalry had led to some over-the-line play. He also isn t ruling out continuing the series after Tuesday. What I want is a game with a lot of respect on both sides for both teams, and a lot of sportsmanship, he said. Time will tell if we continue the series. This game on Tuesday will show a lot. Obviously, they want to win. And I know competition. I don t care if they win because they re better. If they win because they re better, then hey, they won because they re better. But what I don t need is shenanigans and gamesmanship. If Tuesday s match is anything like its predecessor, Mims said it should be fun. I thought last year was incredible, he said. Creighton hosted, and it was awesome. We had fans in their stadium. It was one of the first times ever at Morrison Stadium where there was an opposing team bringing fans into the game not just family and friends. That makes a good environment for the game. This year, it s probably going to be the same with Creighton fans coming down and us doing it here.

20 OMAHA MEN'S SOCCER MEDIA CLIPS 'A historic day for Omaha soccer : Goal in 78th minute gives Jays victory against UNO before almost 5,000 fans By Tony Boone, World-Herald staff writer Sept. 26, 2017 Omaha s first intracity matchup of nationally ranked teams lived up to its expectations. The atmosphere for the second installment of the Dodge Street Derby, by far, exceeded the first. Nearly 5,000 fans surrounded Caniglia Field to see No. 25 Creighton edge No. 24 UNO 1-0 Tuesday in a match that featured very few good scoring opportunities thanks to pair of defenses in late-season form. Ricky Lopez-Espin netted the game-winner for the Bluejays (6-3), heading in a cross from Lucas Stauffer in the 78th minute. It came on the final shot on goal for either team. There were only five in the match. It was really a tough contest well played by both teams, I thought. Very energetic, Creighton coach Elmar Bolowich said. I felt like both defenses did a very good job, to the point where neither keeper actually had to make a save in the course of the 90 minutes. It was more like eliminating each other almost instead of really teams having the upper hand for the duration of the match. Maverick coach Jason Mims said it felt like an NCAA tournament game with neither team conceding. An electric atmosphere added to that postseason feeling. The announced attendance was 4,986, but that may have been more of an educated guess by officials because there couldn t be a true head count. The line of fans waiting to get in still wrapped around the corner of the stadium when the match actually began. Moments later, UNO vice chancellor of athletics Trev Alberts made the call to just let them in. Those fans entered for free. And UNO announced that the others who had previously purchased tickets for the match would be allowed to use those tickets to attend a future 2017 regular-season home game. It was awesome, Mims said. It was something you dream of that you can have an environment like this. It was absolutely incredible. Beyond expectations. It s a historic day for Omaha soccer to get two teams in the top 25 to play each other.... It may not happen again. It s the most fun game of the year. The Mavs (7-2-1) nearly got on the board first, but Emmanuel Hamzat was whistled for being offsides in the 11th minute as Elvir Ibisevic followed up an initial shot by Diego Gutierrez with a rebound chance. It turned out to be UNO s best scoring opportunity of the night, though it ended with three shots on goal. Creighton outshot the Mavs 9-4 in the first half, but it put only one of those shots on goal. With 13 minutes remaining, Lopez-Espin gave the ball up to Stauffer on the left wing to set up the game-winner. Stauffer dribbled to the end line, then sent a crossing pass in front of the net. Lopez- Espin headed the ball past UNO goalkeeper Joseph Ghitis on the only shot the Bluejays put on goal after the intermission. As a forward, you re always looking for the next one, Lopez-Espin said. I know their two center backs are really good in the air. I knew I had a task coming. I think that was my only header I won all night. As Creighton scored the goal, an injured Hamzat was lying on the field. He had gone down prior to when Lopez-Espin initially gave up the ball to Stauffer. Some of UNO s players seemed to slow up on the play. It s a lesson for our guys, Mims said. You can t stop playing until the referee blows the whistle. We had a lot of our guys stop. It s unfortunate.... You can t stop. You can t stop playing. Lopez-Espin said Creighton didn t even know that Hamzat had gone down. We didn t notice, he said. We kept playing. We didn t hear any screaming.... It wasn t a head injury so you don t stop the play right away. Bottom line, if we re on the attack, we re not going to stop. I gave the ball to Lucas, and what a great cross. He put it in, I got my head to it and luckily it went in. Creighton s star forward capitalized on the best scoring chance for either team to win it. It was few, far and between that anything good happened in the final third even for UNO, Bolowich said. I thought it was hectic at times and the shots came from distance on their part and our part. There was really nothing with open looks. The defenses did a phenomenal job for both teams. Bluejay keeper Michael Kluver recorded three saves to post his second straight shutout. The last of those came in the 55th minute. In a game like this, tension is high the whole game, he said. You re not getting down in any one moment. You re always ready just because the stakes are high for this game. Lopez-Espin said Creighton wouldn t let up because it had lost a late lead against Butler earlier this season. UNO, on the other hand, wouldn t give in. It had stunned Bradley with two late goals this fall. I think that kind of goes with one of the values of our team never give up and always keep working hard, Mavs defenseman Joey McCain said. That s something we kept doing at the end of the game. I think everybody had faith that we were going to get one. We never stopped working until the whistle.

