The Omaha men's soccer team hosts the Summit League Men's Soccer Championship this weekend at Caniglia Field.
Photo by: Mark Kuhlmann
Omaha Hosts Western Illinois in Summit League Semifinal
Nov 7, 2017 | Men's Soccer
OMAHA, Neb. - The No. 3 seed Omaha men's soccer team hosts No. 2 seed Western Illinois for a semifinal match of the 2017 Summit League Tournament at 5 p.m. at Caniglia Field. The winner of the semifinal match will advance to the Summit League Finals on Saturday, Nov. 11, against the winner of No. 1 Denver and No. 4 Eastern Illinois.
Follow the Match
Links to live stats, audio and video are available on OMavs.com for both matches.
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
The Mavericks enter Thursday's contest with an overall mark of 9-5-2 and a 2-1-2 record in Summit League play. Last time out, Omaha defeated Oral Roberts 2-0 on Nov. 4 at Caniglia Field. UNO earned the third seed for the first time in the tournament's history.
Elvir Ibisevic leads the team with 19 points on the year (9g, 1a). Xavier Gomez has 16 points (4g, 8a), while Emmanuel Hamzat is next with 15 points (7g, 1a). Fourteen different Mavericks have earned at least one point this season.
The UNO defense is limiting opponents to less than a goal per game (0.84). Joseph Ghitis is 7-5-2 with a 0.96 goals-against average and four shutouts in 2017. Ghitis has been named Summit League Defensive Player of the Week twice this fall. Ugo Tritz is 2-0-0 with a 0.00 goals-against average and two shutouts.
Scouting Western Illinois
The Fighting Leathernecks are 5-9-1 on the season with a 3-2 Summit League mark. Last time out, Western Illinois dropped a 1-0 decision to Denver on Nov. 4 in Macomb, Ill. WIU, in their record 17th tournament, has won six titles in program history, the most in league history.
Western Illinois scoring punch comes from Drew Whalen (8g, 16pts) and Fernando Pacheco (7g, 1a, 15pts).
WIU allowed 1.87 goals per game this season. Tim Trilk is 5-4-1 with a 1.14 goals-against average and three shutouts this fall. Trilk was twice named the conference defensive player of the week. Tim Hansen is 0-5-0 with a 3.20 goals-against average in 2017.
Omaha vs. Western Illinois
Omaha leads the all-time series, 3-2-1. Earlier this season, the Mavericks stopped the Leathernecks 2-0 at Caniglia Field.
Summit League Tournament Format
Denver earned the No. 1 seed for the upcoming Summit League Men's Soccer Championship after going undefeated in Summit League play during the regular season. Omaha, Eastern Illinois and Western Illinois join DU in the tournament field for the second straight season.
The 2017 Summit League Men's Soccer Championship will be contested Nov. 9 and 11 at Caniglia Field in Omaha, Neb. All matches will be streamed free of charge on thesummitleague.org.
Thursday's first match pits top-seeded Denver (10-6-1, 5-0-0 SL) against No. 4 Eastern Illinois (4-8-6, 2-2-1 SL) at 2 p.m. In the day's second match, No. 2 Western Illinois (5-9-1, 3-2-0 SL) faces host and No. 3 seeded Omaha (9-5-2, 2-1-2 SL) at 5 p.m.
The winners of Thursday's matches will play in Saturday's championship contest at 2 p.m. CT with the victor earning an automatic bid to the NCAA College Cup.
Sending the Seniors Out in Style
Last Saturday's match marked the final regular-season home game for Maverick seniors Ray Barajas, Brahan Gamarra, Joseph Ghitis, Xavier Gomez, Emmanuel Hamzat, Michael Jaime and Jacob Weiler. These seven seniors were a part of 38 UNO victories since 2014 and helped their team win a pair of regular season Summit League titles. Combined, these seven accumulated 197 starts and played in over 18,500 minutes in the Crimson and Black. This senior class combined for 23 goals, 11 assists and 15 shutouts. The Mavericks' record on Senior Day matches is 4-0-1, and UNO is unbeaten in five-straight regular-season home finales.
This and That
• Omaha played Creighton in front of a program-high 4,986 fans at Caniglia Field on Sept. 26.
