(OMAHA, Ne)—-Going into their match against Ivy League opponent, Columbia, the Omaha men’s soccer team had yet to score a goal in their first three matches. The Mavericks lost 1-0 to UCLA in an exhibition, followed by a road trip to California where they fell 1-0 to Cal-State Fullerton and 4-0 to St. Mary’s. Columbia came into this match fresh and untested, as it was their first match of the fall campaign, earning a 1-1 draw at Cangilia Field.
Omaha got going quickly in the 3’ when sophomore midfielder Martin Veys’ cross from the left flank fell to junior forward Diego Gutierrez who lashed it home off the volley. This was Gutierrez’s 10th career goal as a Maverick and now the Ralston product is only nine goals shy of the all-time Omaha record held by former Maverick forward Vance Rookwood.
From there, Omaha put pressure on but struggled to find an insurance goal. Columbia looked dangerous in the attack, forcing senior goalkeeper Ugo Tritz to make four saves before coming off in the 71’ due to a blow to the face he received on a tough save attempt—forcing the Mavericks to go to the bench and bring on junior goalkeeper Jeremy Pollard. The Australian goalkeeper made one save, but conceded the equalizer in the 79’ to Sebastian Gunbeyi on a shot that snuck in through traffic of Omaha defenders.
Neither side scored throughout the overtime period, due in large part to substitute senior goalkeeper Eric Chang, who came on to replace freshman goalkeeper Michael Collodi who had been sent off in the 99’ for handling outside of his penalty area. The following set-piece was saved by Chang, his first of three crucial saves in his first ever appearance for the Lions.
Omaha’s next match will come on Sept. 9 as they host UNLV at Caniglia, followed by Michigan on Sept. 13 before going down the road for the 2019 Dodge Street Derby against the Creighton Bluejays.
