Owls Score Late, Lose to NCFC

Despite a late surge, Union Omaha was unable to find the equalizer in a 1-2 loss to North Carolina FC.  The loss is the first of the calendar year for Union Omaha, the first for Union Omaha Head Coach Dominic Casciato, and first-ever loss at the hands of North Carolina FC.

Just prior to kickoff, the heavy, ominous clouds opened up and unleashed a brief period of pebble-sized hail.  Though both clubs had to contend with the elements, North Carolina started the match strong and were rewarded for it within the first few minutes of the match.

Within the first 30 seconds of the opening whistle, as Union Omaha possessed the ball deep near their own goal line, North Carolina’s Jaden Servania applied high pressure and forced a turnover in the box.  Servania’s teammate Oalex Anderson was the first to get to the ball and turned to face the goal.  Despite Union Omaha defender Junior Palacios there to cut off the angle of any shots, another Union Omaha defender, Marco Milanese challenged Anderson from behind and sent him to the ground.  The man chosen to finish the penalty kick is no stranger to Union Omaha history.

After the ball was placed on the penalty spot and North Carolina midfielder Rafa Mentzingen waited for the referee to blow the whistle, there were no doubt some fans reeling at the sight of Mentzingen shooting the ball.  For those that don’t remember, Mentzingen played for the 2022 Chattanooga Red Wolves and scored the match-winning goal in extra time of the playoff quarterfinal match, ending Union Omaha’s season.  Once the referee blew the whistle, Mentzingen slotted it home for the early lead.

That scoreline held until the 43rd minute, when North Carolina would double their lead.  After an errant pass from Union Omaha’s Luis Gil, North Carolina players quickly collected the ball and went on the counterattack.  In the video below, you can see the Union Omaha players on that side of the field outnumbered as the visitors worked the ball up the field.  Another point to watch is Union Omaha defender Marco Milanese.  As North Carolina’s Chris Lue Young receives the pass near the right flank, Milanese is caught overcommitting to the challenge and Louis Perez floats into the space previously held by Milanese.  Once the ball was placed at the feet of Perez, he was off to the races, operating in space with little challenge.  As Perez approached Union Omaha’s penalty area, he slightly angled his attack toward the center of the field and took a shot.  Unfortunately for Union Omaha, the ball took a deflection off defender Alexis Souahy’s outstretched leg and caught goalkeeper Rashid Nuhu off balance, unable to adjust to the sudden incoming ball.  The goal was Perez’s first of the season and first with North Carolina.

It wasn’t all doom and gloom for the Owls at halftime.  Despite being down 0-2, Union Omaha held an impressive 75% of the possession with 89% passing accuracy.  Even the passing in North Carolina’s half was impressive, with the Owls carrying 73% accuracy.  Union Omaha also had more shots, more shots on goal, and had an 80% tackle success rate.  There were also four chances created, two of which came from midfielder Joe Gallardo.  While some fans at Caniglia Field had reached their weather limit and opted to leave at halftime, those who stayed around would be treated to an early threat from the Owls in the second half.

In the 53rd minute, Union Omaha defender Shaft Brewer Jr. carried the ball into North Carolina’s half, along the right flank.  His pass inside to Joe Gallardo saw the midfielder surrounded by three defenders, yet he was still able to turn over his right shoulder and gain a central lane and space to operate.  After a couple of touches, Gallardo unleashed a beautiful shot that caught North Carolina goalkeeper Nick Holliday flat on his feet.  It looked as though the deficit was about to be cut in half, but the ball slammed into the upper left corner posts, echoing loudly inside the stadium.  Fans were let down by how close they were to a goal, but continued urging on the home side.

The last 15 minutes of the match saw Union Omaha stepping up their urgency and forward movement.  All of that effort finally came to fruition in the 84th minute, when the Owls were able to get within one goal of North Carolina.  After a free kick was called just outside of the North Carolina penalty area, Union Omaha’s Joe Gallardo stepped up to take the kick.  The ball curled toward Nick Holliday, who reacted quickly to punch the ball overhead.  Fortunately for Union Omaha, Holliday was still under the crossbar, so the attempted clearance went directly into the bar and ricocheted into the back of the net.  The goal was as close as Union Omaha would come to equalizing and the match soon finished with the victory going to North Carolina FC.

After the match, Union Omaha midfielder and goalscorer Joe Gallardo shared his thoughts on the day.  “It was one of those days where things didn’t happen for us, unfortunately,” Gallardo said.  “But I feel like we still played good as a team and we’re just very unfortunate with the early penalty and the second goal that hit off our player and went in.”  Regarding his goal, Gallardo said, “I just wanted to test the goalie and tried hitting it hard at him and thankfully it went in.”

Union Omaha forward Steevan Dos Santos also shared his thoughts.  “Tough day for us, but I think overall we had a good game,” Dos Santos said.  “It’s just learning from our mistake, the penalty, and it’s like the second goal was a deflection off our defender and there was nothing we could do about that, but we have to learn from our mistake and try to do better next game.”

Head Coach Dominic Casciato provided some insights, as well.  “Disappointed to start a game that way,” Casciato said.  “I think after that, we really controlled things.  But then they get another goal off a deflection right before halftime.  Second half, we were pushing, but we just didn’t do enough to get a second goal.  We let ourselves down.”  When asked about returning to Werner Park, Casciato said, “It’s been tough for us going from one location to the next and it’s really like an away game all the time.  We’re not familiar with the surroundings.  It’ll be good to get back to Werner Park and be at home.”

With the loss, Union Omaha dropped 3 spots to finish Week 5 in 7th place.  The Owls turn around quickly and travel to American Legion Memorial Stadium on Wednesday to face top-ranked Charlotte Independence.  After that, Union Omaha will have nearly a week of rest before traveling to St. Louis on April 26th to face off against MLS club St. Louis CITY.

Match Summary

Attendance: 1,665

Goal Summary:

3’: NC – Rafa Mentzingen (PK)

43’: NC – Louis Perez (assisted by Mikey Maldonado)

84’: OMA – Joe Gallardo (unassisted)

Substitution Summary:

55’: OMA – Pedro Dolabella replaces Joe Brito

67’: OMA – Alex Steinwascher replaces Luis Gil

88’: OMA – Stefan Mueller replaces Marco Milanese

45’: NC – Raheem Somersall replaces Jaden Servania

68’: NC – Preston Popp replaces Louis Perez

68’: NC – Garrett McLaughlin replaces Oalex Anderson

85’: NC – Shak Adams replaces Rafa Mentzingen

90’+1: NC – Gustavo Fernandes replaces Luis Arriaga

Discipline Summary:

17’: OMA – Conor Doyle (yellow card)

46’: OMA – Shaft Brewer Jr. (yellow card)

73’: OMA – Alexis Souahy (yellow card)

78’: OMA – Junior Palacios (yellow card)

5’: NC – Christian Lue Young (yellow card)

14’: NC – Michael Moldonado (yellow card)

25’: NC – Daniel Navarro (yellow card)

31’: NC – Jaden Servania (yellow card)

71’: NC – Preston Popp (yellow card)