21 OMAHA MEN'S SOCCER MEDIA CLIPS Chatelain: Creighton-UNO rivalry shows how far soccer has come in Omaha and what future could hold By Dirk Chatelain / World-Herald staff writer Sept. 27, 2017 Ten minutes after kickoff, the line curled from the northwest gate of Al Caniglia Field back up the old sidewalk halfway to Arts and Sciences Hall. Sure, the game was nearly sold out in advance, but who could ve envisioned this kind of crowd? Hand scanners weren t keeping up. The line was stalling. Finally, UNO athletic director Trev Alberts made a bold move. Let em in! Tickets or not, he wasn t going to watch the biggest soccer crowd in UNO history watch the first half from outside the gates. It was a perfect call on a perfect night that showed how far soccer has come in Omaha and what it might be in the future (if Elmar Bolowich allows it). No. 25 Creighton beat No 24 UNO, 1-0, in a tense, festive match, asserting its dominance in the city. But that wasn t the big story. The Caniglia bleachers were packed. About 1,000 more fans sat on the east hillside, or ringed the field along the rope line, or watched from outside the chain-link fence, or atop the parking garage. Official attendance was 4,986, but unofficially a UNO official estimated it was closer to 6,000, split almost evenly. All over, Creighton fans stood next to UNO fans who stood next to casual fans wanting to see the spectacle. College students played vuvuzelas and pounded drums and chanted. On the berm, kids engaged in pick-up soccer games. Families huddled on blankets. I showed up just after the match started, standing on the hillside as a red sunset fell behind Sapp Fieldhouse. This is a magical night. That s Tom Hoover, soccer coach at Creighton Prep. He came with three of his kids, his wife, Brenda, and his parents. They sat outside the fence, rooting for both teams. In 1982, Hoover played in this game in this exact location. Creighton at UNO. They called it the Mayors Cup. There were 12 people there and most of them were my family, Hoover said. Back then, UNO played its soccer home games on the Caniglia AstroTurf they marked the soccer lines around the football field and players cut their legs every time they slid. The Jays won 2-0. There s a trophy somewhere in some dusty old closet at Creighton, Hoover said. Now look at the scene, he said. Players are so skilled and athletic. You can see the emotion. UNO wants to prove itself. Creighton wants to protect its territory in the city. Coach Bolowich may not want to share the stage. But I think he better get used to it, Hoover said. On the north end, right behind the goal, a couple die-hard Mav fans sit in chairs along the rope line. Ryan Foehlinger and Eric Cutler are wearing the scarves they received with season tickets during first UNO soccer season Yes, they were coming to matches when the Mavs were at UNO Soccer Field. When the crowds were in the dozens, not the thousands. It s going to keep growing, Foehlinger said. Football s gotten so dangerous and kids get so many concussions that I think a lot of people are going to make the switch, Ryan Foehlinger said. I hope anyway. Echoes of UNO s football past haven t completely disappeared at halftime, a few teenagers tossed a football in the swampy grass north of the field, where Greg Zuerlein s field goals once landed. But you really had to stress the imagination to picture the old football field here. What stands now is one of the nation s best soccer facilities. To think that an actual football field got ripped up to put this beautiful masterpiece in here, I still can t believe it, said Roland Treu, a Bryan High graduate pushing 60. Treu marveled at all the familiar faces. Wednesday night was like one big reunion for the Omaha soccer community. One of his sons played at UNO in Another, Mitch, attended Wednesday s match. We all grew up loving Creighton and wanting to go to Creighton. Now UNO Omaha is supporting the local players. So it s kinda like, what do we do? So I couldn t say what team I m rooting for. It s too early to call this a soccer rivalry, Mitch Treu said. But it s clearly building with nights like Tuesday. He compared the environment to European soccer with fans along the rope line, just a few steps from the action. There s a lot of kids here, Mitch said. Boys and girls. And they re watching the game. That s a really cool thing. Look around here. They re watching the game. Monday night, Mitch Treu played in a men s league game in West Omaha a bunch of us old guys. We had some Creighton grads on the team, Mitch Treu said. They still couldn t believe it. Why would he want to cancel this? He, of course, is Bolowich, Creighton s fantastic coach. Around Caniglia Tuesday, the future of this match kept coming up in conversations. Every person I interviewed, Creighton fans included, expressed hope that the series continues. I think it s a nice little rivalry, said Jesus Yañez, a Creighton student from Denver. If you re a UNO fan or a Creighton fan, it s just fun to come out. But Bolowich isn t committed. In Sunday s World-Herald, he referenced shenanigans and gamesmanship in last year s match at Morrison Stadium a 1-1 draw as reason to suspend the series. After Tuesday s win, Bolowich didn t sound ready to embrace UNO. Jason and I, I think we have to talk about it because we have nothing on the agenda for 2018 at the moment and our schedule is full already as is, Bolowich said. So we have to look if we want to continue the series... I don t rule it out. I asked if Tuesday night s environment influences his opinion. Yes, Bolowich said. When we play at home, we are used to those kind of crowds, he said. We don t necessarily need to play at UNO to get crowds, but it is nice to see. I get that Big Brother doesn t want to give Little Brother the time of day. It s a story as old as sports. But Bolowich and Creighton need to see the big picture here. This isn t college basketball, where hosting UNO from Bluejays fans point of view feels like charity. This is college soccer, a sport that needs all the attention it can get. And UNO is a peer. The two sides have an opportunity, with these two remarkable facilities and growing fan bases, to build Omaha soccer into a national hot spot. The Jays have much to gain here. Their players experienced the same competitive rush Tuesday that the Mavs did. They surely got better from it. And the crowd was one of the biggest home or away that Creighton players will see their entire careers. Afterward, the Jays and Mavs exchanged sincere handshakes and hugs, retreating to their benches, where their respective fan bases gave them an ovation for their efforts. Or maybe they were cheering for an encore.

22 OMAHA MEN'S SOCCER MEDIA CLIPS As Future of UNO-Creighton Soccer is Weighed, Mavs Coach Jason Mims Calls It A 'Game for the Community' By Tony Boone, World-Herald staff writer Sept. 27, 2017 Jason Mims wants the Dodge Street Derby to continue. In fact, UNO s soccer coach would prefer to play Creighton twice home and home every year. His Bluejay counterpart, Elmar Bolowich, is open to discussions on the series, perhaps after next season. Jason and I have to talk about it, the Creighton coach said Tuesday. We have nothing on the agenda for 2018 at the moment, and our schedule is full already as is. We have to look if we want to continue the series. But certainly we need to sit down, we need to talk about it, and I don t rule it out. The No. 25 Bluejays (6-3) topped the No. 24 Mavericks (7-2-1) 1-0 in the second Division I meeting between the men s programs in Omaha. But the real winners were the fans at Caniglia Field. Nearly 5,000 of them packed the stadium to witness the Top 25 showdown. When the match began, there was a line of fans that ran around the corner from the ticket booth at the gate. The fixed seats, which number around 3,100, were filled. The pitch was then surrounded by the crowd. The atmosphere, especially, was second to none, Creighton goalkeeper Michael Kluver, an Omaha Skutt graduate, said. Obviously, this is very important match to me, being from in town. I know a lot of the guys on the team for UNO, and a lot of past guys on the team, so a win here meant a lot. But I also have a great deal of respect for them. It was a very good match. They fought really hard. UNO defenseman Joey McCain, a Papillion-La Vista South product, said he felt honored to be a part of the match the first between the teams with both rated though his Mavs came up short. Regardless of the outcome, I m just blessed to be able to play out here, he said. Two ranked teams. Two teams from Omaha. We were able to get almost 5,000 fans out here. It was a great atmosphere. Even the players who didn t grow up in Omaha felt there was something different about Tuesday night. When you re playing a derby match, it s awesome on both ends, said Creighton s Ricky Lopez-Espin, who scored the lone goal. It s awesome not only for us, not only for them, but for the community. I know they were up for it. We were up for it. It s a fun game to play. That s what you want as a player. Lopez-Espin said the large crowd forced the Bluejays to change their halftime plans. They intended to sit on the hill next to the playing surface during the break. Fans had filled that spot. Once the game started going, Elmar was like, There s no way we re going over there. We have to go inside, he said. It was a great atmosphere. It s what you look for in a derby match. I m hoping the people loved it. Certainly, the majority in attendance did, which is why Mims insists that the series continues. It s a no-brainer, he said. Every time, you re going to get a game like this. It was standing-room only. The crowd was, by far, the largest to see a soccer match at UNO. Bolowich pointed out that was nothing new for the Bluejays, who rank sixth nationally in attendance this year. But he said the atmosphere Tuesday could be a factor in the decision to re-up. It would certainly have something to do with it, the coach said. We wanted to see if the community supports this, of course. And it did. I think UNO did a good job of marketing and managing the game. To have that kind of atmosphere and that kind of crowd, it was great. When we play at home, we are used to those crowds, so we don t necessarily need to play a UNO to get good crowds, but it is nice to see. Mims said decisions to play local rivalry games should probably be decided by school officials above the coaches. But no matter who has the final call, he said, the sport should come first for players and fans. Win or lose, we always want to play, Mims said. It s not about me. It shouldn t be about any coach. The Creighton coach or the UNO coach, it shouldn t be about them. It s about what you saw here. People have got to put their egos away and say, Hey, this is a game for the community.

