Union Omaha (13-8-5, 1st place) vs. Richmond (11-7-8, 4th place)
Werner Park, Papillion, Nebraska
6 PM (CST), ESPN+
Alright, let’s address the elephant in the room: Yes, Union Omaha played poorly during the match on Wednesday against Forward Madison [editors note: you can say that again]. We don’t need to dwell on it. Instead, we need to turn our attention to the next opponent: Richmond Kickers. If you’re wondering whether or not you should attend Saturday night’s match, stop thinking. Just go. It’s the last match at home in the regular season and unless you’re traveling down to Texas next week, you won’t be able to see the Owls play live for a few weeks. Richmond is a good club, too. They haven’t locked up a spot in the playoffs yet, so they’re hungry for some points, but you know what? Union Omaha is mad beyond words. You saw it on the field, you saw it on their faces walking to the locker rooms, and in the post-match video with coach Jay Mims, you could see on his face, too. This match is about more than Richmond. It’s going to be a crystal clear message to the rest of the playoff teams about playing in Werner Park. Inspired by Dante’s “Inferno”: “Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.”
Richmond is undefeated in their last five matches, outscoring their opponents 8-3. Entering Week 25, the Kickers were in 11th place. Of all the clubs who haven’t qualified for the playoffs yet, Richmond is the hungriest of them all. Throughout those five matches, they took down playoff contenders left and right: Toronto FC II, Chattanooga, Forward Madison (twice), and North Texas. That’s no walk in the park. They’re hot and nobody can seem to slow them down. At this point, only three clubs can catch them in the standings, but Richmond isn’t looking back with caution. They’re looking up the standings with reckless abandonment. No matter what happens in other matches, if Richmond wins, they’re the new occupier of third place. While they may not be the strongest opponent on the road, they are certainly hungriest.
Union Omaha is a club out for redemption. How can the top club in the league drop three home games in their last five and expect to win the championship? Nevermind that. Don’t dwell on the past. Instead, get excited for one heck of a match to be played in Werner Park. We’ve all seen the action movie where the protagonist gets knocked to the ground, gets up, gives a simple shrug of the shoulders and a shake of the head, and dives back into the melee. That’s exactly what you’re going to see Saturday evening. Other clubs need a bulletin board full of material to get pumped up for a match. Union Omaha simply takes the field ready to break loose of their warm-up chains. The stadium lights are on and the crowd is there supporting them. Once that whistle blows, it’s game time.
These two clubs have only faced each other twice in the past two seasons. Last year, Richmond dealt Union Omaha their first home loss in franchise history (1-0, September 26th, 2020). In their meeting on June 19th of this year, the two sides fought to a 1-1 draw in Richmond, Virginia. Don’t walk into Werner Park and expect to see a lot of goals. This match is going to be a major test of mettle for both sides. Challenges will be physical, tactics will be cerebral, and the fans will receive a great gift in return – a truly fun soccer match to watch.
In order to plan for Richmond, there are two enormous factors you have to consider: forward Emiliano Terzaghi and goalkeeper Akira Fitzgerald. Terzaghi has the most goals (17) and most shots (61) in the league. He’s pretty much locked up the Golden Boot at this point. The next closest count for each category on the Kickers is Jonathan Bolanos with 4 goals and 34 shots. Fitzgerald, on the other end of the field, has the most clean sheets (10) and most saves (84) in the league. While the offensive scheme seems to work through only one man, Fitzgerald has two stalwarts in front of him: defenders Ivan Magalhaes (6’1”) and Jalen Crisler (6’4”). These two don’t seem to care one bit about playing out of the back. As soon as they get ahold of the ball, rest assured that they are going to kick it high, wide, and away from their goal. It’s an old-school approach to defense: as long as the ball is far away, I’ve done my job. Their style of play is a direct compliment of Union Omaha’s style of play. Let’s discuss.
