Union Omaha silenced any doubters across the league, defeating first-placed North Carolina FC 4-3 on Wednesday night.
In the much-anticipated matchup, North Carolina FC brought their top-ranked team and high-powered offense to face off against a streaking Union Omaha. Table positions and history was on the line, as the Owls looked to become the first team since League One’s inception to win seven straight matches.
North Carolina FC was awarded the opening kickoff and set the tone early with four shots and one corner within the first six minutes of the match. In most of the previous matches, the opposition looked to settle into the match with possession and observing Union Omaha’s defensive shifts with each pass, but North Carolina had other ideas. Despite the early pressure, Union Omaha broke the deadlock moments later, capitalizing on a set piece opportunity.
In the ninth minute of play, Union Omaha was awarded a direct kick along the right flank. Defender Marco Milanese stood over the ball as players jostled for position inside North Carolina’s penalty area. His curling delivery led the advancing Union Omaha attackers perfectly and hung in the air just outside the goal area. Midfielder Pedro Dolabella cut his run inside, creating enough space to find himself in the path of the service and head the ball past the goalkeeper. The early lead gave Dolabella his fourth goal and Milanese his second assist of the season. Despite North Carolina equalizing within the next two minutes, Union Omaha would strike again to take the lead.
Just before the halftime whistle, midfielder Joe Brito jumped a loose ball in the box to score his third goal of the season. After defender Dion Acoff was fed a thru-ball down the right sideline from Steevan Dos Santos, Acoff took a couple of touches before sending a pass to the top of the goal area in North Carolina’s box. Pedro Dolabella was able to get a touch on the ball and served it on a platter for an incoming Brito to finish. With the simple touch, Dolabella earned his third assist of the season and the Owls entered halftime with the one-goal lead.
Union Omaha doubled their lead soon after the break, as Steevan Dos Santos notched his seventh goal of the season. As the Owls continued applying heavy pressure in the midfield and disrupting North Carolina’s progress through interceptions and winning duels, Joe Gallardo picked up a loose ball and immediately countered with a long pass up top to Dos Santos. After one touch toward the North Carolina box, Dos Santos was able to evade the goalkeeper with a coolly-placed shot and injected more confidence into the home side.
After missing nearly a month of play with a nagging injury, Union Omaha forward Noe Meza picked up right where he left off, scoring a goal three minutes after returning to the field. Joe Brito combined well with Luis Gil in the midfield before Gil placed a perfectly leading pass to Meza, putting him on the fast track toward the North Carolina goal. The pass to Meza was so good that he didn’t even have to take a single touch before putting the ball in the back of the net. The goal was Meza’s tenth goal and Gil’s sixth assist of the season.
Union Omaha fans were drawn to the edge of their seats as North Carolina FC scored two goals late in the match, but that’s as close as they would get to a result on the evening. The victory and three points lifted Union Omaha to within one point of first-placed North Carolina in the USL League One standings. The two clubs meet again in Cary, North Carolina on Friday, September 29th.
Union Omaha’s next match is Saturday, September 9th at Werner Park, when the 2022 USL League One Regular Season Champions Richmond Kickers pay a visit. The promotional theme of the night is Hometown Heroes Night, presented by Woodmen Life. Kickoff is scheduled for 7PM CT and will be broadcasted on ESPN+.
Postmatch Quotes
Head Coach Dominic Casciato
Takeaways from the match:
“Yeah, great achievement for the guys. Look, we’ve spoken about not getting too carried away. A lot of people on the outside are talking about winning seven games straight and being a league record and everything else. For us, I think our feet are firmly on the ground. We remember not so long ago we didn’t win in seven games. For us, it’s about keeping things in balance, keeping things in perspective and just continuing to take it one game at a time.”