23 OMAHA MEN'S SOCCER MEDIA CLIPS System tweaks help Xavier Gomez break UNO's scoring drought, but Mavs tie with IPFW By Tim Perera, World-Herald correspondent Sept. 30, 2017 That lead held up at halftime with UNO holding a 9-3 shots advantage. It didn t take UNO long to knot the match in the second half. IPFW s Nick Cozad was called for a foul when he collided with Stevie Siy in the box less than two minutes into the half, and Gomez buried the penalty kick for his third goal this season to make it 1-1. The Mavs continued to pressure late, but Stangel wouldn t give ground. The Mavericks are now mired in a three-game winless streak with a loss and two draws, and Gomez said the team isn t making excuses for that. At the end of the day, a tie is not what we wanted, especially at home, he said. We re going to have to keep working harder to find some more goals. We had the ball a lot, but possession doesn t win the game, and it s not a great result for us right now. UNO next faces Florida Gulf Coast Tuesday in Fort Myers. What was never in doubt when No. 24 UNO hosted IPFW at Caniglia Field on Saturday was which side was the more talented. What was in doubt almost from the outset was the result. Xavier Gomez ended a Maverick scoring drought at 292:30 when he scored on a penalty kick in the 47th minute, but it wasn t enough as the Mastodons escaped with a 1-1 draw in front of 585 fans despite being outshot 17-4 by the Mavs. UNO coach Jason Mims said he tweaked his system heading into the match to try to create some offensive chances the Mavs had been lacking recently. Mims had a combined five sophomores and freshmen in the starting lineup, and the Mavericks controlled possession throughout the match. It s disappointing, especially for how much ball we had, Mims said. We dominated possession the whole game. Each team was called for 16 fouls and many more could have been called. IPFW was booked with four yellow cards while the Mavs were cited with three. Mims speculated that the recent physical play his team has faced might be because of its early-season success. There were a lot of bad fouls. A lot of awful fouls, he said. We ve never been fouled that many times. I don t know if that s the strategy coming in. I don t know if that s what teams are going to do now. That s what happens when you get really, really good and have a great environment like we have here. Teams are going to go out and they re not going to try to beat you. They re going to try to tie you. The Mavs (7-2-2, Summit League) got off to a fast start, registering their first shot of the match in the third minute by Emmanuel Hamzat, but IPFW keeper Brendan Stangel steered it aside. Despite UNO s early dominance, the Mastodons (3-5-4, 0-1-1) grabbed the lead in the 17th minute. Romain Lopez fired a ball from 30 yards out that was deflected into the lower-left corner of the goal well out of UNO keeper Joseph Ghitis reach to put IPFW up 1-0.

24 OMAHA MEN'S SOCCER Couple of Wins Could Do Wonders for Maverick Men's Soccer Team in Quest for Summit League Championship By Tony Boone, World-Herald staff writer Oct. 20, 2017 UNO's Xavier Gomez said UNO remains confident despite its recent winless stretch and agrees with his coach s opinion that the Michigan match was the best they d played. Our program has a high standard, he said. Although it hasn t lost a conference game, UNO has little margin for error in its pursuit of the Summit League title. It also has work to do to qualify for the upcoming league tourney, for which it is the host. The Mavericks, in the Summit, face conference co-leaders Western Illinois and Denver, both 2-0, in their next two matches. A loss to either of them eliminates UNO from the league s championship chase. More importantly, a failure to get results down the stretch will leave the Mavs on the outside looking in when postseason play begins. The top four teams qualify for the Summit tourney. UNO is currently fifth. A victory over the Leathernecks (4-7) on Saturday at Caniglia Field in their first home match of October would go a long way in securing the Mavs (7-4-2) a spot in the fourteam field. UNO, however, hasn t won a match in more than a month. Its last victory came in a Sept. 17 road match against Utah Valley. Once ranked 10th in the country, the Mavs are in their last five games. The most harmful results were the Summit draws against Eastern Illinois and IPFW, which left UNO winless in league play. The Mavs have two points in the league standings. The co-leaders each have six through two games. UNO coach Jason Mims isn t overly concerned about that now. His team still has three matches left. It s too early to look at the standings, he said. Some team is first. Some team is last. We don t put too much (stock) into them. Some teams in our conference have played four games. We ve played two. The fate of the Mavs will be decided over the next three weekends. UNO follows its consecutive matches against the current co-leaders with what could be a seasondefining finale against Oral Roberts. Mims would prefer that game to be meaningless. He knows there s little chance it will be. That s how tight our conference is, he said. You lose a couple of games, and we can finish in last place. You win out, and we probably win the league. It s always like that. I guess that s the advantage and disadvantage of being in a small conference. We know, every game, you have to grind it out. Mims is encouraged that his team is playing well. In fact, he and his players believe Saturday s 2-1 double-overtime loss at then-no. 24 Michigan was the best match they ve played all season. The Wolverines scored on a pair of set pieces, but did very little against the Mavs in regular play. It was obviously heartbreaking, senior Xavier Gomez said. We wanted to get the win. We scored first. We outplayed them. We thought we had better chances. That s how soccer is sometimes. I m just happy with how we re playing. We were connecting balls. After that game, we re more confident as a team. Mims suggested a needed break led to the performance against Michigan. He said UNO looked tired in its 3-2 loss at Florida Gulf Coast on Oct. 3, so he gave his players a few days off. And then the Mavs used the following week to work on aspects of their game that needed improvement as the year moved forward. Michigan was the best training we had up until that game, he said. And it was probably the best overall game that we played. They re one of the better teams we played. We didn t deserve to lose. Gomez said UNO remains confident despite its recent winless stretch and agrees with his coach s opinion that the Michigan match was the best they d played. But he said the Mavs now need to win. Our program has a high standard, he said. (Playing well) is just not good enough because we know how good we are. With the chances that we create, everybody can say that we could ve won. We ve got to stop saying that now. We ve got to get a result. It has felt like a long month since we won a game. Gomez expects the Leathernecks to get UNO at its best on Saturday. The loss to Michigan, Mims said, all but ended any chance the Mavs had at an NCAA at-large bid this season. UNO now has to win its way in. It s a very important week, knowing that to get into the (NCAA) tournament we have to go through winning the conference tournament, Gomez said. The RPI doesn t work out anymore for us. These next games are really important. I m just really excited to play. We know as a team that we can go far. Mims doesn t feel there s any more pressure on the Mavs now than there was before the start to league play. But Gomez said UNO knows its future is in its own hands over the next three Saturdays. Every team wants to make it to the conference tournament, he said. Every team in the conference still has a chance to make it to the conference tournament. It s still all up in the air. These next few games, I can t say how important they are. I m sure everyone on the team understands that. If we want to get far, we need to take care of business first... and that s Western Illinois.

