Owls Leave NoCo Empty-Handed

Despite a quality game plan, Union Omaha was unable to find the back of the net and lost on the road against league-leaders Northern Colorado 0-2.

The Owls found strength within the 4-2-3-1 formation they’ve been using the past several weeks.  As often as Northern Colorado wanted to perform long passes down the middle, create player combinations involving central players, or simply dribble down the middle, Union Omaha players were there to thwart the early threats.  In doing so, a lot of traffic was diverted to the outside, which played into some of Hailstorm’s strongest players.  The hosts were frequently trying to channel their offensive production through players like left midfielder Billy King and right back Bruno Rendón, but the Owls countering those efforts were often in perfect position to cushion attacks and get the support they needed from their teammates.  Union Omaha outside backs, Dion Acoff and Marco Milanese, truly shined in the first half as they were able to hold off services to, and shots from, Golden Boot leader Trevor Amann.  Even with all of the strong performances, luck and fate seemed to favor the host as Northern Colorado took the lead just before halftime.

In the 39th minute, Hailstorm striker Trevor Amann lined up to take a shot and as the ball came off his foot, the ball took a deflection off a Union Omaha defender and sent the shot into the back of the net.  Union Omaha goalkeeper, Ian McGrane, seemed to have a good read on the initial path of the shot, but the deflection left him with no time to adjust and couldn’t react quickly enough to parry the shot aside.  In five matches against Northern Colorado, this was only the second time the Hailstorm had ever scored a goal against Union Omaha in the first half of play.

At halftime, with the Owls down by a goal, head coach Dominic Casciato was tasked with finding the right adjustments to spur on more offensive production in the second half.  The first half saw Union Omaha only take two shots, with only one successful cross in five attempts.  Whatever was said and planned, the Owls looked to be the aggressor straight out of the locker room.

In the first 15 minutes of the second half, Union Omaha was able to find forward Noe Meza up top for several offensive opportunities.  Meza alone would have four shots in that first bit of time, with fellow forward Steevan Dos Santos adding a shot of his own.  In that same opening 15 minutes, the Hailstorm failed to register a single shot.  In fact, their first shot in the second half would register until the 73rd minute, when Amann doubled the lead with an arcing lob on goal that McGrane couldn’t secure.  Aside from that shot, the hosts would only register one other shot, which wasn’t even on goal.  Meanwhile, Union Omaha would register 12 shots in the second half.

In the 78th minute, Hailstorm’s Enock Kwakwa was issued a red card, following his second yellow card.  With a man down, Union Omaha looked to take advantage of the situation.  Casciato made three substitutions in the second half, all of whom could contribute in the final third.  Even with eight minutes of extra time, Union Omaha could only register three shots in those closing minutes, one of which was on target.  It simply seemed to be one of those nights where the Owls were fighting hard, yet their fate was sealed before the final whistle was blown.

With the loss, Union Omaha remains in seventh place, three points behind Richmond Kickers.  In Week 19, the Owls play two away games: Tuesday against One Knox and Saturday against Lexington Sporting Club.  Stay tuned to Who Gives A Hoot Media as we continue to bring you the latest Union Omaha news via articles, data dumps, deep dives, and new episodes of the podcast.

Match Summary

Injury Report:
NCO – FW #10 Irvin Parra (Personal)
OMA – MF #11 Joe Gallardo (Out, suspension)
OMA – MF #6 Chavany Willis (Out, suspension)
OMA – DF #12 Eddie Gordon (Questionable, injury)
OMA – DF #3 Stefan Mueller (Questionable, injury)

Attendance: 809

Goal Summary:
39’: NCO – #9 Trevor Amann
73’: NCO – #9 Trevor Amann (assisted by Billy King)

Substitution Summary:
62’: NCO – #5 Leo Folla replaces #18 Jackson Dietrich
77’: OMA – #28 Shaft Brewer Jr. replaces #26 Dion Acoff
77’: OMA – #9 Pedro Dolabella replaces #20 Luis Gil
82’: NCO – #16 Destan Norman replaces #27 Bruno Rendón
82’: NCO – #11 Mark Hernández replaces #30 Valentín Sabella
83’: NCO – #22 Stefan Lukic replaces #9 Trevor Amann
88’: OMA – #44 Alex Steinwascher replaces #5 Marco Milanese
90’+1: NCO – #66 Noah Powder replaces #19 Billy King

Discipline Summary: 
11’: OMA – #8 Joe Brito (Yellow card)
50’: NCO – #6 Enock Kwakwa (Yellow card)
59’: NCO – #8 Nortei Nortey (Yellow card)
66’: NCO – #14 Arthur Rogers (Yellow card)
78’: NCO – #6 Enock Kwakwa (2nd Yellow card, Red card)
86’: NCO – #16 Destan Norman (Yellow card)
86’: NCO – HC Éamon Zayed (Yellow card)
90’+5: OMA – #4 Luca Mastrantonio (Yellow card)