Owls Blank Locomotive in US Open Cup

Union Omaha used the second half of their match to score two goals against USL Championship club El Paso Locomotive and solidify another Owl victory in the US Open Cup, winning 2-0.  This was the first-ever meeting between Union Omaha and a USL Championship club in competitive play.  The home match was also the first time the Owls ever hosted a higher-division club in the tournament.

As the two sides lined up for the contest, one major difference became apparent: experience, measured in different forms.  By the final whistle, three players made their club debut with the Locomotive and two of those three were starters.  With the group of players the Locomotive brought to Omaha, 12 had a possibility of making their Open Cup debuts.  Of those 12, there were 8 players who actually did make their debuts.  Lastly, Locomotive’s starting lineup had ages ranging from 17 years old, all the way up to 37.

Once the action began, the first half was filled with contrasting tactics and the side with the quicker adjustments proved to gain the advantage.  El Paso brought a high press, even including their wingers in pressing Union Omaha’s backline.  To counter this, Union Omaha routinely floated players into half spaces and used that space for quick ball movement away from pressure.  After the match, Union Omaha Head Coach spoke about staying true to their tactics and their identity.  “I think we had a really clear identity and I think in our first game of the season, against Forward Madison, we came away from that identity,” Casciato said.  “If we stay true to who we are, I think we’re going to win a lot of games.”

One of those tactics came about through set pieces.  In the 58th minute, Union Omaha had a series of quick shots in succession following a corner kick.  In the midst of all of the chaos, forward Steevan Dos Santos found defender Junior Palacios, who broke the deadlock.  “Yeah, this week, we had been going over set pieces,” Palacios said.  “We had been honing in on that and I was just anticipating the ball in the right space.  It fell to me and I took the opportunity to score.”

The Owls doubled their lead in the 75th, when midfielder Joe Brito crossed the ball into the Locomotive penalty area and directly to the feet of forward Steevan Dos Santos for the clinical finish.  In his first start for the club, Dos Santos finished the match with a goal and an assist.

The win was the first for Union Omaha in 2023 across all competitions.  More importantly, it was Head Coach Dominic Casciato’s first taste of victory as a head coach.  “It feels great,” Casciato said.  “I think we’ve got the best people in terms of players and the staff at this football club and that showed tonight.”

On Thursday, April 6th, the Owls will learn who their opponent will be in the Third Round of the US Open Cup.  Union Omaha also returns to League One action on Saturday, traveling west to play at Central Valley Fuego.  Kickoff is scheduled for 9PM CT and will be broadcast on ESPN+.

Goal Summary: 

58’: OMA 1 – 0 ELP – Junior Palacios (assisted by Steevan Dos Santos)

75’: OMA 2 – 0 ELP – Steevan Dos Santos (assisted by Joe Brito)

Substitution Summary: 

70’: OMA – Joe Brito replaces Joe Gallardo

71’: OMA – Pedro Dolabella replaces Luis Gil

80’: OMA – Alex Steinwascher replaces Noe Meza

45’: ELP – Christopher Garcia replaces Petar Petrovic

63’: ELP – Éder Borelli replaces Christopher Garcia

68’: ELP – Finnley O’Brien replaces Yuma

68’: ELP – Luis Moreno replaces Liam Rose

68’: ELP – Ricardo Zacarías replaces Josué Gómez

75’: ELP – Artem Kholod replaces Miles Lyons

Discipline Summary:

11’: yellow card to OMA Joe Gallardo

87’: yellow card to OMA Stefan Mueller

22’: yellow card to ELP Josue Gomez

49’: yellow card to ELP Louis Herrera

72’: yellow card to ELP Ricardo Zacarías

84’: yellow card to ELP Éder Borelli