On having four different goal scorers in this match and versatility throughout the roster:
“Yeah, I think it shows that we’re not reliant on one guy. I had to chuckle earlier in the season when we were tying a lot of games, somebody said that we were a one-man team and Noe Meza was the only one that could do anything for us. That’s never been the case. I think we proved that when Noe was out injured. Everybody stepped up. We won six games straight without him. I think the guys took that personally. We have a lot of good players, so anybody can step up at any given time. Like I said, everybody’s responsible for the success of this team, and that’ll be the way from now until the end of the season.”
On having Noe back on the field:
“Yeah, Noe does what Noe does. It’s good for us to have him back. He’s obviously a great player, but we’ve got a whole team of great players and as I said, everybody contributes to the team and I’m just happy to have him back.”
On the late-game defensive performance:
“Yeah, I think later in the game, we maybe struggled to get pressure on the ball in the wide areas and that caused us to maybe take in a little bit more pressure than we wanted to. It’s something me and the staff will look at and we’ll address going into Saturday’s game for sure.”
On the tactics that allowed wingback Dion Acoff to be wide open along the flank so frequently:
“We realized a certain area that we could attack and that wasn’t the only thing we thought we could get after him. We identify a few areas in every game and, thankfully, it worked tonight.”
Availability report on goalkeeper Rashid Nuhu:
“Yeah, Rashid is not too bad. He should be back in the fold pretty soon, but Ian’s [McGrane] doing a great job in Rashid’s absence, so I’m super happy and proud of Ian’s performances, so far.”
On if fans can expect to see new-signing Lagos Kunga take the field on Saturday vs Richmond:
“Potentially. We have to see how everybody recovers after tonight, but there’s a chance, yes.”
On Saturday’s home match against Richmond:
“Richmond are a good side. I think the table can be deceiving at times. They’ve got a lot of good players. I think they’re well coached, they’re well organized. When they came here last time, it was a tough game for us. Richmond are good, but we’re in a good moment and we’re a top side ourselves. We go into it with every confidence, trying to get three points again.”
Team Captain JP Scearce
Thoughts on winning and breaking the league record for consecutive wins:
“Yeah, it’s very special. Very special day for the team and for the club before this game. Obviously, it was a big game with a lot of implications, but we all said that regardless of the league record at stake or top of the table clash, we’re trying to catch up to NCFC. We just want to focus on the match, the 90 minutes and try to get three points, but at the end of the day, obviously we’re all very happy to have accomplished the league record.”
On keeping calm after North Carolina’s immediate response to the first goal:
“Yeah, first of all, it was very important to get our first goal. I think it sets us up for the rest of the game. I think the goal they scored was obviously a little bit controversial – got fouled, and for some reason they played advantage, but we all came together during the water break and said, I mean, can’t change anything, so might as well just go for it. It’s also very important to get the second goal before the end of the first half. I think that determination just to whenever we face adversity when things don’t go our way, just that determination to put it aside and just keep going has been very good for us.”
On dispelling criticism’s that Union Omaha was a “one-man club” with Noe Meza scoring all of the goals:
“Yeah, obviously Noe is the top player for us and our goal scorer, but I think most of the results have been a group effort and there’s been a lot of guys, a lot of different guys on the squad who have scored. Guys who have come off the bench and made an impact and scored. At the end of the day, it’s a group effort and we all know that there’s not one player that’s bigger than the team.”
On balancing his role as a defensive stalwart and offensive facilitator against North Carolina’s high-quality midfield:
“Honestly, I don’t know. It’s just the way I play. It’s just instinct. I like to play on both sides of the ball. Obviously I like to get in the tag score and assist, but I also pride myself in playing defense and try to keep clean sheets, but yeah, it’s just the way I play.”
On the team’s performance in the last 20 minutes:
“Yeah, I think obviously we’re happy we won, but for me I’m a little frustrated with the way the game ended. I think we had the game killed off. The second goal was a very good goal. Maybe we could have gotten pressure on it, but credit to them, to their player for scoring a great goal. Obviously that third goal was kind of disappointing. I don’t know. I feel like we may have gone a little bit too defensive. We switched to five at the back and I think we’re fine playing the way the formation we started with, but yeah, we just have to get better at closing games off.”
