Mavs Welcome 16th-Ranked Denver
Oct 17, 2013 | Women's Soccer
The Omaha women's soccer team faces its toughest challenge of the season on Friday when 16th-ranked Denver visits for a 4 p.m. match at the UNO Soccer Field. Live stats will be available at OMavs.com. Denver is the first ranked Division I opponent the Mavericks have faced since transitioning to Division I prior to the 2011 season. The Pioneers are also the highest ranked DI opponent the Mavs have played in the regular season in their 15-year history.
The Teams
The Mavs are now 3-7-2 overall and 1-2 in league action. Omaha dropped two Summit League road games, each by one goal, last weekend. Last Friday, UNO fell in overtime at North Dakota State, 2-1. Then on Sunday the Mavs fell behind South Dakota State 1-0 early and could never equalize. Combined with the NDSU and SDSU games last weekend, the Mavs are finishing up the toughest three-game league stretch of the season. The Bison, Jackrabbits and Pioneers have a combined 10-1 league record entering this week. Melanie McCormick continues to lead the Mavericks with four goals and one assist for nine points. Monica Bosiljevac also has nine points on three goals and three assists. A total of seven different Mavericks have scored a goal this season and 11 Mavs have at least one point. After scoring 14 goals all of last year, the Mavericks have already tallied 15 this season with four games to play.
The Pioneers enter with a 12-1-1 overall record and are off to a 3-0 start to Summit League play. Denver was ranked 16th in Tuesday's NSCAA Top 25 poll and ninth in the Top Drawer Soccer Top 25 poll. Denver's only loss this season is at Nebraska, 2-1, on Sept. 22. The Pioneers have won five straight since then by a combined margin of 15-1. Kristen Hamilton leads the way for the Pioneers. The senior forward has 10 goals and nine assists to lead The Summit League with 29 points. Nicholette Digiacomo has seven goals and three assists for 17 points. Cassidy Rey has a 9-1-1 record in net with a 0.54 goals against average and .898 save percentage.
The Mavs are now 3-7-2 overall and 1-2 in league action. Omaha dropped two Summit League road games, each by one goal, last weekend. Last Friday, UNO fell in overtime at North Dakota State, 2-1. Then on Sunday the Mavs fell behind South Dakota State 1-0 early and could never equalize. Combined with the NDSU and SDSU games last weekend, the Mavs are finishing up the toughest three-game league stretch of the season. The Bison, Jackrabbits and Pioneers have a combined 10-1 league record entering this week. Melanie McCormick continues to lead the Mavericks with four goals and one assist for nine points. Monica Bosiljevac also has nine points on three goals and three assists. A total of seven different Mavericks have scored a goal this season and 11 Mavs have at least one point. After scoring 14 goals all of last year, the Mavericks have already tallied 15 this season with four games to play.
The Pioneers enter with a 12-1-1 overall record and are off to a 3-0 start to Summit League play. Denver was ranked 16th in Tuesday's NSCAA Top 25 poll and ninth in the Top Drawer Soccer Top 25 poll. Denver's only loss this season is at Nebraska, 2-1, on Sept. 22. The Pioneers have won five straight since then by a combined margin of 15-1. Kristen Hamilton leads the way for the Pioneers. The senior forward has 10 goals and nine assists to lead The Summit League with 29 points. Nicholette Digiacomo has seven goals and three assists for 17 points. Cassidy Rey has a 9-1-1 record in net with a 0.54 goals against average and .898 save percentage.
Series History
The Mavericks and Pioneers will be meeting for the first time.
Last Time Out
BROOKINGS, S.D. - The Omaha women's soccer team was defeated at South Dakota State on Sunday afternoon, 1-0. The Mavericks are now 3-7-2 on the season and 1-2 in The Summit League. South Dakota State improved to 9-3-2 overall and 4-0 in conference play. All four of the Jackrabbits' league victories have been by a score of 1-0. Darci Miller gave the Jackrabbits the lead for good at 11:05 when she finished a pass from Ashley Adams. SDSU outshot UNO 19-4 overall and 8-2 in shots on goal. Meaghan Clark made six saves in the match to help keep UNO within striking distance. Nicole Inskeep made two saves for SDSU to earn the shutout. Chelsi Rohloff and Marquette Pick each had shots on goal for the Mavericks in the first half.
Up Next
UNO plays its final road game on Oct. 27 at Fort Wayne.
Caniglia Field Status
The Mavericks continue to play their home matches at the UNO Soccer Field while the renovation of Caniglia Field continues. The Mavs' new home will seat 3,466 fans and will feature a state-of-the-art soccer pitch. The exact date of the first game on the new surface is not yet known, but both the men's and women's soccer programs are hopeful to be practicing on the field as early as next week.
Halfway Through Division I Transition
The Mavericks have now completed two full years of their four-year transition to Division I and are therefore ineligible to compete in the conference tournament and NCAA Tournament until the 2015 season. The 2013-14 season will see UNO's teams going through a full Summit League schedule for the second time.
Senior Class Sets Tone
After having just one senior last year, the Mavericks have an entirely different make-up this season with six seniors on the roster. Not only are there six seniors, but all six have been at UNO since their freshman seasons in 2010. Monica Bosiljevac, Jordyn Braun, Melanie McCormick, Sarah Nordstrom, Kerry Pivovar and Logan Watts have combined for 279 starts entering the 2013 season.
Transfers Add to Mavericks' Depth
Among the Mavs' eight newcomers, three are no strangers to high-level Division I soccer. UNO welcomed aboard three transfers in the offseason - Chelsi Rohloff (Nebraska), Courtney Neville (Memphis) and Marquette Pick (Iowa State). All three are sophomores for the Mavs this season and will push for significant playing time. Rohloff, a Papillion native, played in five games as a freshman at Nebraska. Neville, an Oakdale, Minn., native, played in three games for Memphis as a freshman. Finally, Pick, an Omaha native, appeared in 18 matches for Iowa State and made one start.
Mavs Picked Sixth in Summit League Preseason Poll
The UNO women's soccer team came in sixth in the Summit League Preseason Poll. The Mavs collected 20 points from the league's head coaches to finish ahead of IUPUI and South Dakota, who tied for seventh with 10 points. Denver was picked as the league favorite and garnered the maximum seven first-place votes and 49 total points, as coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team, so Fort Wayne received the only other first-place vote and finished second with 39 points. Denver's selection comes as no surprise, as the Summit League newcomer advanced to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament last season after compiling a 17-3-4 record. Denver is ranked No. 20 (TopDrawerSoccer.com) and No. 25 (NSCAA/Continental Tire) in the national preseason polls. Western Illinois (34), North Dakota State (32) and South Dakota State (30) were picked third, fourth and fifth, respectively. The Mavs went 3-15 overall last season and 3-5 in The Summit League but lost just one player from that squad, All-Summit League forward Danielle Archuleta.
Players Mentioned
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