'South Omaha Classic' Headlines 2013 Schedule
Jul 22, 2013 | Men's Soccer
OMAHA, Neb. - The University of Nebraska Omaha men's soccer team will kick off the 2013 season with the "South Omaha Classic," an exhibition against defending Big Ten regular-season champion Penn State at Omaha South High School's Collin Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 17 at 7 p.m.
The Mavericks will play in Omaha a total of 12 times with 10 of their 16 regular-season games at home and two preseason games in Omaha.
The season-opening match on Aug. 17 against Penn State will be played at Collin Stadium to showcase the squad to the South Omaha community. Maverick sophomore Chava Garcia, who was a 2012 Summit League All-Newcomer Team selection last year with four goals and three assists, is an Omaha South graduate. The Mavs' opponent, Penn State, won a share of the Big Ten regular-season championship and the No. 1 seed at the conference tournament last year and finished with a 9-5-3 overall record. Omaha head coach Jason Mims was an assistant coach at Penn State under former Creighton coach Bob Warming before leading UNO's program.
The Mavericks follow the Penn State match by visiting back-to-back NCAA College Cup participant Creighton for an exhibition at Morrison Stadium on Friday, Aug. 23 at 7 p.m. The Mavs and Bluejays met in an exhibition last season with Creighton claiming a 1-0 win. The Mavericks then earned a 2-1 win over the Bluejays in the spring.
"Getting the Big Ten champions to come to Omaha to play us is a great opportunity for our program," Mims said. "This is the first time in the Division I era that a Big Ten champion is coming to Omaha to play UNO in any sport, so we are hoping for an amazing atmosphere from the community in South Omaha. UNO's student population is growing more and more diverse each year, and this is a great chance to celebrate that diversity. We are extremely optimistic that we will have a lot of supporters turn out to watch us at Collin Stadium. And to follow the Penn State match with Creighton, a top-four team the past two seasons, will be tremendous experience for our guys, especially our 11 newcomers. Our preseason schedule will be great preparation for the regular season and should give our fans some really entertaining soccer to watch right here in our own city."
The regular season begins at home on Friday, Aug. 30 at 5:30 p.m. against Grand Canyon, which is transitioning to the Division I WAC beginning this season. The Antelopes were 15-3-2 and reached the Division II Sweet 16 in 2012. Locations for the Mavs' early season home games will be posted on OMavs.com at a later date as the renovation of the Mavs' new home, Caniglia Field, wraps up. Fans are encouraged to check OMavs.com regularly for all of the latest game information.
UNO will take to the road for the first time at 2012 MVC Tournament finalist Missouri State on Sept. 1. The Mavs will then host Ivy League foe Columbia on Sept. 8, then visit Drake on Sept. 13. The Mavericks then host five straight games: SIU Edwardsville (Sept. 17), Cal State Fullerton (Sept. 21), Kansas City (Sept. 24), Western Illinois (Sept. 28) and Milwaukee (Oct. 2). SIUE finished second in the MVC last season and 13-7 overall; Cal State Fullerton has seven all-time NCAA Tournament appearances; UMKC is a new member of the WAC; Western Illinois won the Summit League Tournament Championship last season, and Milwaukee returns nine starters from last year's 8-8-2 squad.
UNO will play at IUPUI on Oct. 5, at Belmont on Oct. 12 and at new Summit League member Denver on Oct. 19 before hosting Oral Roberts on Oct. 26. The final road game of the season will occur Nov. 3 at conference foe Eastern Illinois, and the Mavs wrap up the season with home games on Nov. 9 and 16 against Summit League foe Fort Wayne and Southland member Incarnate Word, respectively. Incarnate Word, like Grand Canyon, is entering its first year of transition to Division I. UIW advanced to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight last season with a 15-4-1 final record.
UNO will be playing its second season in The Summit League in 2013 and is ineligible for the conference and NCAA tournaments until 2015. The Mavs were 5-10-1 overall and 3-3-1 in conference play last season to tie for fourth in the conference standings. The Mavs have 10 players back who started in at least 50 percent of the team's games last season and have 15 total letterwinners back, along with 11 newcomers.
