It was a match that had tremendous implications, but the Owls rose to the occasion and earned three points after defeating Tormenta FC 2-0 at Werner Park.
Both clubs entered the evening desperate for three points in order to keep up with the top half of the league standings. Before kickoff, Tormenta was ranked 8th and Union Omaha was 10th and the distance to the nearest club above the playoff threshold was 5 points, so earning 3 points on Saturday night was a must for either side as they continue to scratch and claw for any gift that would bring them a chance at extending their season into the playoffs.
The first half of the match began a lot like most of the previous matches: feeling out the opposing defense, testing their response to long balls, and getting a few spare opportunities on goal. As the half drew on, the weight of occasion began to set in and challenges became rougher, more chances on goal were taken until the deadlock was broken.
Union Omaha goalkeeper Rashid Nuhu was called into action inside the first ten minutes of the match, collecting an early shot from Tormenta’s Mukwelle Akale. Moments later, Union Omaha forward Noe Meza returned the favor and tested Tormenta goalkeeper TJ Bush. For every shot against the Owls, one was levied against Tormenta. Even fouls seemed to carry a dose of retribution for the previous challenge. Just as the proverbial temperature began to rise, the match experienced a few delays as a result of an injury sustained by Union Omaha midfielder Pedro Dolabella. The Owls were soon forced into subbing on forward Steevan Dos Santos toward the later stages of the first half. With the match approaching halftime, the Owls soon found the break they needed.
In the 42nd minute, Union Omaha midfielder Conor Doyle stepped up to take a corner kick. His delivery into the box was spot-on and team captain JP Scearce was able to expertly deliver a header to the back of the net. The goal was Scearce’s second goal in USL League One action and Doyle’s assist was his third of the season, tying him with Luis Gil for the club’s assist leader.
Approaching halftime, the ref decided six minutes of extra time was sufficient and it took until the fifth minute for Union Omaha to double their lead. Union Omaha defender Alexis Souahy sent a deep ball for Shaft Brewer Jr. to chase down, which he did just as the ball was about to cross the goal line. His immediate service into the box was low and driven toward the path of an oncoming Noe Meza, but a Tormenta defender went to ground in an effort to slide and clear the ball. Luck favored the Owls in that moment, as the effort sent the ball into the leg of Tormenta defender Deshawon Nembhard and ricocheting into the back of the net.
The halftime stats between the two sides were decidedly even. Nearly every statistical category was split down the middle. One statistic that really jumped out was Union Omaha’s successful crosses, which was 57%. This is coming off a midweek match in which the Owls were unable to earn a single successful cross in the first half against One Knox. The home side was really looking to stretch the opposition, dispatching 41 long passes in the first half alone. That figure was more than double was Tormenta was able to achieve.
After halftime, the match took on a much different tone. With only one yellow card issued in the first half, the center ref would soon be delivering a lot more. By the final whistle, five more yellow cards were issued, along with a red card at the end of the match. In the first half on play, Union Omaha conceded 10 fouls to Tormenta’s 6. The second half almost mirrored the first half totals with Union Omaha conceding 9 to Tormenta’s 7.
Before the match ended, a scrum broke out and Union Omaha’s Steevan Dos Santos was awarded a red card. Union Omaha has the opportunity to appeal the decision, but will have to review the footage closely before deciding whether or not to pursue that action. In 2022, Union Omaha was able to successfully overturn two red cards.
Once the full-time whistle was blown, Union Omaha had earned three points for the first time in over two months, dating back to a 3-2 victory over Northern Colorado Hailstorm in Week 7. The victory also continues an all-time undefeated streak against Tormenta FC, including matches home and away. The Owls also extended an undefeated streak in league play when they score in the first half, lead at halftime, and when they score a total of two goals.
The festivities of the night didn’t stop at the full-time whistle. After the USL League One match, the first match of the 2023 Unified Series took place between Union Omaha and Forward Madison. The Owls held the Flamingos scoreless, winning 3-0.
In Week 16, the Owls will fly west to take on Central Valley Fuego. That match will kickoff at 9PM CST on Saturday, July 1st. The Owls will have a chance to capture their first regular season series, as they defeated Fuego on the road in Week 4 with a final score of 2-0.
Postmatch Quotes
Head Coach Dominic Casciato
General thoughts:
“Yeah, I’m just really pleased for the guys. You know, the guys have worked so hard and over the last seven games haven’t been rewarded for all of their hard work. It’s a great group of guys. They buy into everything they’re doing. They work so hard every day. And we’ve played a lot better than that this season. We’ve played a lot better than that and come away with one point. So tonight, I’m just really, really glad and really proud of the guys for coming through and holding on and getting a good result.y
On the recent locker room meeting:
“We spoke about some of the things that were going on. We addressed how everybody was feeling. I told the guys, “Look, I know you’re feeling pressure. You can put that pressure on to me. And if you feel like you can’t unload the pressure onto someone else, understand that pressure is a privilege, right? And you’ve worked really, really hard to get to this level. And playing for points that matter where, you know, you’re putting everything on the line and people can see whether you win or lose. And that’s a real indicate you get judged on that. All that stuff is out there and you just got to commit and do the best you can which you’ve been doing.” But the players are great, like I said. The players spoke freely, they spoke openly to each other, and I think they got a lot of things off their chest. I hope this can be a catalyst now for us to kick on.”
