Tim Walters knew the day would come when Omaha’s record-setting class would move on.
Led by their nine seniors, the Mavs went 10-3-5 last fall, the most single-season wins the program has had since transitioning to Division I.
The class included Grace Ostergaard, who made 96 consecutive starts and played more than 8,000 minutes, Regan Zimmers, a two-time Summit League defending player of the year who made 91 career starts, and Grace Crockett, the program’s career leader in assists.
In all, six of those seniors made more than 55 career starts. That’s a lot of experience walking out the door, but Walters also knows the cupboard isn’t bare.
“We have more experience than what people give us credit for,” said Walters, who has been UNO’s coach since 2017.
Omaha returns Alyssa Kellar and Lauren Schmidt, who were two of the team’s top three scorers last season. Also back is two-year starter Maggie Gundersen, Jasmyn Brown, who has played in 27 games the past two years, and Lindsey Birch, who has played in 52 matches and played all 90 minutes when the Mavs faced Notre Dame in the 2022 NCAA tournament.
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Kellar, Schmidt, Gundersen and Birch are the team’s seniors this season.
“There was a lot of leadership with them in (last year’s) class. But I think the younger group brings a lot of energy, so we’re excited about that,” said Kellar, who had a team-best six goals last fall. “It’s sort of like a fresh start.”
The Mavs brought in eight freshmen as well as some transfers. Walters said freshmen including Kendall Dobberstein and Addie LaRock, who each won four state titles while at Gretna and Gretna East, and Presley Douglas from Omaha Skutt will be in the mix as the Mavs figure out their lineup early in the season.
“This is really the first class we’ve brought in since the NCAA tournament (in 2022),” said Walters, whose team opens its regular season at home against Northern Colorado at 7 p.m. Thursday. “Recruiting-wise, I thought we did a really good job, especially locally with this class.
“I like some of the options we have and some of the position battles we have going on right now.”
Walters said there’s also a position battle at goalkeeper. There will be other new faces along the Mavs’ back line as Gundersen is moving up to midfield.
A stout defense has been a staple of Omaha's program, with Walters saying “that’s part of who we are.” The Mavs allowed 14 goals in 18 games last season.
“I think that will never go away here,” Kellar said of the program’s defensive identity. “But I think we’re going to score a lot more goals this year with the youth and energy.”
Walters likes the team’s depth and expects to be able to substitute more than he has in recent years.
“I think competition is good, I think youth is good. They’re eager to get on the field,” he said.
Omaha picked fifth in Summit League
After graduating nine seniors from last season’s 10-3-5 squad, Omaha was picked to finish fifth in the nine-team Summit League women’s soccer preseason coaches poll on Tuesday.
UNO has consistently finished in the top half of the league standings as the Mavs have been in the top four in each of the last five seasons.
Defending champion North Dakota State is the preseason pick to repeat as the Bison received six of the nine first-place votes. South Dakota State got the other first-place votes and is second, followed by Denver, Oral Roberts and UNO.
South Dakota State has won the past two Summit tournament titles.
Omaha, which returns last season’s leading scorer in Alyssa Kellar, opens its season Thursday at home against Northern Colorado.
Summit League poll: 1, North Dakota State (6 first-place votes) 60 points. 2, South Dakota State (3) 59. 3, Denver 50. 4, Oral Roberts 43. 5, UNO 38. 6, South Dakota 26. 7, St. Thomas 22. 8, North Dakota 16. 9, UMKC 10.
Schedule
August: 14, Northern Colorado, 7 p.m. 17, Green Bay, 2 p.m. 21, at SIUE, 5 p.m. 24, at Lindenwood, 1 p.m. 31, Nebraska, 7:30 p.m.
September: 3, at Drake, 5 p.m. 7, at Oklahoma, 1 p.m. 10, at Creighton, 5 p.m. 14, at Western Illinois, 1 p.m. 19, Colorado State, 7 p.m. 25, at North Dakota State, 6 p.m. 28, at North Dakota, 1 p.m.
October: 2, Oral Roberts, 7 p.m. 5, at St. Thomas, 1 p.m. 12, at South Dakota State, 1 p.m. 19, Denver, 1 p.m. 23, South Dakota, 7 p.m. 26, UMKC, 1 p.m.
November: 1-9, Summit tournament, TBA.
