(OMAHA, Ne)—In 2018, Omaha went into a tough road test early in the season against a ranked Memphis Tigers squad. They suffered a brutal loss—giving up four goals and 20 shots to the Tigers, while the Mavs had just two shots as a team. That Maverick team was very young and still figuring out how to play together, and have since earned a trip to the Summit League Championship match and have settled in as a team.
The Mavs went into Sunday’s match against the Tigers coming off of a thrilling overtime win over Northern Iowa, and carried it over—looking sharp defensively for ninety minutes against Memphis. However, Omaha would come up empty handed on a lone goal in the first half from Serena Dolan.
The Tigers controlled the tempo of the match from the start. They consistently found passing lanes and ways to maintain possession, making it tough for the Mavs to get any momentum in the attacking third. Although Memphis had their chances, Omaha found ways to fend off the Tigers opportunities.
In the 32nd minute, the Tigers offense struck. Dolan sent a missile from about twenty-five yards from the goal and snuck it past Erin Bunker at the top of the net for the game’s only goal.
Every potential transition attack the Mavericks would put together would be quickly shut down. Omaha finished the game with just four shots as a team, none of which were on target. Omaha struggled to keep possession, and ultimately found themselves on their heels most of the game.
Memphis would tally 14 shots, and earn seven corner kicks throughout the match, but the Maverick defense would only give up the goal from Dolan. Omaha showed drastic improvements from last year’s meeting with the Tigers, but still fell 1-0.
The loss puts the Mavericks record at 1-2-1. Omaha returns to action at Caniglia Field again on Friday as they take on Ball State at 5:30 p.m. Listen to Owen Godberson, Jack Hoover, and Matt Kirkle live for the call on MavRadio.fm.
