Union Omaha (3-4-1, 6th Place) vs Greenville Triumph (4-2-4, 4th Place)
All competitions: OMA (7-4-1) vs GVL (5-2-5)
Werner Park – Papillion, Nebraska
7 PM (CST) ESPN+
Rise and shine, Búhos Nation! This is no usual gameday preview. This is a Belt Week gameday preview! Today, our delightful rivals from South Carolina make their way to Werner Park for the first time since last season’s USL League One Championship. It’s been so long that the last time Greenville came to town, dinosaurs were roaming the parking lot. With that memory aside, fans are in for a 90-minute chess match between two clubs that have good leadership on the bench, veteran experience on the field, and equal skillsets to bring out the best competitor in each and every player.
The Greenville Triumph enters Week 12 of the season reeling from a tough loss 2-3 loss in Madison last weekend. Greenville scored more goals than Madison, unfortunately one of goals was in their own net. The club currently sits in fourth place and only one point away from the top of the table, but goal differential and goals scored is holding them back at this point in the season. Despite those minor obstacles, the Triumph are looking to reestablish dominance in a league that has seen incredible amounts of parity this season. After a rougher-than-anticipated start to the season, the Triumph have a great opportunity to reverse their fortunes.
In their first five matches of the season, Greenville was only able to amass 5 out of 15 points, 1 clean sheet, and allowed multiple goals on 2 occasions. With those five points, the Triumph were sitting as low as ninth in the table. Since then, the club has collected 9 out of 15 points, 3 clean sheets, and allowed more than 1 goal on only 1 occasion. Outside of last week’s match against Forward Madison, the last time Greenville gave up multiple goals was against Tormenta FC on April 23rd. One on hand, this is a very similar Greenville side, but on the other, this is a very different Greenville side from what Union Omaha fans have become accustomed to watching in league play.
This is a diagram of the goals they’ve scored and the goals they’ve allowed so far this season. If you look at the left side, the goals they’ve scored, you’ll see that most of their goals are coming from the right side of the attacking penalty spot. On the other side of the field, you can see that most of their goals come from the left side of the penalty spot in their defensive third. This does seem to match the norms of attacking tendencies from soccer teams, since most teams have their best attacker lining up on the right side of the field, but you should also consider Greenville’s secondary threat: chance creators.
Greenville has four players in double digits for chances created and three of them are higher than Union Omaha’s highest chance creator:
Having four players in double digits for chances created is bad enough for the opposition, but the way these four have played over the past five games is downright scary. Look at this graph for proof of their growth:
Through Week 6, those same four players had only collected 23 created chances, despite nearly every single one of them getting a start in each of those weeks. In Weeks 7-11, those same four players produced a total of 41 chances – nearly double that of the initial five weeks. Greenville manager John Harkes seems to have found reliable playmakers in the supporting cast. Having goal scorers like forward Jacob Labovitz and midfielder Aaron Walker on the receiving end certainly won’t give Harkes too many sleepless nights.
Another difference in this year’s edition of the Greenville Triumph is their eagerness to take shots. Last year’s team finished third in the league with 379 shots. In 2021, Greenville had 125 shots through 10 games, averaging 12.5 shots per game. This year, the club has 153 shots through ten games, almost three more shots per game. With each additional shot comes more opportunities to clean up the rebound, test the goalkeeper, and earn corner kicks off of defensive clearances. They’ll have a tough test ahead with a Union Omaha team that moves around the field well and closes up the shot windows and passing lanes.
Union Omaha strolls into Week 12 of the season and ready to host their third league match of the season. Undefeated at home and overall since April 30th, the Owls managed to slip out of Tucson with a 2-1 win last week, even after an unfortunate second half involving a red card and an own goal. Union Omaha currently sits in sixth place in the league, but with two points separating them from the league leader and two games in hand, manager Jay Mims and co. should feel pretty good about where they currently stand in the league. That doesn’t come without its own distractions, though.
It may be time to discuss the elephant in the room: the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. With the highly-anticipated matchup against MLS-side Sporting Kansas City looming next Wednesday, Mims has to find that delicate balance in today’s match by managing the load on his players with keeping them fresh for the next round of the Cup. The players have had a full week of rest, but will also play three matches in eight days. It’s a delicate balance, but “In Jay, we trust.”
Let’s get back to today’s action, though. Here’s a diagram of Union Omaha’s scoring breakdown:
As you can see, Union Omaha is pretty balanced in scoring goals from both halves of the penalty spot. On defense, the Owls haven’t let in any goals from outside of the penalty area, which proves the defensive formation is working most of the time. The goals that were scored against Union Omaha were done mostly between the penalty spot and the goal line, which basically shows teams picking up the loose ball in the box. Teams are having a tough time scoring goals from distance, so they have to act as bulldozers and cram the ball into the net. With only six goals scored against them through eight games, Union Omaha has matched the goals-against pace of last year’s team.
Though these two clubs have only played each other on four separate occasions, there’s rich history between the two sides. We all know about the championship-that-wasn’t-to-be from 2020. In 2021, these two teams were the first USL League One teams featured on a national broadcast (ESPN2). At the end of 2021, the two clubs were the last survivors in the league and Union Omaha capitalized on the moment to win the Championship at home 3-0. Union Omaha seems to be copying Greenville’s history in a way: both have a championship and both have qualified for the Championship each year they’ve been in USL League One.
Here’s a head-to-head illustration of the goals scored against one another:
If today’s game follows suit from its predecessors, it should be a relatively clean game, yet still highly-contested. Both clubs have plenty of technical acumen to make this a very appealing game to soccer fans. It will also be interesting to see how Jay Mims and John Harkes adjust to the flow of the game. Both have shown the ability to make good decisions, even the tough ones.
With all of the above being said, be sure to make your way to Werner Park this evening for a great evening with all of your soccer friends. There’s plenty of Pride merchandise to purchase, both in the stadium and at the tailgates leading up to the gates opening. After the game, make sure to check in with Who Gives A Hoot for all of the best Union Omaha coverage. If you haven’t purchased your ticket to the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup game in Kansas City, there are still tickets available. Have a fun evening and as always…¡Viva Búhos!
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