First off, when you look at Terzaghi’s goals, he’s not flashy. What he is very good at is taking advantage of a ball-watching defender, slipping to the back post, and positioning himself for a far-post feed or a loose ball in the goal area. He’s the clean-up crew. A lot of his goals are simply picking up the loose ball and slotting it home or simple tap-ins. If Union Omaha can put a spy on him (have someone mark him wherever he goes) and body up to him closely, I have high confidence that the Owls can make him disappear.
Richmond is used to playing in low-scoring affairs, but that’s not good news for them. The Kickers have played 12 away matches and 8 of them were determined by a goal or less. Of those eight matches, they were only able to win one match and draw twice. Union Omaha has played 13 home matches and 9 of them were decided by a goal or less. Of those nine matches, the Owls won twice and drew four times. Union Omaha has fared much better in close competitions, which is due in part to Richmond’s defensive strategy.
As stated earlier, they like the dump the ball back down the field at the earliest threat against their goal. By doing this, they’re essentially giving the ball back to their opponent, allowing them to reset, and have another go at the goal. This is good news for the Owls because it will generate more opportunities on net and increase their confidence and creativity. Even on offense, Richmond doesn’t make a lot of passes. They play a very direct style of soccer, where everything plummets downhill very quickly. If Union Omaha can stay composed and move the ball around, they are sure to have bountiful shots on goal. The Owls may have to lower the number of crosses they put into the box. Instead, if they can take control of the middle of the field and create havoc in front of the goal, they may have more opportunities versus crossing the ball into the box. In all honesty, they didn’t look too good in the air on Wednesday, so more possession in the final third might be a better route. If you see Union Omaha loading the front line, you know that they’re going for crosses. If they could overload the front line while making overlapping runs, they could confuse the Richmond defense into thinking a designed air-based play is coming up, when a thru-ball is actually about to be played. We’ll just have to wait and see.
Now we have to consider a possible pitfall for the Owls. Richmond like to foul and when I say foul, I mean foul. They’ve conceded 403 fouls (1st in the league), been awarded 74 yellow cards (1st in the league), and also been awarded 3 red cards (tied for 4th in the league). I bring this up because Union Omaha hasn’t fared well against clubs that foul so much. This is why Union Omaha’s mettle will be tested on Saturday evening. The playoffs are just around the corner and each opponent is going to be fighting tooth and nail to better their chances of victory. The Owls absolutely need to step up to the challenge, without losing focus of the score line. It’s okay to get into very physical challenges, as long as the focus is the ball and not the opponent. As Bernard Shaw once wrote, “Never wrestle with a pig. You just get dirty and the pig enjoys it.”
As you make your way to Werner Park, start to think about how you’d like to spend your November weekends. The first playoff match for Union Omaha will be on Saturday, November 13th. If you’re a season ticket holder, log onto the Union Omaha ticket website and renew your tickets. Here’s the crucial part: how many other people can you encourage to come to the matches? Think of anyone you’d like to bring with you. Groups of 15 or more can get tickets for $10/each. If you’ve been to Werner Park for Union Omaha, you’ve likely walked out after the match was finished and thought, “That was fun. I should do this again.” Why not share the wealth with people who are soccer lovers? Or maybe those that like the sense of community amongst fans? I also address this issue because Union Omaha has a very good chance of hosting a semifinal match, as well as the championship. The team needs every bit of our support as they strive to finish on top. Every person that walks through the gates is another voice of support for the squad. We need to be there for them, so start looking at your calendars and spreading the word. One Means All!
Make sure you get to the stadium early on Saturday evening. Another well-supported tailgate is already in the works. It seems like a lot of people have made recent purchases, so make sure you’re able to pick those up at the tailgate, as well. If you aren’t caught up with the podcast, make sure to listen to whatever episodes you can. There’s been some fun action going on with that lately. It’s going to be another chilly evening, so please dress accordingly. We want everyone to have a good time and stay warm while doing so. See you at the stadium. ¡Viva Búhos!
Who Gives A Hoot? 