UO Look to Parlay Cupset into First League Win of 2023
Following it’s U.S. Open Cup victory over El Paso Locomotive, one of only four upsets in the second round of the tournament at time of publishing, Union Omaha will take their positive momentum on the road for the first time this season as they play Central Valley Fuego in Fresno. Omaha won the only other match these two have played against each other on the west coast, a 1-0 victory that is as close to a Union Omaha trademark victory as it gets:
- Omaha outpossessed nearly 2:1
- 4 Rashid Nuhu saves (and a yellow card)
- JP Scearce goal on a header
However, Omaha’s win against El Paso seemed to buck that trend. As of now there still aren’t any official stat sheets to reference, but it was a game where Omaha felt very comfortable with possession and didn’t merely rely on floating the ball into the box (though Joe Brito did have a beautiful cross to assist the second goal). Based on head coach Dominic Casciato’s comments after the game, it seems that performance looked a lot closer to the style he envisions the team playing. So, look forward to seeing a lot of movement off the ball in the midfield as players look to pass to open spaces and not necessarily to open teammates.
If Casciato is right, and you’re looking for wide open play, this game probably has a better chance of delivering than most. Fuego has only played one league game so far as well, but it was a 1-0 win on the road in Chattanooga where they allowed six Chattanooga starters average position to be in their defensive half. They followed that with their loss to Monterey Bay F.C. in the Open Cup in a game where both teams combined to put 11 shots on target. Fuego appears to play a style that relies more on the counterattack, so hopefully both teams playing on short rest from the Open Cup will neutralize it’s potential effectiveness.
There is of course a high chance of lineup rotation from both sides coming into this one. Omaha only made two changes from it’s starting lineup against Madison, replacing Dion Acoff with Shaft Brewer Jr. and Alex Steinwascher with Steevan Dos Santos. Steinwascher did see action as a sub, as did the beforementioned Brito, a regular from 2022. New CB arrival Luca Mastrantonio was on the bench this past week, so a start for him this weekend seems quite possible. Don’t be surprised if we see Brito and Pedro Dolabella getting starts to rest guys like Luis Gil, Joe Gallardo, or even Noe Meza.
As for Fuego, they played a friendly against Pachuca last weekend. So while they aren’t necessarily playing three games in eight days, surely their guys went all out with a chance to play against a Liga MX side. However, they also played a nearly identical starting XI in their Open Cup game, with newly signed forward Othoniel Arce as the only player that didn’t start against Chattanooga (he replaced Villyan Bijev). Fuego have also yet to dress a full bench this year and have only played 14 different outfield players thus far. They also only used three subs in their Open Cup game, one that went 120 minutes.
So, it’s quite possible that Omaha is catching a fairly thin, fatigued Fuego team. One that’s possibly not yet playing with a full roster, and one that of course isn’t yet in midseason form. Fuego seemed to falter down the stretch against Monterey Bay, so look for Omaha to try taking similar advantage if needed in the final stretch of the game.
Who Gives A Hoot? 