Box Score

DENVER, Colo. - The Eastern Illinois men's soccer team's return to the Summit League tournament did not go as well as hoped as the Panthers fell to No. 1 seed Omaha 3-1 Thursday afternoon. With the loss the Panthers 2016 season comes to an end with a 5-12-1 overall record and a 2-4-0 conference record while Omaha goes on to face the winner of Denver and Western Illinois in the championship match.

Freshman Jonathan Huerta was the bright spot for the men's soccer team preventing the shut out late in the match with his second goal of the season.

The match started off eerily similar to the regular season showdown between the two squads as Omaha went on the attack right out of the gates. The Mavericks got on the board early thanks to a goal from Fazlo Alihodzic in the 12th minute. Omaha earned a dangerous free kick outside of the box in the early goings as the Maverick's leading scorer stepped up to take it sending a low cross into the box. The ball seemed to get lost in the shuffle perhaps taking a deflection or two as it managed to slide past Mike Novotny and into the net to give Omaha a 1-0 lead.

Alihodzic's opening goal during the regular season match against the Panthers earlier this year also came in the 12th minute.

The Mavericks added to their lead in the 26th minute as Mark Moulton sent a cross into the box from the far side of the field. Moulton's cross found the head of Elvir Ibisevic who managed to sneak the ball into the near post to put the Mavericks up 2-0.

The Panthers didn't earn their first shot on goal until the 32nd minute as Huerta sent a rocket towards the net from outside the box right at Omaha goalkeeper Joseph Ghitis who made the save.

Omaha out shot the Panthers 8-2 in the first half as the period drew to a close with Omaha leading 2-0.

Moulton earned his second assist of the match midway through the second period as he was elected to take the free kick for Omaha outside of the penalty area. Moulton sent the cross into the box forcing Novotny to come off his line to make a play, but Novotny collided with a Maverick player as the ball bounced around in the penalty area. Omaha's Noor Hamadi dove to head the ball towards the open net and give the Mavericks a 3-0 cushion in the 62nd minute.

Novotny was forced to leave the match following the collision on the free kick as R.J. Hill came in to finish the match in the net for EIU.

The Panthers went down swinging to prevent the shut out as EIU earned a free kick of their own outside the top of the penalty box. Huerta answered the call sending a beautiful curling free kick over the wall and into the net freezing Omaha's Ghitis and making it 3-1 in the 74th minute.

Omaha out shot EIU 16-5 in the match to earn a spot in the Summit League Championship match.

Huerta led the team with three shots, two on goal while both Davis Wegmann and Alex Castaneda recorded one shot.