'Roos Host Omaha in Top Half Summit League Battle
10/19/2012 2:32:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Omaha Mavericks (4-8-1, 2-1-1 SL)
at Kansas City Kangaroos (5-7-2, 3-1 SL)
Saturday, October 20 - 1:00 pm
Kansas City, Mo. * Durwood Soccer Stadium
Live Stats/Webcast: UMKCKangaroos.com (T.J. Jackson, play-by-play)
The Game:
The 'Roos look to snap a three-game skid on Saturday when Omaha comes to town for a big Summit League matchup at 1 p.m. from Durwood Stadium. The two teams are sitting in second (UMKC) and third (UNO) in the standings. Kansas City could clinch a spot in the conference tournament with a win and some help in the other league games Saturday.
Pre-Game Tailgate
There will be a free pre-game tailgate open to the public starting at 11:30 a.m. at the stadium until kickoff the the soccer game. The men's basketball team will also be holding an open practice in Swinney Recreation Center from 11:30 a.m.-2:00 p.m. There will be autograph sessions with both basketball teams, as well as free raffles and giveaways.
The Kansas City Marathon will also be taking place on Saturday, so Volker Blvd. will be closed coming in to campus. Fans should come into campus from the South, and park in the parking structure next to Durwood Stadium at 51st and Cherry.
The Coaches
In his 15th season at UMKC, Rick Benben is the winningest coach in school history, posting a 110-134-29 record. Under his guidance, UMKC has captured four Summit League regular season titles and has made three appearances in the NCAA College Cup with the most recent appearance coming in 2008. Benben, the fourth head coach in the Division I era, was inducted into the UMKC Athletics Hall of Fame this past year.
Jason Mims is in his second season with Omaha, starting the program from scratch a year ago. He came to Omaha after a year at Penn State and 10 years at Creighton as an assistant coach.
The Series
It will be the second meeting between the two schools with a1-0 series record in favor of the Mavericks. Last season the 'Roos took a 1-0 lead early in the match, but gave up two goals to fall 2-1 in Omaha's first game ever.
The 'Roos are 0-1 at home in the series as well.
Benben has a 0-1 overall mark against UNO, while Mims is 1-0 vs. UMKC.
Scouting the Competition
The Omaha Mavericks come into the weekend also on a three-game skid, but are 4-8-1 overall and 2-1-1 in league play. They have defeated IUPUI and EIU, while tying WIU and falling to IPFW. The Mavs are not eligible for play in the Summit League Tournament this year due to NCAA transition.
UNO is led by Vance Rookwood and Chava Garcia with four goals apiece, while Giovanni Giattino has posted a league second-best seven assists. The Mavs average 1.69 goals per game, while allowing 1.85 per contest. Defensively, goalkeeper Matt Grosey has a 1.80 goals against average and a conference fourth-best 50 saves.
A Win vs Omaha Means...
- Kansas City would have four wins in conference play for the first time since the 2010 regular season championship team.
- The 'Roos would have defeated Omaha for the first time.
- Kansas City would have 12 points in the league standings, and clinch a spot in the conference tournament with a Fort Wayne loss vs. Oakland later in the day.
Ahead of the Pace
Kansas City has already won five games this year, matching last season's total for the whole season. Also the 'Roos have tallied one more Summit League win than all of last year (2).
After the ORU win it was the first time UMKC has been above .500 since the end of the 2010 season.
Up Next
The 'Roos hit the road for another non-conference game, heading to face Wisconsin in Madison on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.
It will be the first ever meeting between the two schools.
In The League
The 'Roos have scored 2.0 goals per game in league play to rank second in the conference behind Oakland. Their 1.22 goals against per game in league play is third, behind Oakland and Omaha.
Individually Tom Gaus and Tom McCarthy each have three assists in league games, tied for second in the conference.
