Friday, August 23
Omaha, Neb. - Morrison Stadium
7:00 PM
Omaha
at
Creighton (Exh.)
Mavs Visit No. 6 Creighton to End Preseason
Aug 22, 2013 | Men's Soccer
The Omaha men's soccer team finishes its challenging preseason schedule with a 7 p.m. match at No. 6 Creighton on Friday at Morrison Stadium. Having already faced the Big Ten co-champions Penn State, the Mavs will now turn their attention to their crosstown foe that has reached the past two NCAA College Cups. Live stats and a live webcast (fee required) will be available at OMavs.com. A large crowd is expected after both teams combined for 5,793 fans in two exhibition games last weekend.
The Teams
The Mavericks finished 5-10-1 overall and 3-3-1 in The Summit League in 2012. Their 10 points in conference play put them in a tie for fourth place with Fort Wayne. Matt Grosey finished the season with 65 saves to rank fourth in the conference, and his five wins in net tied for third among all Summit League goalkeepers. Vance Rookwood finished with 12 points on a team-leading five goals and two assists. Chava Garcia had four points and three goals to finish with 11 points. The Mavs garnered a plethora of postseason conference awards. Felipe da Silva, Rookwood and Grosey were named to the All-Summit League Second Team. Da Silva and Garcia were also members of the All-Newcomer Team.
The sixth-ranked Bluejays have been to two straight NCAA College Cups. Last season, Creighton finished 17-4-3 and had its season come to an end in a 1-0 loss to Indiana in the national semifinals. Eight regular starters from last year's team are back, including sophomore midfielder Timo Pitter, who led CU in scoring last season as a freshman with 10 goals and 24 points. Junior midfielder Jose Ribas had 12 points on two goals and eight assists last season. Alex Bolowich, son of head coach Elmar Bolowich, is the starting goalie for the Jays. Last season, Bolowich started nine games and posted a 1.03 goals against average and .792 save percentage. The Bluejays are coming off a 1-0 exhibition win over No. 7 Notre Dame on Sunday. Carlos McCrary scored the winner with 3:13 left.
The Mavericks finished 5-10-1 overall and 3-3-1 in The Summit League in 2012. Their 10 points in conference play put them in a tie for fourth place with Fort Wayne. Matt Grosey finished the season with 65 saves to rank fourth in the conference, and his five wins in net tied for third among all Summit League goalkeepers. Vance Rookwood finished with 12 points on a team-leading five goals and two assists. Chava Garcia had four points and three goals to finish with 11 points. The Mavs garnered a plethora of postseason conference awards. Felipe da Silva, Rookwood and Grosey were named to the All-Summit League Second Team. Da Silva and Garcia were also members of the All-Newcomer Team.
The sixth-ranked Bluejays have been to two straight NCAA College Cups. Last season, Creighton finished 17-4-3 and had its season come to an end in a 1-0 loss to Indiana in the national semifinals. Eight regular starters from last year's team are back, including sophomore midfielder Timo Pitter, who led CU in scoring last season as a freshman with 10 goals and 24 points. Junior midfielder Jose Ribas had 12 points on two goals and eight assists last season. Alex Bolowich, son of head coach Elmar Bolowich, is the starting goalie for the Jays. Last season, Bolowich started nine games and posted a 1.03 goals against average and .792 save percentage. The Bluejays are coming off a 1-0 exhibition win over No. 7 Notre Dame on Sunday. Carlos McCrary scored the winner with 3:13 left.
Series History
UNO and Creighton have not played an official regular season match yet, but the teams met in the preseason last year and again in the spring. Last August, the Bluejays defeated the Mavs 1-0 at Morrison Stadium. Creighton's Eric Miller broke a scoreless deadlock with a volley off a corner kick in the 74th minute. In the spring, the Mavs built up their confidence with a 2-1 win over the Jays at Morrison Stadium. CU scored first, but Emir Alihodzic converted a penalty kick and Logan Mendez scored from long range within 10 minutes of each other to grab the 2-1 lead.
UNO and Creighton have not played an official regular season match yet, but the teams met in the preseason last year and again in the spring. Last August, the Bluejays defeated the Mavs 1-0 at Morrison Stadium. Creighton's Eric Miller broke a scoreless deadlock with a volley off a corner kick in the 74th minute. In the spring, the Mavs built up their confidence with a 2-1 win over the Jays at Morrison Stadium. CU scored first, but Emir Alihodzic converted a penalty kick and Logan Mendez scored from long range within 10 minutes of each other to grab the 2-1 lead.
Last Time Out
The Mavs put on an entertaining performance in front of a school-record 2,581 fans at the South Omaha Classic last Saturday night, but in the end Penn State prevailed with a 1-0 win in the Mavs' first exhibition match of the season. The Mavs outshot Penn State 11-9 overall and matched the co-Big Ten champions in shots on goal at 4-4. The Mavs were unlucky not to come away with a draw, as Craig Buettner's blast in the second half was ruled to have hit the post. But video highlights after the game showed the ball crossed the goal line and hit a support beam inside the net, rather than the post.
Up Next
The Mavs open the regular season on Aug. 30 against Grand Canyon at the UNO Soccer Field at 5:30 p.m.
Players Mentioned
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