25 OMAHA MEN'S SOCCER MEDIA CLIPS Mavericks Handle the Wind and Western Illinois for First Summit League Soccer Victory By Tony Boone, World-Herald staff writer Oct. 21, 2017 Illinois 16-6 overall. Sophomore goalkeeper Ugo Tritz needed to make only one save in his second shutout in as many starts. The victory improved UNO to in conference play. It still trails Denver (3-0-0) and the Leathernecks(2-1-0) in the league standings. But the Mavs travel to Denver next Saturday for a key conference showdown. UNO will be without Gomez, however, for the match. The senior midfielder, who leads the conference with seven assists, will be forced to miss that contest after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season. Mims said the Mavs will adjust. For now, he s just happy to be in the win column in league play. I m glad we got our first win now in the conference, and we ve got to just keep it going, he said. Guys are always excited when we go to Denver. Denver is always a good team. It s always a hard place to play at, but I think our guys are always ready for that challenge. They know it ll be a battle. UNO coach Jason Mims had the weather figured out. If his Mavericks defended the south goal to open their home soccer match against Western Illinois on Saturday at Caniglia Field, there was a good chance they could play with the wind behind their backs in both halves. A 53-minute lightning delay, which began 15 minutes in, spoiled that plan. By the time the teams resumed play, UNO was forced to play into the wind for the final 30 minutes before the intermission. As it turned out, the Mavericks (8-4-2) scored both goals in their 2-0 win during that stretch. Diego Gutierrez and Emmanuel Hamzat found the net as the Mavs posted their first victory in a month. That was pretty funny how we had the wind and then it did flip on us. But we still got the two goals, Mims said. Our game plan is always the same, especially at home. We want to be the aggressive team. We want to control the possession. And we want to get chances and be aggressive around the box. Mims said UNO has come out strong in all the games that it has played over the last several weeks. It just hasn t gotten the results it wanted. The Mavs had gone in their previous five games. But they were on the Leathernecks (4-8), who entered the match with a share of the Summit League lead, from the outset. UNO grabbed the momentum before the delay, and it didn t let up at all after it. Both goals were the result of the Mavericks relentless pressure in the box. Gutierrez scored in the 31st minutes by putting home a rebound off a Stevie Siy shot that hit the crossbar. Hamzat followed up his own shot, which was blocked, to score the second goal. It came after Xavier Gomez was denied by the Western Illinois keeper. Coach said to pressure hard in the first minute and don t let them get too comfortable, said Gutierrez, who earned a secondary assist on the Hamzat goal. We did that, and we got two early goals before the second half started. It was in our favor starting the second half. After that, we had it in our hands. UNO allowed the Leathernecks few offensive chances. The Mavs outshot Western

26 OMAHA MEN'S SOCCER MEDIA CLIPS UNO Men's Soccer Team Prepared to Rebound from Tough Loss, Guarantee Spot in Summit League Tourney By Tony Boone, World-Herald staff writer Nov. 3, 2017 feel that pain to have success, then obviously it s worth it. The Mavs will be at full strength for the regular-season finale, welcoming midfielder Xavier Gomez back to the lineup. The senior had to sit for the Denver match after picking up his fifth yellow card of the year. Mims had said weeks ago that he hoped the Oral Roberts game would be meaningless. That s not the case. It s funny how college soccer works, he said. There s always something on the line. Last weekend s gut-wrenching loss at Denver seemed all too familiar for UNO. The Mavericks led the Pioneers 1-0 in the final minute when Denver forward Andre Shinyashiki headed in the equalizer with 16 seconds left in regulation. Denver then won the match on a penalty kick less than three minutes into the extra period, handing UNO its first regular-season conference defeat since Shinyashiki was responsible for ending the Mavs season a year ago on the same field, heading in the game-winning goal with 41 seconds remaining in the Summit League championship. The victory sent Denver on to the NCAA tournament, where it advanced to the College Cup. UNO, meanwhile, came home. Mavericks coach Jason Mims said the mood on the bus ride back to Omaha wasn t better last weekend, even though the loss didn t end the team s season. It took a while to get over another stinging defeat to DU. It brought back so many memories from the year before on that field and the same kid scoring, Mims said. We ve recovered by now. But it took a couple of days, for sure. It was painful. It was a super, super painful loss not just for me, but for the guys, too. When you have a team that close, especially a big rival like that, and with what happened last year and having them 16 seconds away from closing out the game... it was obviously a pretty painful loss, probably one of the more painful losses for the guys. The saving grace for the Mavs is that their season moves on this time. They wrap up conference play Saturday with a home match against Oral Roberts, and then will host the Summit tourney next week. UNO, however, still needs to qualify for the four-team field. Its future depends on Saturday s result. The Mavs are third in the league standings. A win over the Golden Eagles will lock up the No. 3 seed for UNO. A draw could bump the Mavs to fourth. And a loss puts them in danger of missing the tourney all together. They would then need IPFW to knock off Eastern Illinois on Saturday. Mims said his team is approaching its final regular-season contest as an elimination match. With a victory, UNO advances to the league semifinals next Thursday. The championship match is next Saturday. Reality is, it s like the quarterfinals this weekend, and then you get to host the conference tournament, he said. I think that s motivating the guys now. It would ve been a little bit different if the season was over or we had to travel somewhere after. It could be where you could run the table here and win those three games. If you have to

27 OMAHA MEN'S SOCCER MEDIA CLIPS UNO's Xavier Ghomez and Joseph Ghitis Earn Weekly Conference Honors By staff reports Nov. 6, 2017 UNO s Xavier Gomez was named the Summit League offensive player of the week on Monday and goalkeeper Joseph Ghitis was the defensive player of the week. Gomez had a goal and an assist in the Mavericks 2-0 win over Oral Roberts on Saturday. He leads the league with eight assists and is third with 16 points this season. Ghitis finished with four saves while earning his fourth shutout of the season against Oral Roberts. Five Mavericks named to All-Summit League men's soccer first team By staff reports Nov. 8, 2017 UNO had five players on the All-Summit League first team announced Wednesday. Midfielder Xavier Gomez, forwards Emmanuel Hamzat and Elvir Ibisevic, and defenders Seth Rinderknecht and Jacob Weiler all earned spots on the conference s top team. UNO goalkeeper Joseph Ghitis and midfielder Cole Nelson made the second team, while midfielders Brahan Gamarra, Miguel Gomez and Diego Gutierrez and defender Stevie Siy were on the all-newcomer team. Ghitis, Hamzat, Ibisevic and Rinderknecht were first-team selections last season, while Weiler was a second-team honoree.

