Omaha, No. 10 Notre Dame Set for South Omaha Classic Exhibition Match

Sunday, August 13

Caniglia Field

6 p.m.

Omaha

Notre Dame (Exh.)

Buy Tickets

Omaha kicks off the 2017 season with an exhibition match vs. No. 10 Notre Dame on Sunday evening.

Omaha, No. 10 Notre Dame Set for South Omaha Classic Exhibition Match

Aug 12, 2017 | Men's Soccer

Game Notes Watch Live Stats

OMAHA, Neb. - The Omaha men's soccer team is set to host No. 10 Notre Dame in the South Omaha Classic exhibition match on Sunday, Aug. 13 at 6 p.m. at Caniglia Field.

Sunday night's game is the lone tune-up for the Mavericks before the regular season, which starts at home on Friday, Aug. 25. Omaha is coming off its second Summit League regular season title in program history.

Media
Links to live audio, stats and video are available at OMavs.com. MavRadio's Owen Godberson will handle play by play while Stephanie Zambrano provides analysis. Additionally, Radio Lobo 97.7 FM and Telemundo Nebraska will provide complete coverage in Spanish.

About the Mavericks
The Mavericks finished the 2016 season with a 10-5-4 and a 5-0-1 mark in Summit League play. Omaha returns 18 letterwinners, along with nine newcomers added to the roster in 2017. Emmanuel Hamzat returns as the squad's top scorer with 14 points on six goals and two assists. Elvir Ibisevic tallied 11 points on four goals and three assists.

Seth Rinderknecht and Jacob Weiler anchored a defense that had six shutouts and 1.01 goals against average last season. Rinderknecht led the team in minutes played and added six points on two goals and two assists. Weiler chipped in a pair of scores and an assist.

Also returning for Omaha are goalkeepers Joseph Ghitis and Ugo Tritz. Ghitis finished last season with a 9-4-4 record with a 1.06 goals-against average and a .765 save percentage. Tritz went 1-1 with a 0.50 goals-against average.

Ghitis, Hamzat and Rinderknecht earned first-team all-conference honors, while Weiler grabbed second-team accolades. Hamzat was also named the league's 2016 newcomer of the year.

The Mavericks welcome nine newcomers in freshmen Oliver Bihuniak, Miguel Gomez, Ed Gordon, Connor Jokerst, Tim Kaftan, Stephen Siy and Matt Smith and transfers Brahan Gamarra, Gonzalo Ledesma and Billy Hoffmann.

The Mavericks will play a 17-game regular season schedule with eight games at Caniglia Field. This season, UNO will face three teams that participated in the 2016 College Cup, including national semifinalist Denver.

Noting Notre Dame
The Fighting Irish finished 2016 with a 12-7-2 overall record and a 3-2-2 ACC mark. UND reached the Round of 16 in the NCAA Championship before falling 3-1 to Louisville. Notre Dame returns 12 letterwinners, including seven starters.

Leading the way for Notre Dame is senior forward Jon Gallagher. Gallagher, a preseason Hermann Trophy candidate, notched a career-high 14 goals, seven assists and 35 points in 21 starts in 2016. He also picked up College Soccer News Second-Team All-America honors and was the ACC Offensive Player of the Year.

Sophomore midfielder Tommy McCabe earned TopDrawer Soccer Freshman Best XI honors last season. Senior midfielder Blake Townes had seven points on a goal and five assists. Sophomore midfielder Jack Casey tallied five points (1 goal, 3 assists), while junior forward Thomas Ueland added five points (2 goals, 1 assist).

Senior goalkeeper Chris Hubbard went 12-6-2 last season with a 0.78 goals-against average and a .767 save percentage.

Notre Dame visits Des Moines (Aug. 16) and hosts Valparaiso (Aug. 21) to wrap up exhibition play. UND hosts San Diego on Aug. 25 to open the regular season.

Kicking off the Classic
Prior to Sunday night's exhibition match, Omaha and Notre Dame will be hosting a free youth soccer clinic at the Salvation Army's Kroc Center on Saturday, Aug. 12 from 5-6:15 p.m.. The clinic is open to boys and girls ages 4-12.

Coaches and players from both teams will offer instruction during the clinic. Players of all levels are welcome and will have a chance to improve their skills through dynamic activities and games.

Following the clinic, the two teams will host a spaghetti dinner fundraiser at Lo Sole Mio starting at 7 p.m. Fans, family and supporters will get the chance to meet members of both teams, listen to both coaches speak and bid on silent auction items.

Tickets for the dinner are $10 and all proceeds will go to support The Salvation Army's Kroc Center.

Black/White Scrimmage a Success
The Mavericks opened their preseason with their annual Black/White Scrimmage at Caniglia Field last Wednesday. The match consisted of two, 30-minute halves and Team Black prevailed 3-0.

Elvir Ibisevic opened the scoring late in the first half, touching home a pass from Ethan Bowman to send the Black team into the break with a 1-0 lead.

Less than two minutes into the second half, Emmanuel Hamzat took a cross from Ibisevic and placed it into the back of the net for a 2-0 lead. Newcomer Connor Jokerst made the score 3-0 in the 57th minute, connecting on a pass from Ibisevic.

Home Sweet Home
Since opening Caniglia Field in 2013, the Mavericks have dominated the opposition, going a combined 20-5-4 and outscoring opponents 59-27. The Mavs have a record of 8-2-1 in Summit League action (2013-16) at Caniglia Field. Since the inception of the program, UNO has a 26-13-5 home mark and has outscored opponents 80-52.

Up Next
Omaha opens the 2017 regular season with a home match against Grand Canyon on Friday, Aug. 25 at 6 p.m.