By: Owen Godberson
The 2019 Summit League Championship match, for the fourth time in five years, will be staying in Denver as the host Denver Pioneer’s beat the fourth-seeded Omaha Mavericks 1-0.
This was the fourth consecutive year these two programs faced off for the crown, with neither side winning it at the opposition’s ground. The home team streak continues into 2019, with Denver seeing off the upstart Mavericks.
The match, as per usual with these teams, was decided by one goal. Denver’s Preston Judd scored his seventh goal of the season when he picked the ball up from 35-yards and fired a shot, ricocheting off Omaha’s Cole Nelson and into the back of the net past a sprawling Jeremy Pollard.
After the goal, Denver shut down everything the Mavericks threw their way in the final hour of the contest. The seven chances Omaha created were stifled by either the Pioneer defense or Will Palmquist, the latter of whom finished in the Summit League All-Tournament team with two saves and two clean sheets.
At the end of the tournament, seven of the All-Tournament XI played in the final. Omaha had three seniors on the team in defenders Seth Rinderknecht and Pep Mateu, joined by midfielder Marcos Bautista.
The victorious Pioneers finished with Jacob Stennson, Callum Stretch, Will Palmquist, and Preston Judd in the squad. Judd, who finished in the top four for Summit League top-scorers, also picked up the tournament’s MVP Award.
The Mavericks lose seniors Rinderknect, Nelson, Bautista, Mateu, goalkeeper Ugo Tritz and defender Billy Hoffman in the offseason. Denver on the other hand lose no one, and will look to add another trophy to their cabinet come next fall.