• Through 16 games this season, UNO has started 19 different players. Four different Mavericks have played over 1,250 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 26 starts, two goals and eight assists.
• Outscoring teams 24-14 on the season thus far, Omaha has only allowed four first-half goals and has surrendered 164 shots (62 on frame). UNO is 2-2-1 when it concedes the first goal and 7-3 when scoring first.
Follow the Match
Links to live stats, audio and video are available on OMavs.com for both matches.
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
The Mavericks enter Thursday's contest with an overall mark of 9-5-2 and a 2-1-2 record in Summit League play. Last time out, Omaha defeated Oral Roberts 2-0 on Nov. 4 at Caniglia Field. UNO earned the third seed for the first time in the tournament's history.
Elvir Ibisevic leads the team with 19 points on the year (9g, 1a). Xavier Gomez has 16 points (4g, 8a), while Emmanuel Hamzat is next with 15 points (7g, 1a). Fourteen different Mavericks have earned at least one point this season.
The UNO defense is limiting opponents to less than a goal per game (0.84). Joseph Ghitis is 7-5-2 with a 0.96 goals-against average and four shutouts in 2017. Ghitis has been named Summit League Defensive Player of the Week twice this fall. Ugo Tritz is 2-0-0 with a 0.00 goals-against average and two shutouts.
Scouting Western Illinois
The Fighting Leathernecks are 5-9-1 on the season with a 3-2 Summit League mark. Last time out, Western Illinois dropped a 1-0 decision to Denver on Nov. 4 in Macomb, Ill. WIU, in their record 17th tournament, has won six titles in program history, the most in league history.
Western Illinois scoring punch comes from Drew Whalen (8g, 16pts) and Fernando Pacheco (7g, 1a, 15pts).
WIU allowed 1.87 goals per game this season. Tim Trilk is 5-4-1 with a 1.14 goals-against average and three shutouts this fall. Trilk was twice named the conference defensive player of the week. Tim Hansen is 0-5-0 with a 3.20 goals-against average in 2017.
Omaha vs. Western Illinois
Omaha leads the all-time series, 3-2-1. Earlier this season, the Mavericks stopped the Leathernecks 2-0 at Caniglia Field.
Summit League Tournament Format
Denver earned the No. 1 seed for the upcoming Summit League Men's Soccer Championship after going undefeated in Summit League play during the regular season. Omaha, Eastern Illinois and Western Illinois join DU in the tournament field for the second straight season.
The 2017 Summit League Men's Soccer Championship will be contested Nov. 9 and 11 at Caniglia Field in Omaha, Neb. All matches will be streamed free of charge on thesummitleague.org.
Thursday's first match pits top-seeded Denver (10-6-1, 5-0-0 SL) against No. 4 Eastern Illinois (4-8-6, 2-2-1 SL) at 2 p.m. In the day's second match, No. 2 Western Illinois (5-9-1, 3-2-0 SL) faces host and No. 3 seeded Omaha (9-5-2, 2-1-2 SL) at 5 p.m.
The winners of Thursday's matches will play in Saturday's championship contest at 2 p.m. CT with the victor earning an automatic bid to the NCAA College Cup.
Sending the Seniors Out in Style
Last Saturday's match marked the final regular-season home game for Maverick seniors Ray Barajas, Brahan Gamarra, Joseph Ghitis, Xavier Gomez, Emmanuel Hamzat, Michael Jaime and Jacob Weiler. These seven seniors were a part of 38 UNO victories since 2014 and helped their team win a pair of regular season Summit League titles. Combined, these seven accumulated 197 starts and played in over 18,500 minutes in the Crimson and Black. This senior class combined for 23 goals, 11 assists and 15 shutouts. The Mavericks' record on Senior Day matches is 4-0-1, and UNO is unbeaten in five-straight regular-season home finales.
This and That
• Omaha played Creighton in front of a program-high 4,986 fans at Caniglia Field on Sept. 26.
• Through 16 games this season, UNO has started 19 different players. Four different Mavericks have played over 1,250 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 26 starts, two goals and eight assists.
• Outscoring teams 24-14 on the season thus far, Omaha has only allowed four first-half goals and has surrendered 164 shots (62 on frame). UNO is 2-2-1 when it concedes the first goal and 7-3 when scoring first.
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