April 9, 2020 was supposed to be Union Omaha’s first ever U.S. Open Cup game. 727 days, 44 regular season games, 2 playoff games and 1 League One championship later, the club finally checked that box with a 2-1 victory against defending USL League Two champions Des Moines Menace in their second round match. It also marked the first competitive game for Union Omaha since winning last season’s final, a title they begin defending Saturday, April 9 at Forward Madison.
Even with an enormous amount of roster turnover, six of the starting XI were players returning from last year’s squad. The biggest surprise of that group was Emir Alihodžić, whose return to the team was announced only hours before kickoff. His positioning at right back was maybe the biggest surprise of the evening before the start of the match, as the rest of the lineup was not necessarily predictable, but it was one of a likely small number of realistic possibilities.
In terms of a match recap, this was a weird one. Union Omaha were somehow never in real danger but won needing a late own goal, constantly had the ball in positions to score but in some chaotic situations, and officially maintained 60% of possession but seemingly did not have to defend for a roughly 60-minute stretch of the game. Immediately after Des Moines surprising opening goal in the 14th minute from Corey Hertzog (a new face for Menace for this game, he scored 6 goals in 31 matches for San Diego Loyal last season, his eighth straight season in USL Championship) Union Omaha essentially kept the ball out of their defensive third until the final ten minutes or so.
Union Omaha’s attack looked a lot more composed following Des Moines’ goal, and it only took five minutes for JP Scearce to equalize with a thumper of a header following a Joseph Brito corner kick. Following that goal the midfield really stepped up their game. Brito and Dion Acoff found themselves constantly on the ball and making big plays (the two combined for eleven key passes), Brito and Scearce combined to win 20 of their 31 duels, and Conor Doyle would eventually send in the ball leading to the own goal that ultimately decided the game.
The main topic of conversation this preseason has been determining where the offense will come from this year. Not just accounting for individuals, but also position groups in general. My take (which I think lines up with the majority of others) has been that the midfielders and forwards will carry an equal amount of the load, and that sure seemed to be supported during this game. Union Omaha had 25 shots, we are of course not likely to see a number that high during the regular season, and they were so evenly distributed amongst the forwards and midfielders that it doesn’t seem real:
- Ricky Rivera: 3
- Hugo Kametani: 3
- JP Scearce: 3
- Conor Doyle: 3
- Dion Acoff: 3
- Joseph Brito: 2
- Alex Bruce (sub): 2
- Noe Meza (sub): 2
- Giovani Montesdeoca (sub): 0
So what’s next for Union Omaha in the U.S. Open Cup? A trip to play the Chicago Fire at Solider Field. The match will be between April 19-21, and you better believe we’ll be covering right here on W-G-A-H MEDIA dot com.
Who Gives A Hoot? 