Way back in the first week of April, Union Omaha knew it would take seven wins to lift a trophy and tell one of the greatest stories in American lower league soccer history, maybe modern U.S. soccer history in general. A second-round win against Des Moines Menace would be nice, the first U.S. Open Cup victory in team history being a logical next step as the club develops an identity and continues laying a foundation for what will hopefully be long-term success. A third-round victory, no matter the opponent, would make the entire tournament in general seem like a resounding success for the club, and enough to hang its hat on going forward.
More than two months, three nervous fixture draws and four rounds later, Union Omaha is more than halfway towards writing the end of that story. With two victories on the road against MLS competition already secured, a path to lifting the trophy appears more and more visible by the day. A trip to Children’s Mercy Park against Sporting Kansas City is the next obstacle to be navigated around, and if only three more victories seems like a more reasonable task, a win Wednesday would make two more victories seem like the Cup is within our grasp to lift.
If there has been any luck going Union Omaha’s way in the U.S. Open Cup, it would likely have to do with scheduling. In its last two U.S. Open Cup games Omaha did not have to play a league match the previous weekend, while each of their opponents in those rounds did. Omaha doesn’t have that luxury before the quarterfinal, having just dropped a 2-0 result to Greenville Triumph. Comparing each team’s last competitive match, you have the basics of an argument that the schedule still favors Union Omaha, if only slightly:
- Union Omaha played on Saturday, Sporting Kansas City played on Sunday
- Union Omaha played at home, Sporting Kansas City had to travel to and from Nashville
- Union Omaha made what looked like three planned substitutions at halftime, having made all five subs within the next half hour. SKC made just three subs in the entirety of their match, from the 75th minute on. Johnny Russell wasn’t subbed off until the 7th minute of stoppage time
Now, that Sunday match for Kansas City was a successful one, a 2-1 away victory at a fairly competent Nashville SC. The result is an outlier for Sporting KC in 2022, their first victory on the road. SKC have seen much, much better results at home in 2022, 5-2-3 at Children’s Mercy Park in all competitions this year. However, they have lost two straight at home to Vancouver Whitecaps and New England Revolution, respectively.
Union Omaha had a streak of their own snapped this past weekend. Their loss to Greenville ended a six-match unbeaten streak in all competitions, and for many of their new players it was only their second loss as professional players out of 13 official matches played. The loss could be a motivating factor for these new players, with the additional motivator or getting to play against another MLS side.
As far as lineups go, look for Union Omaha to go all out with this one. A practically full-strength squad started against Greenville on Saturday (Eddie Gordon was the only starter that hasn’t made regular starts), with many seeing less than 65 minutes of action. Omaha were also without Gabriel Claudio on Saturday due to a red-card suspension in league play, so a fully rested Claudio (who has started two Open Cup matches so far) will be available for the quarterfinal.
Kansas City’s projected lineup is not as easy to decipher. With only two days of rest from a road game, there may be more rotation than head coach Peter Vermes would like to have at this stage of the tournament. It’s already been confirmed that 21 year-old John Pulskamp will be the starting goalkeeper. His two previous appearances for SKC have only been in the Open Cup, as he’s been splitting time with Kendall McIntosh as both backup to Tim Melia with the first team and playing for SKC II (where he’s made five starts). Players that started in SKC’s last Open Cup game that have started at least 12 of their 17 MLS games include defender Logan Ndenbe, midfielder Rémi Walter, forward Dániel Sallói and midfielder/forward Johnny Russell. All four of those players started on Sunday, and only Walter didn’t go at least 90 minutes.
At this stage in the tournament, it doesn’t matter where you come from or who you’ve played. If you’re in the quarterfinal, you belong; you know you belong, and you can beat whoever else is left in your path. Union Omaha want to finish writing that story, and they plan on it having three chapters remaining, not one.
Who Gives A Hoot? 