"It was important for us this season to give our fans an opportunity to see us play," Mims said. "We only had three home games in our first season in 2011 and just five last year, so this will be a welcome change for our fans to really get to know the players and our team's style. We're excited to get the season started and build off of last year."
The Mavericks will play in Omaha a total of 12 times with 10 of their 16 regular-season games at home and two preseason games in Omaha.
The season-opening match on Aug. 17 against Penn State will be played at Collin Stadium to showcase the squad to the South Omaha community. Maverick sophomore Chava Garcia, who was a 2012 Summit League All-Newcomer Team selection last year with four goals and three assists, is an Omaha South graduate. The Mavs' opponent, Penn State, won a share of the Big Ten regular-season championship and the No. 1 seed at the conference tournament last year and finished with a 9-5-3 overall record. Omaha head coach Jason Mims was an assistant coach at Penn State under former Creighton coach Bob Warming before leading UNO's program.
The Mavericks follow the Penn State match by visiting back-to-back NCAA College Cup participant Creighton for an exhibition at Morrison Stadium on Friday, Aug. 23 at 7 p.m. The Mavs and Bluejays met in an exhibition last season with Creighton claiming a 1-0 win. The Mavericks then earned a 2-1 win over the Bluejays in the spring.
"Getting the Big Ten champions to come to Omaha to play us is a great opportunity for our program," Mims said. "This is the first time in the Division I era that a Big Ten champion is coming to Omaha to play UNO in any sport, so we are hoping for an amazing atmosphere from the community in South Omaha. UNO's student population is growing more and more diverse each year, and this is a great chance to celebrate that diversity. We are extremely optimistic that we will have a lot of supporters turn out to watch us at Collin Stadium. And to follow the Penn State match with Creighton, a top-four team the past two seasons, will be tremendous experience for our guys, especially our 11 newcomers. Our preseason schedule will be great preparation for the regular season and should give our fans some really entertaining soccer to watch right here in our own city."
The regular season begins at home on Friday, Aug. 30 at 5:30 p.m. against Grand Canyon, which is transitioning to the Division I WAC beginning this season. The Antelopes were 15-3-2 and reached the Division II Sweet 16 in 2012. Locations for the Mavs' early season home games will be posted on OMavs.com at a later date as the renovation of the Mavs' new home, Caniglia Field, wraps up. Fans are encouraged to check OMavs.com regularly for all of the latest game information.
UNO will take to the road for the first time at 2012 MVC Tournament finalist Missouri State on Sept. 1. The Mavs will then host Ivy League foe Columbia on Sept. 8, then visit Drake on Sept. 13. The Mavericks then host five straight games: SIU Edwardsville (Sept. 17), Cal State Fullerton (Sept. 21), Kansas City (Sept. 24), Western Illinois (Sept. 28) and Milwaukee (Oct. 2). SIUE finished second in the MVC last season and 13-7 overall; Cal State Fullerton has seven all-time NCAA Tournament appearances; UMKC is a new member of the WAC; Western Illinois won the Summit League Tournament Championship last season, and Milwaukee returns nine starters from last year's 8-8-2 squad.
UNO will play at IUPUI on Oct. 5, at Belmont on Oct. 12 and at new Summit League member Denver on Oct. 19 before hosting Oral Roberts on Oct. 26. The final road game of the season will occur Nov. 3 at conference foe Eastern Illinois, and the Mavs wrap up the season with home games on Nov. 9 and 16 against Summit League foe Fort Wayne and Southland member Incarnate Word, respectively. Incarnate Word, like Grand Canyon, is entering its first year of transition to Division I. UIW advanced to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight last season with a 15-4-1 final record.
UNO will be playing its second season in The Summit League in 2013 and is ineligible for the conference and NCAA tournaments until 2015. The Mavs were 5-10-1 overall and 3-3-1 in conference play last season to tie for fourth in the conference standings. The Mavs have 10 players back who started in at least 50 percent of the team's games last season and have 15 total letterwinners back, along with 11 newcomers.
"It was important for us this season to give our fans an opportunity to see us play," Mims said. "We only had three home games in our first season in 2011 and just five last year, so this will be a welcome change for our fans to really get to know the players and our team's style. We're excited to get the season started and build off of last year."
Tuesday, September 01
Wednesday, August 26
Friday, August 21
Tuesday, April 21
