Union Omaha has officially signed a second goalkeeper to their roster for the 2020 season. The owls signed Sam Howard on April 9 to push their roster to 22 contracted players.
Howard joins the Owls after a two year stint with USL Championship side Fresno FC. The goalkeeper nicknamed, “Mystery player” by Union Omaha’s social media, has been with the team since early March. A native of Takoma Park, Maryland, Howard will add much needed depth in the goalkeeper position. Howard will be battling with Rashid Nuhu for the starting position when the season begins.
Last season, Howard appeared in two games for the Northern California club. He was the first choice keeper for Fresno FC during their U.S. Open Cup stint which saw them bow out of the competition in the third round against Sacramento Republic.
In 2016 and 2017, Howard traveled to Europe to play for Swedish club, IFK Amal. He started 68 games for the club that played in division three and division four of the Swedish Football Association. Division three and four are the fifth and sixth level of professional soccer in Sweden.
The keeper graduated from Howard University in 2015. The 6-foot-2-inch keeper made 68 appearances for the Bison in his only year for them. He transferred for his final year from La Salle University where he saw the field only once during his first three years.
This beautiful save from Howard comes from his first game for Fresno FC last season. Fresno faced amateur club, El Farolito in their second round game of the U.S. Open Cup in 2019. In the 79th minute, Howard made this athletic save to tip the ball over the bar to hold Fresno’s lead at 1-0. Howard would keep the clean sheet and see Fresno through to the next round in America’s oldest soccer competition.
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