28 OMAHA MEN'S SOCCER MEDIA CLIPS Mavs Hope Staying at Home for Summit League Men's Soccer Tournament Helps Them Find Road to Nationals By Tony Boone, World-Herald staff writer Nov. 8, 2017 UNO s soccer season began with a program-best start. It would like to end it with a historic finish. The Mavericks, who opened the year with seven wins in their first eight games and reached No. 10 in the coaches poll, are two home victories away from claiming an NCAA tourney berth for the first time. UNO is the host team for the Summit League tournament, which begins Thursday at Caniglia Field with top-seeded Denver meeting Eastern Illinois at 2 p.m. The Mavs will then face Western Illinois at 5 p.m. Just two weeks ago, UNO (9-5-2) blanked the Leathernecks (5-9-1) 2-0 in a match that featured a first-half storm delay. Senior midfielder Xavier Gomez said the Mavs have confidence entering the event. Everything is set up for us, he said. The aspect that we have home-court advantage is just what any team would ask for. Everybody is used to this field. The teams that we play aren t used to this field. We have a bigger upper hand against these teams we play. I just can t wait. I wish the game was sooner. UNO will be without sophomore forward Elvir Ibisevic, who leads the team with nine goals, for the semifinal match. He must sit out, per NCAA rules, after picking up his fifth yellow card last Saturday. Obviously, it s a big loss for us not having your leading scorer in the postseason, Mavs coach Jason Mims said. I think our guys know this has been the most depth we ve had since we created the program at UNO. It s taken us time to build some depth, but that s what it s for. Whether it s an injury or a card problem, guys need to step up. I think we have enough experienced guys that we can fill that role. This will be the first time the conference tournament has been played outside of Denver since The Pioneers have had a stranglehold on the league for the last five years. Denver has won or shared the regular-season title in each of the last five seasons and it has claimed the previous four tourney championships. UNO nearly upset then-unbeaten Denver in the final last season. The Mavs also led the Pioneers in the final minute of their regular-season match two weeks ago before surrendering the equalizer in the final minute and falling in overtime. But they bounced back with a crucial performance against Oral Roberts last Saturday in a nearly must-win situation to clinch the No. 3 seed in this week s tournament. Mims said already playing with that win-or-go-home mindset will benefit his team this week when a defeat brings an end to the season. Only the league champion will advance to the NCAA tournament. The more games you can play during the year when the pressure is on, the better, he said. The only way you can replicate pressure is being in pressure situations. Mentally, it helps prepare you for sure. UNO s seniors are ready for the postseason, knowing that the end of their college careers is looming. It s playoffs, goalkeeper Joseph Ghitis said. It s a different atmosphere. It s a different level. Mims said the Mavs will take the tournament one game at a time. No one, he said, is thinking ahead to a potential rematch with Denver in the championship match. UNO s full attention is on Western Illinois. The Mavs scored two first-half goals in the first meeting and controlled most of the match. Co-captain Jacob Weiler said that means very little to UNO now that the singleelimination postseason is to begin. Every time we play against them, it s a battle, he said. They re very disciplined in the way they do things. I think we re very disciplined in the way we do things. We re two very different teams, but they re certainly capable of winning games. But it s a new season now. Playoffs, it s almost like we re playing a completely different team. We need to come with a fresh attitude and a fresh game plan. Mims does, however, want his Mavs to come out with the same aggressive play they had success with against the Leathernecks at Caniglia previously. From here on out, their season is always on the line. We don t take things for granted, he said. We re still playing. There are a lot of good college soccer teams right now that their seasons are over with. I think our guys know we re still fortunate.

29 OMAHA MEN'S SOCCER MEDIA CLIPS Sophomore Fred Frimpong Steps In, Leads Mavs Back to Summit League Tournament Finals By Tony Boone, World-Herald staff writer Nov. 9, 2017 After a strong start to his season, UNO forward Fred Frimpong went through a stretch when he wasn t playing as well. In fact, there were road trips in which he didn t travel with the team. Frimpong, however, took the initiative to make himself better. He asked coach Jason Mims what he needed to improve on, then worked tirelessly in those areas to earn his way back onto the field. The sophomore from Ankeny, Iowa, was rewarded for his persistence Thursday. Frimpong scored both Maverick goals in a 2-0 victory over Western Illinois in the Summit League semifinals at Caniglia Field. The win advanced UNO (10-5-2) to Saturday s 2 p.m. championship match against top-seeded Denver (11-6-1). The winner in a rematch of last year s final earns the Summit s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Frimpong started in the forward position normally held by leading scorer Elvir Ibisevic, who had to sit out per NCAA rules after picking up his fifth yellow card of the year in the regular-season finale. And Frimpong made the most of his opportunity by scoring the first two goals of his college career. It felt great, especially with Elvir being out, he said. Coach said we needed guys to step up. UNO also played without senior midfielders Xavier Gomez and Brahan Gammara, who were forced to serve one-game school-mandated suspensions for a previous infraction that was ruled upon Thursday. Frimpong finished a pass in the box from Emmanuel Hamzat in the 13th minute to give the Mavs a first-half lead. He later iced the game with a brilliant solo rush from near midfield in the 60th minute. Ibisevic screamed with pride from the third floor of the Caniglia press box as his longtime-rival-turned-friend had a career night. The UNO forwards grew up in the Des Moines area only 10 minutes apart and played club soccer against each other from age 10 before becoming teammates in Omaha last season. I don t know a guy that s deserved it more, Ibisevic said. He s worked so hard all year. It definitely showed today. He scored the two goals. He s a great player. His time was coming, and he got it today. Frimpong s second goal was set up by a pass down the sideline by Diego Gutierrez. The forward raced around Leatherneck defender Ben Marett, then headed straight toward goalkeeper Tim Trilk in the box. That was an incredible ball by Diego, Frimpong said. I felt the defender was pretty tight on me so I dummied it through my legs. As soon as I got past him, I saw it was me and the goalkeeper. I did my best to get in front of him so either he was going to foul me or I was going to get the goal. As Trilk closed on him, Frimpong sent the ball through the keeper s legs and into the net. He spun to his teammates on the bench, then was dropped by a blindside clothesline tackle by Hamzat. A previously coordinated celebration, which included a mimicked basketball jump shot, ensued as the lead doubled. Mims beamed in the postgame press conference while discussing Frimpong s rise to breakout star. The last piece missing was the final product. The hardest thing to do in soccer is score goals, the UNO coach said. It s nice to see Freddy get rewarded like that because he s an honest, hard-working kid. Frimpong passed the credit given to him for the shutout win to his teammates. What was bigger than me was our defense and our goalkeeper, he said. We didn t get scored upon. UNO, which matched its program season record Thursday with its 10th win, limited Western Illinois to three shots on goal. Senior keeper Joseph Ghitis stopped them all, including a potentially dangerous free kick by Fernando Pacheco in the opening minutes of the second half that nearly went in. It s one of those survive-and-advance (scenarios), Mims said. Now we re one game away against a great Denver team on Saturday. The Pioneers earned their way into the championship match with a 1-0 win over Eastern Illinois in the first semifinal. Blake Elder s goal in the 39th minute was all defensively sound DU needed to advance. Denver, which has won or shared five consecutive Summit League regular-season titles and the past four conference tournaments, found itself in an unusual position of playing on the road in November. The league champion from one season earns the right to host the tourney in the next. And although the Pioneers had their best year ever in 2016 they were undefeated until losing in the NCAA tournament semifinals they lost a tiebreaker to UNO after the teams split the regular-season title. Denver struggled some early in the season, but then went undefeated in conference play. This time of the year, there s small margins (for error), DU coach Jamie Franks said. For my guys, in the beginning of the season, we ve had a lot of adversity. And there have been some games where we have been on the wrong side of luck.... And these guys have kept going. Throughout that time, I feel the resilience has grown (and) the leadership has grown within the group. We re peaking at the right time. The Pioneers stunned the Mavs two weeks ago in Denver, getting a goal from Andre Shinyashiki with 16 seconds left in regulation to pull even before winning 2-1 in overtime. Shinyashiki also ended UNO s season in the championship match a year ago, scoring on a header with 41 seconds remaining. I think everybody s excited, Frimpong said. The one thing I would just say is we owe them one. Three of the last four matches between the teams have gone into overtime. The only one that didn t was last year s Summit final, which was less than a minute away from an extra period as well. Denver has gone in those matches. The last meeting in Omaha ended in a scoreless draw. They ve been the best team in the conference. They ll be ready, Mims said. It ll be a great game. We re always excited to play against great teams, and they ve done an awesome job this year.

