Good morning, Búhos Nation! It’s a Union Omaha gameday, so grab your gear, wear the colors, and support the Owls as they take on Tormenta FC tonight at 6:30 PM (CST) at Erk Russell Park in Statesboro, Georgia. The match will be broadcasted on ESPN+.
The 2021 edition of the Tormenta FC was a team that had potential, but ultimately never achieved said potential. The team started off the season with six losses in their first seven matches. They were able to achieve a four-match winning streak, which saw them flirting with playoff contention, but soon suffered injuries on the backline and couldn’t sustain the winning momentum. By the final whistle of the last match of the season, Tormenta FC saw themselves in 11th place, only 5 points above last-placed North Carolina FC. The club was busy in the offseason and hopes to find more luck and success along the path of the 2022 USL League One regular season.
Much like most of the clubs in USL League One, Tormenta FC has seen a large roster turnover prior to the start of the 2022 regular season. The 2021 team leading scorer, midfielder Marco Micaletto, is plying his trade in the MLS Next Pro with Columbus Crew 2. Another major producer from last year’s squad, forward Azaad Liadi, is playing with Loudon FC in the USL Championship. The last major piece of their 2021 roster, midfielder Luca Mayr-Fälten, crossed the Atlantic to return home and play for SK Vorkwärts Steyr in Austria. Though this trio was essential to the roster last season, Tormenta FC has brought in some talent, as well as retained some, as well.
One familiar face for many USL League One fans is goalkeeper Pablo Jara. By the end of the 2021 season, Jara had earned five clean sheets and was awarded the Week 10 USL League One Save of the Week and Team of the Week honors. He’s returned for yet another season and hopes to see the club rise in the standings. Another familiar name to Tormenta FC is midfielder Adrain Billhardt. He had a lot of buzz surrounding him during his rookie season in 2021, but tore his ACL within the first five matches of the season and had to spend the rest of the season recovering from that injury. He seems to be healed up and ready go, but it remains to be seen if he can substantiate the hype around him. A new face to the club is forward Arthur Bosua. The South African spent the 2021 season with New Amsterdam FC (NISA) and the 2020 season with the Charleston Battery (USL Championship). He has a big frame, even bigger presence, and loves to hunt down cross. With Jara in net, Billhardt in the midfield, and Bosua up top, the team has already laid a solid foundation for link-up play.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the all-too familiar name now associated with Tormenta FC: Toby Otieno. A member of the 2020 and 2021 Union Omaha squad, many fans were excited at the prospect of seeing the Kenyan midfielder returning for a third season, but things just weren’t meant to be. During the offseason, Otieno accepted a deal that would move him to Statesboro, Georgia and mind the midfield for Tormenta FC. At this moment in time, Otieno is stuck in Kenya and waiting for his visa approvals before he can join his new club.
Union Omaha and Tormenta FC have only played each other four times, but I don’t think I have to go out on a limb when I say that Tormenta FC may be Union Omaha’s biggest supporter. Aside from a draw during their first match in 2020, Union Omaha has collected three points each time they played. In fact, it’s been 583 days since Tormenta FC has scored a goal on Union Omaha. Remember when Prince Harry and Meghan Markle quit the royal family and moved to Canada? How about murder hornets? Yeah, those news pieces are just slightly older than Tormenta FC’s last goal against Union Omaha.
As far as what to expect tonight, Tormenta FC head coach Ian Cameron will likely have a similar system in place: lots of possession, lots of commitment to moving numbers up the field, and glaring vulnerabilities in transition. In the four times that Union Omaha has faced Tormenta FC, Cameron instituted a different formation in three of the matches. One thing rings true across those formations: the more players he commits high on the field, the more goals the team will let in. This is because the players transition with excitement on offense, but don’t commitment to getting back on defense and open themselves up to counterattacks. This was true in Week 1, when Tormenta FC lost 0-1 to last year’s Wooden Spoon winner: North Carolina FC.
Cameron tried to play a 4-5-1 while on defense, but transition to a 3-5-2 (with two Central Defensive Midfielders and three Central Attacking Midfielders). In the first half alone, there were almost a handful of instances where four to five players were committed high up the field, with only three to four sitting far back on the backline. North Carolina was able to create turnovers, sneak midfielders into wide open spaces, and transition quickly on offense. Tormenta FC gave up the game winner in the first half because of this exact tactic, combined with poor defensive tracking inside their own box before the eventual game-winning header.
Tormenta FC does have some quality players on their roster, but it seems that the tactics are still lacking at this point. If Union Omaha can control the midfield, keep attacking along the flanks, counter attack quickly, and capitalize on set pieces or in-play crosses, the Owls shouldn’t have any trouble continuing their unbeaten streak. Hopefully Union Omaha can put a cherry on top and make it another clean sheet in the process. Three clean sheets across four matches? Not bad.
Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 PM (CST), so make sure you plant yourself in front of a TV to watch the match. If you are in the Omaha area and want to watch with other fans, there will be a watch party at the Corner Kick Cantina located at 132nd & Dodge. The watch party begins at 5 PM, but if you’d like to arrive early and help with a special project involving the national flags hung during home matches, feels free to arrive around 3 PM and provide some extra hands. It’s going to be a fun evening, so where your colors proudly and cheer on the Owls to their first victory of the season. ¡Viva Búhos!
Who Gives A Hoot? 