On the positive changes in mentality amongst the players during tonight’s match:
“Long made that continue. I think when you’re playing great football like we were playing and dominating teams, but then not getting results, you start to question in your own mind, right? Like, well, you know, we’re doing all these great things. Maybe this is the wrong way to do it when you’re not getting a result, but then to get the fruits of our labor tonight is just so satisfying. And again, I’m just so happy for the guys. It’s a great group of guys and they work so hard. So I’m just really pleased for the guys.
Injury report:
“Stefan [Mueller] is getting closer to being back in. Eddie [Gordon] is probably going to be a few weeks now. He got stepped on when we went to Greenville, so he’s got a little bit of a problem with his foot, but hopefully won’t be too long.
Next week’s road match against Central Valley Fuego:
“Yeah, Fuego. They’ve got a lot of quality. Obviously not getting results at the moment, but I think they’ve got quality and we need to go there and make sure we’re switched on and bringing the same type of intensity and mentality we did tonight.”
Team captain JP Scearce:
General thoughts:
“Yeah, it’s exciting to walk away with three points. It was a win we really needed tonight. Just prior to this game, we were disappointed on the previous result and the start of the season in general and we knew we had to take advantage of the opportunity tonight and I think we did.”
On scoring his second goal of the season:
“Yeah, it felt great. Obviously getting an early goal and giving us a good start to the game. It was really exciting because Conor [Doyle] and I had a little connection from last year and we spoke before he took the corner to drive it to the back post and I was just there to finish it off, so it was good to get that goal.
On the positively-changed mindset:
“Yeah, so we had a bit of a team talk yesterday and just to sort of talked about what’s been going on and how to fix it as a group. I think that team talk really sort of united us and brought us together to put up a good performance for tonight. It was just a great performance by the group.”
On next week’s road match against Central Valley Fuego:
“Obviously we’ll go in confident after the win tonight and we’ve gone to Fuego before and got a result, so hopefully we do the same thing and just keep the momentum going.”
Goalkeeper Rashid Nuhu:
General thoughts:
“I feel it’s great because as you guys know, if you’re having some kind of bad results, tough results to take in, etc., we just needed to clear this hurdle. You know, guys get disappointed in making one mistake, just costing us games and, you know, it happens in soccer. You just need to take one positive result and turn your season back around and hopefully this is just a turning point.”
On getting his fourth clean sheet this season:
“Oh, that’s the best feeling to be honest. Since the season started, this is probably the game that I’m happiest about because we’ve had our ups and downs and it’s always a good feeling to come out of it and be on the positive side, so getting the clean sheet was one of the best things. For me, it’s not even about the clean sheet. I just want the team to get a win. Even if we won 3-2, that’s awesome.”
On the team meeting:
“I think we needed that. We just needed to get stuff off our chest. Guys got to speak up and just get into each other’s hearts and pat each other on the back. We all fall and so we got to keep everyone up. So, that team meeting definitely helped us. They want focus from us. We are together. We are brothers. Let’s stick together, work and fight for each other. That’s what we did tonight.”
On next’s week road match against Central Valley Fuego:
“Fuego is going to be a tough game. There’s no easy games in this league and especially on our away trips. It’s going to be tough and we can’t let that game slip because of this win. We have to keep it moving because if we go over there and have a bad result, then this result doesn’t mean anything, so we got to keep it going and keep the spirits high.”
Match Summary
Attendance: 3,082
Goal Summary:
42’: OMA – #17 JP Scearce (assisted by #22 Conor Doyle)
45’+6’: Own Goal – TRM #12 Deshawon Nembhard
Substitution Summary:
36’: OMA – #10 Steevan Dos Santos replaces #9 Pedro Dolabella (injury)
45’: OMA – #20 Luis Gil replaces #11 Joe Gallardo
56’: TRM – #27 Arthur Bosua replaces #11 Jackson Khoury
69’: TRM – #20 Collin Mocyunas replaces #14 Nick Akoto
69’: TRM – #06 John Murphy Jr. replaces #5 Toby Otieno
69’: TRM – #45 Kingsford Adjei replaces #8 Pedro Fonseca
79’: OMA – #26 Dion Acoff replaces #28 Shaft Brewer Jr.
82’: TRM – #17 Elijah Amo replaces #21 Chris Heckenberg
90’+2: OMA – #44 Alex Steinwascher replaces #7 Noe Meza
Discipline Summary:
45’+4: TRM – #14 Nick Akoto (Yellow card)
60’: OMA – #17 JP Scearce (Yellow card)
65’: TRM – #21 Chris Heckenberg (Yellow card)
67’: TRM – #25 Jake Dengler (Yellow card)
75’: OMA – #22 Conor Doyle (Yellow card)
82’: OMA – #5 Marco Milanese (Yellow card)
90’+6: OMA – #10 Steevan Dos Santos (Red card)
Who Gives A Hoot? 