30 OMAHA MEN'S SOCCER MEDIA CLIPS Sophomore Fred Frimpong Steps In, Leads Mavs Back to Summit League Tournament Finals By Dirk Chatlin, World-Herald Staff Writer Nov. 11, 2017 They come from exotic places like South Africa and France, Peru and Colombia, Trinidad and Tobago and of course North Dakota. But on Thursday, they stepped into the afternoon sun at splendid Caniglia Field looking as uniform as possible. Socks pulled to the knees. Hair just right. Matching black shirts spelling out the thing that unites them. Omaha It was picture day for the University of Nebraska at Omaha men s soccer team, a welcome break from the practice grind, a chance to goof around before the postseason. Players lined up in front of the south goal, 6-footers in the back with the goalkeepers, little guys up front clasping their hands. Those in the middle row hunched over, threw arms around one another and cracked jokes in their second or third language English. There was the all-conference forward from Nigeria who grew up kicking balls through bamboo sticks. The standout midfielder from Chicago who spent 10 days in a hospital in 2015 with post-traumatic stress. The South Omaha kid whose cheering section includes an immigrant father and a 5-year-old son. In this stadium that once housed a Division II football power, a Division I soccer upstart tried to look as tough as it plays. No smiles, they said as the photographer started clicking. No smiles. Seven years ago, UNO soccer didn t exist. Six years ago, UNO went But since 2014, Jason Mims team has begun checking off a series of firsts: first national ranking, first MLS draft pick, first conference regular-season title, first Top 10 appearance. Today the Mavericks host the Summit League championship game hoping to check their biggest box yet: qualifying for the Division I NCAA tournament. Their opponent is nemesis Denver University, the league s best program. But the Mavs have already done the hard part. We re not a team that gets handed things, senior Michael Jaime said. We all have a story and we all want to win something, but we re not going to take anything for granted on the field. Said classmate Jacob Weiler: We have a lot of diamonds in the rough. You can see it the way we play. On game days, 10 world flags hang from a chain-link fence west of Caniglia, mirroring Nebraska s most diverse campus. One-third of the roster comes from Omaha and another third from within 500 miles. Mims assembled the final third from soccer outposts far and wide. They mesh well, players say, largely because they feel fortunate to be here. Few were recruited by major Division I schools. And most come from low-income homes. When the program launched in 2011, UNO was able to provide only three or four scholarships the Division I limit is 9.9 so Mims sought kids capable of receiving academic and financial aid. Those two things don t always come together, Mims said. But we got lucky. We ve had kids that do really well in school who didn t come from much. When the team pictures ended, UNO s seniors lined up for a class photo. Most of them signed when the Mavs were playing off campus without a locker room. Now they were standing on one of college soccer s best surfaces. Look tough? They didn t even try. Sure, they can launch a ball 60 mph with either foot. They can bend a shot over a line of defenders and around a diving goalkeeper. But to fully appreciate Division I soccer skill, it helps to see the Toilet Bowl. Twenty-four hours before a game, a UNO practice ends with a small-sided tournament. Coaches mark out a grid maybe 20 by 20 yards and place small, portable goals at the corners. Team A attacks two; team B attacks the other two. First score wins. The action is so frenetic, it feels more like laser tag than soccer. Players absorb highspeed passes and redirect them with the soft touch of a grandmother. As Mims rotates four-man teams into the fray, coaches and teammates stand outside the plastic cones laughing and hollering, waiting to see who will drop the fanciest pass or score through the tightest window. (The winning teams advance to the championship ; the losers play in the Toilet Bowl.) Blue team in! The ball is on the move again, springing from one Adidas to the next, landing on the foot of a mop-top grad student from North Dakota. Wait, timeout. North Dakota? I didn t even know they had soccer up there, Mims said. But Jacob Weiler, his state s two-time high school player of the year, wanted to show that hockey and football weren t the only sports in Fargo. Being from North Dakota, coaches are not going to come find you, Weiler said. You have to find them. So Weiler, who d set a goal to play at a top 50 program, sent s and highlights. He drove to Omaha for a showcase. Even as UNO recruited him, Mims told Weiler he may never play. His skill wasn t good enough, nor was his athleticism. Mims offered to pass him on to another coach. I wasn t really willing to accept that, Weiler said. He graduated from high school early and arrived in Omaha in January 2013, just after UNO s second season. He redshirted his first year and barely saw the field in Mims worried that his great attitude would sour after three or four years on the bench. After every semester, Mims offered to find him a home in Division II or NAIA if he wanted to play more. You can be an All-American at Bellevue or Hastings, he said. Year three, Weiler finally broke through, earning a starting spot. Now he s a co-captain and first-team All-Summit defender. I wanted to play against Stanford, Creighton, UConn, Weiler said. I wanted to prove to myself and prove to people from my hometown that I can play at the highest level. OK, time in. Action resumes. The ball scoots across the turf to Weiler s roommate, the goalkeeper who was born in the shadow of Pablo Escobar s drug cartel. Joseph Ghitis was 2 when his parents decided that Bogotá, Colombia, was no place to raise a family. They joined Joseph s grandma in Miami, where he played on one of the best club teams in America.

