Undefeated Milwaukee downs UNO 3-1

By

October 2nd, 2013

Omaha, NE – Wednesday night’s match-up between the University of Nebraska at Omaha and the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee was one of ups and downs for the Mavericks.

[audio:https://kvnonews.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/milwaukee-vo.mp3]

Starting the game UNO came out strong defensively led by Felipe da Silva who was named co-defensive player of the week in the Summit League this week. Da Silva was all over the field in the first half making tackle after tackle and running down errant passes, playing the role of defender in good form. And it paid off. In the 42nd minute, UNO was awarded a penalty kick and sophomore midfielder Emir Alihodzic rattled it right past the UWM goalkeeper for a 1-0 UNO lead. Head coach Jason Mims said his team had the advantage in all areas in the first half.

Vance Rookwood (11) leads UNO with three goals this year. (Photo Courtesy KVNO News)

Vance Rookwood (11) leads UNO with three goals this year. (Photo Courtesy KVNO News)

“The first half was tight, and we knew it was going to be a tight game,” Mims said. “They are one of the best offensive teams in the country and we held them to three or four shots in the first half. And we didn’t have much going forward in the first half, but they had zero going forward in the first half. So we were pretty happy going up 1-0 at halftime against a team that is as offensively loaded as they are.”

Momentum can be unpredictable and fickle in the arena of sports. UNO saw first-hand Wednesday just how treacherous the “Big Mo” can be. During a nine minute span the Mavs went from leading by one goal to trailing by two. The three goal difference was spurred by UWM’s leading scorer Laurie Bell, who had a goal and an assist. UNO was downed 3-1 following the scoring barrage. Mims said his team is still learning how to compete at a high level for 90 minutes.

“I’m proud for the fact that for 60 minutes they saw what they could do defensively,” Mims said. I just think that we got to get a little more going forward. I think we are a little bit tentative and little bit scared. It’s almost like the 1-0 lead was almost bad for us because we kind of sat on that and said ‘okay let’s just keep this 1-0 lead and not bring anybody forward.’ That wasn’t the plan, we wanted to get guys forward and keep on playing but you know they tied it up and (the team) got down.”

The Mavericks only goal was scored on a penalty kick by Emir Alihodzic (7) (Photo courtesy KVNO News)

The Mavericks only goal was scored on a penalty kick by Emir Alihodzic (7) (Photo courtesy KVNO News)

Coming into the game UWM had better stats than previous UNO foe Creighton, who is ranked fourth nationally. Before the 3-1 win the Panthers scored 18 goals in eight games. In the same time they’ve allowed only six goals. Mims said his team is making progress and after playing six games in 20 days his team will get back to a normal one game per week schedule.

“I hope we can get through this, we’ve been lucky so far health wise,” Mims said. “If we can get through this weekend I am excited to get the guys rest, we need rest.”

UNO is now on a three game road trip. The Mavs take on Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis Saturday in Indiana at 6pm. Then UNO travels to Nashville for a match with Belmont.

Comments are closed.

©2023 KVNO News