31 OMAHA MEN'S SOCCER But Ghitis development stalled in high school. As his buddies were signing with Division I schools, he received just one walk-on invitation coach Mims knew his club coach. Ghitis visited Omaha in February 2013, the night of a snowstorm I was like, Oh my God. Mims worried it was a deal-breaker, but Ghitis didn t have any choice. I knew it was a new program, Ghitis said. If this is the only school that will take me, I ll show up and let s do it. There was just one problem. Ghitis showed up out of shape and flunked the fitness tests. Coaches assumed he d be a career backup. But he learned what it means to be fit I gotta run and made the All-Summit team in Now the graduate student has the body to match his skill. Mims said he may be picked in the MLS draft. He s one of the best goalies in the country. But small-sided soccer isn t for keepers; it s all about scorers like Xavier Gomez, who s putting on a show at the moment. Finding openings in the defense. Pounding shots into the little nets. No wonder coach Mims calls him UNO s best player. But in August 2015, Gomez wasn t sure he d play college soccer again. After two solid seasons in Omaha, he was in his UNO dorm when he got word from home that his stepfather had died. Drowned off a boat in Lake Michigan. I went back to my room and locked myself inside, Gomez said. I just stared into space. For weeks, he wouldn t talk to anyone and had no interest in soccer. He had nightmares. He accused coaches and teammates of plotting to harm his family. The coach summoned Gomez s father to Omaha, who pulled him out of classes and took him back to Chicago. Gomez spent more than a week in a hospital. Doctors treated him for post-traumatic stress. In September 2015, the Mavs played at DePaul and Gomez attended the game, but he barely looked like the same guy former teammates could tell he was on medication. His family wanted to get him back to Omaha, but Gomez wasn t sure he could or even if he wanted to. Slowly, with the help of counseling, he improved. On Nov. 12, 2015, UNO was playing Oral Roberts in the Summit League tournament. The Gomez family was watching online. Dad went upstairs for a moment when he heard screams. It was Gomez celebrating a goal. He returned to the room and heard his son say the magic words. I need to get back. Back at practice, between the cones, teams rotate again and the ball finds another senior who knows the sound of bad news. Emmanuel Hamzat grew up on a half-grass, half-sand field in Lagos, Nigeria, kicking a ball through a bamboo goal no net. He and his friends only had one ball, so they played until it unraveled, then pooled their money for a new one. By high school, he d become a prospect. His father knew a guy who knew a coach at a California junior college. Hamzat applied for a student visa and came to America, where he attended West Valley College. The same West Valley where Mims first goalkeeper came from. Mims got a call from the coach: I know you re getting better, but I think I have a kid for you. In 2016, Manu scored six goals for the Mavericks, sending highlights home to Nigeria via social media. This season, Manu has seven goals, good enough for the All-Summit team. One stands out. In September, undefeated UNO was preparing to leave for Utah when Manu got a call from home. His father had gotten sick and gone to the hospital. He died there. Very sudden, Manu said. The team was boarding a plane to go west, but Manu considered going east to Africa instead. Did he have enough money? Would his student visa allow him to return to Omaha? He decided to stick with the team. On a Sunday afternoon in Orem, Utah, he slipped past a pair of defenders and tapped a perfect pass into an open net. For my dad. The ball is on the move again, stopping on the foot of Ray Barajas. Teammates call him Grandpa, but he was just a kid the first time he came here. Born in Mexico City, Barajas moved to Los Angeles at 13 years old. Four years later, he was good at soccer and better at academics No. 1 in his class at a private L.A. high school. Mims ed him. Omaha? All Barajas knew was that Air Force One had landed there on 9/11. But he and his parents packed their two-door Hyundai for a 1,500-mile drive. They spent just one day in Omaha, talking to Mims and touring Offutt Air Force Base. The kid signed instead with Loyola Marymount. Mims figured it was the last he d hear of Ray Barajas. Three years later, the coach got a phone call from Barajas dad. LMU wasn t working out. Could Ray get another chance? It s not easy being so far from home, especially because his father has frequently been out of work. We come from a background where we don t have much, Barajas said. He receives scholarships and financial aid student loans cover the rest. Barajas works in the cafeteria and sends money back home to help his parents. He s played only 18 minutes his senior season, but he s everyone s favorite player because of his work ethic, Mims said. On Senior Day, coach put him in for the last three minutes. The guys went nuts. Finally, the ball finds a local hero. Michael Jaime grew up playing club soccer for Mims in South Omaha. He was two-time captain of the all-state team and, in 2013, he led Class A with 30 goals, carrying Omaha South to its first state soccer championship. Jaime s family had bigger goals. His father, a first-generation Mexican immigrant, is part-owner of a construction company in South Omaha. Over the years, Ruben Jaime hammered the idea into his son s brain: Go to college so you don t have to work as hard as I do. The mission nearly veered off track when Michael s girlfriend got pregnant in high school. They stayed together and Michael earned a Buffett scholarship to UNO. He juggled school, soccer, fatherhood and helping his dad with the business. I used to not care, Michael said. I could do whatever I want. But now I think about it. I have a family that I have to support. As UNO has improved the past two years, Jaime s playing time has decreased. His commitment hasn t.

32 OMAHA MEN'S SOCCER Thursday night, during UNO s tournament semifinal win, Michael was on the sideline. His girlfriend, Leslie, was behind him 10 rows up in her usual seat. And in the aisle was their 5-year-old son, bundled in a red coat, hood pulled over his eyebrows. As the clock ticked away, the boy also named Michael climbed a railing and slid down, over and over, until grandpa came and grabbed him. When Michael became a father, Ruben didn t think his son would be able to do it all. But Michael is on track to be the first in his family to earn a college degree and he might be part of the first UNO senior class to make the NCAA tournament. A lot of guys he works with, Michael said, they say he always talks about me. I m just happy to make him proud. By the end of Thursday s 2-0 semifinal win at Caniglia, the temperature had dropped below freezing. Didn t faze Jacob Weiler, the mop top from North Dakota, who huddled his team on the sideline and reminded them what a crazy season it had been. A 6-0 start. Five losses, all by one goal. And now, a final kick. We never panicked. We stayed together. And I am so proud of Fred (expletive) Frimpong! The team roared, hailing the Ghana-born, Iowa-raised sophomore midfielder who scored his first two goals of the season in a must-win game. Yes, the seniors lead UNO, but there s plenty of followers. Including a small but boisterous student section that came down on the field and joined the Mavs for a group picture. One celebration remains. One game. Ninety minutes for an NCAA tournament bid. The Mavs were in the same spot a year ago at Denver, leading 1-0 with 15 minutes left in the championship game. They lost 2-1. It feels different this time, coach Mims says. Why? Because this time, his melting pot of a soccer team gets to play its biggest match in a place they spent years trying to find. We re home.

33 OMAHA MEN'S SOCCER MEDIA CLIPS UNO Soccer Wins Shootout to Advance to First NCAA Tournament By Tim Perera - World-Herald correspondent Nov. 12, 2017 But Denver keeper Will Palmquist, who came into the match for the shootout after Nick Gardner played in goal throughout regulation and overtime, kept the Pioneers alive with a save on Ibisevic. Ghitis, who made five saves and was named to the all-tournament team, said it was back to business after that. It definitely hurt a bit. But I think right after that happened, I was thinking, All right. We move on and make the next save. It s really just a matter of focus, Ghitis said. I didn t really have any doubts in the fact that we were going to win the game. I really thought we would. Even if it took 20 rounds, 30 rounds. The Mavs will find out where they will open the NCAA tournament when the selection show airs on Monday at noon. Despite heartbreaking losses to four-time defending tournament champion Denver in their last two meetings, the UNO players and coaches said they were determined Saturday s matchup in the Summit League final was going to go their way. Even after playing 110 minutes to a 1-1 draw in front of 703 fans at Caniglia Field and going 10 rounds of a shootout in which the Mavericks failed to put the match away twice, they said their confidence never wavered. After UNO keeper Joseph Ghitis made a save on Graham Smith to give the Mavs a third shot at the win, Emmanuel Hamzat, who opened the penalty-kick round with a goal, stepped up again. His second goal of the shootout gave the Mavericks their first Summit League tournament title and sent UNO into the NCAA tournament for the first time since the program started in Hamzat, who was named tournament MVP, said he had no doubt the Mavs third attempt at the win would be the charm. I was very confident. (The goalkeeper) was only going one way. I was pretty sure I was going to score, Hamzat said. The Mavericks fell to the Pioneers in last year s Summit League final on a goal by Andre Shinyashiki with 41 seconds left. Shinyashiki bit the Mavs again Oct. 28 when he tied the game on a goal with 16 seconds left in a match the Pioneers would win in the 93rd minute on a goal by Smith. But the Mavericks (10-5-3) held Shinyashiki to no shots, and Ghitis stoned him on his only attempt in the shootout. UNO coach Jason Mims said the memory of losing to Denver in the final last year was still fresh. Obviously a great ending for us. We know how they feel. We felt that pain last year. Thirty seconds away from going to overtime and they beat us. And so we know exactly how it feels to lose and get on a bus and have to go home. Now we know how it feels to stay on your home field and win in front of your fans, Mims said. But Denver (11-6-2), which entered the match with a 9-0 record all-time in the Summit League tournament, was in Omaha, and Mims said that was key. There was no other way it was going to happen today. We weren t losing that game today. There was no way, Mims said. The Mavs first attempt at the win came after Ghitis scored in the fourth round and stoned Shinyashiki in the fifth to bring up UNO s top goal scorer in Elvir Ibisevic.

34 OMAHA MEN'S SOCCER MEDIA CLIPS UNO Draws Florida International for Debut Match in NCAA Soccer Tournament By Tony Boone, World-Herald staff writer Nov. 14, 2017 UNO s players had heard speculation about their potential opponent for Thursday s first round of the NCAA soccer tournament. Florida International was one name that was never brought up. Yet, the Mavericks (10-5-3) did indeed draw the No. 8 Panthers (11-1-4) for their NCAA tourney debut. UNO will meet the nation s top-scoring team Thursday at 7 p.m. at FIU Soccer Stadium in Miami. The winner advances to the second round to face No. 16 Duke (12-4-2) Sunday in Durham, North Carolina. The Mavs learned their tournament destination Monday afternoon when they gathered with fans and administrators to watch the NCAA selection show at Aksarben Cinema. And they were thrilled about it. I had originally heard that Air Force or SMU were pretty likely (opponents), UNO junior midfielder and co-captain Cole Nelson said. I never once thought FIU. But it s better than a lot of other places. Nelson preferred Florida s November weather over the cold, and altitude, of the Air Force Academy. And senior goalkeeper Joseph Ghitis from Weston, Florida welcomed the opportunity to play near home. I have like seven friends that play on the team. Once we got the news, they texted me right away.... May the best team win, Ghitis said. It s probably going to be one of the best experiences of my life. It may be hard for Ghitis to top Saturday s, when he stopped three penalty kicks as UNO outlasted reigning four-time conference tournament champion Denver in the Summit League championship. He said he told senior co-captain Jacob Weiler earlier that day he was going to stop three to win it. That was, honestly, one of the craziest things that I have to think about now, he said. I definitely practice that. It s kind of a thing of the moment. I want to be in that pressure. I m glad it went our way. The Mavs have been basking in the glory of their thrilling shootout victory. When the selection show host mentioned a team coming off a dramatic finish, they sighed disappointment that it wasn t them. It s been the best feeling in the world, Nelson said. It felt even better than I thought it would. It all started with that last (penalty kick) shootout and it s continued on. The feeling hasn t gone away yet. UNO coach Jason Mims encouraged his players to enjoy the moment, but he was also pleased that they showed up Monday already looking forward to their next matchup instead of dwelling on their last win. Obviously, (it s) a big day for us, he said. You find out where you go and who you play. Just to see the guys and their excitement and to get to do this it s a cool experience for the players. Mims was a part of a number of NCAA tournament teams as an assistant at Creighton and Penn State before starting the UNO program in He said he wasn t shocked that his team is headed to FIU. I ve been in this long enough and coached in enough NCAA tournaments where you never know, he said. It doesn t surprise me. FIU is isolated, too, for college soccer. There s no one down there kind of like in the Midwest, (where) we are, too. It doesn t surprise me at all. We re going to South Beach. Florida International was the regular-season champion in Conference USA and was one of two teams in the nation joining No. 2 Indiana that entered the postseason without a loss. The Panthers were then upset by Charlotte in the C-USA semifinals. This will be their 11th D-I NCAA tournament appearance.

35 OMAHA MEN'S SOCCER THE 2017 OMAHA MAVERICKS #0 #1 #2 UGO TRITZ So. GK 5-11 Metz, France #5 JOSEPH GHITIS Sr. GK 5-10 Weston, Fla. #6 MICHAEL JAIME Sr. D 5-8 Omaha, Neb. #10 BRAHAN GAMARRA Sr. MF 5-7 Snellville, Ga. #15 DENZEL WOODS Jr. D 6-2 Santa Cruz, Trinidad & Tobago #3 STEVIE SIY Fr. D 5-8 Omaha, Neb. #7 #11 ED GORDON Fr. MF 5-8 Omaha, Neb. #16 #12 FRED FRIMONG So. MF 6-0 Ankeny, Iowa NOOR HAMADI Jr. F 5-11 Omaha, Neb. SETH RINDERKNECHT So. D 6-3 Cedar Rapids, Iowa #9 RAY BARAJAS Sr. D 5-9 Mexico City, Mexico #13 OLIVER BIHUNIAK Fr. MF 5-9 Prairie Village, Kan. #18 #17 TIM KAFTAN Fr. MF 5-8 Omaha, Neb. JOEL KAZHILA So. D 5-8 Johannesburg, South Africa #8 EMMANUEL HAMZAT Sr. F 5-10 Lagos, Nigeria BILLY HOFFMAN Jr. D 6-0 Longmont, Colo. #4 COLE NELSON Jr. MF 5-10 Shawnee, Kan. #14 ELVIR IBISEVIC So. F 6-2 Johnston, Iowa ZAC MARQUESS Jr. MF 6-0 Olathe, Kan. #19 JOEY MCCAIN So. D 5-9 Papillion, Neb.

36 OMAHA MEN'S SOCCER THE 2017 OMAHA MAVERICKS #20 #21 #22 #23 #24 #25 ETHAN BOWMAN So. MF 5-9 Shawnee Mission, Kan. #26 MIGUEL GOMEZ Fr. MF 5-9 El Paso, Texas #30 JACOB WEILER Sr. D 6-1 Fargo, N.D. #31 XAVIER GOMEZ Sr. MF 5-10 Chicago, Ill. GONZALO LEDESMA So. D 5-11 South Sioux City, Neb. CONNOR JOKERST Fr. F 5-9 Olathe, Kan. DIEGO GUTIERREZ Fr. F 5-11 Omaha, Neb. QUINN NELSON Jr. GK 6-1 Omaha, Neb. MATT SMITH Fr. GK 6-0 Papillion, Neb. JASON MIMS Head Coach 7th Year NATE BAKER Assistant Coach 1st Year DANIEL GALVIS Goalkeeper Coach 5th Year