On Saturday’s home match against Richmond:
“Yeah, obviously it’s an important game. Richmond is always a tough team. They have good players and we just have to enjoy this game tonight and tomorrow we start focusing on Richmond and see how we go against them.”
Midfielder Pedro Dolabella (1 goal, 1 assist)
On Marco Milanese’s service into the box for his goal:
“We work a lot on our set pieces with Coach Kevin and we take it very seriously in training. I was glad I was able to connect with the brilliant pass from Marco in the right place, right time, and it comes with practice. I was happy to help the team with the goal.”
On the team’s response to North Carolina’s goal in the first half:
“It was very important, especially because we knew they responded so quickly, but we kept calm because we knew we weren’t playing bad. We knew at our home they would have to respond to us, to our game. We’ve been very deadly lately. So many players are able to score and we have a lot of weapons and it was a great mentality from the team to be able to get a goal before the half.”
On contributing goals and assists for the team:
“In our team, we’re very united so we don’t have vanity. It doesn’t really matter who scores at the end of the day because we’ve been to the lowest point of the season and we don’t want to be there again. If somebody’s in a better spot, they’re gladly able to pass the ball to them and get the glory. Even without Noe [Meza] the last few games, being the top scorer of the team in history, we’ve been able to get results and I’m very happy for him to score in his first game back. He got the goal, so I’m happy for the whole team to get this win, definitely.”
On finding space within North Carolina’s crowded midfield:
“Dom [Casciato] always tells us to be in between the lines of the center back and the midfielder on their blind spot and be able to show up as soon as we know they’re not looking. I’m very comfortable in that position because I like to be close to the goal. And with Stephen up top, it gives me a lot of support because I can combine with him and can get closer to the goal. We speak the same language, me and Steven. We speak Portuguese and he’s one of my best friends on the team, so I like to combine and play in the role behind him. I’m very comfortable there. I want to hopefully contribute with more goals and assist until the end of the season.”
On the team’s chemistry, anticipating each other’s movement:
“We know each other’s characteristics so well. We know Dion [Acoff] and Shaft [Brewer Jr.] are probably among the fastest players in the league and we know they’re able to beat their defenders every time we get the ball. In the second goal, when the ball was played to Dion, I knew he was going to beat his defender and Conor [Doyle] was able to slip the ball and Steevan [Dos Santos] had a great ball to Dion and I knew he was going to get to the end of the line and we got to believe in our teammates. I was glad to be able to get the run at the first post and the ball was cleaned for Joe. I’m so happy for Joe to get the goal and I think it helps with everybody’s confidence. Everybody was able to contribute directly in the game today.”
On breaking the league record:
“Obviously it’s a great feeling. There’s nothing better than getting the job done at the end of the game, but we know that it’s a great statistic. We want the trophies where it consolidates the whole season. Obviously great to be part of it and we want to go for it on Saturday.”
On how he spent his bye week:
“I was able to go and visit my friend Illal Osumanu (Union Omaha defender from 2020-2021), which he’s one of my best friends in the whole world because we went to college together. It was very good for my heart and my mind to see close friends every time I get the chance. I think the best moment for me was being able to see him over there and seeing him doing well at Pittsburgh.”
On Saturday’s home match against Richmond:
“Richmond has a good team. When we went there, it was a very tough game. Here, with men down, we were able to turn them around and we know they want to come here with everything they got, so we treat every opponent the same. We’re going to prepare well during these two days, get some rest, and do everything we can to be ready. We take every game very seriously, so hopefully we get the three points again.”
Random Facts
- As referenced throughout the recap, Union Omaha broke the USL League One record with seven consecutive regular season wins. The previous record belonged to the 2019 Lansing Ignite team, who won six straight regular season wins.
- Union Omaha improved their all-time record against North Carolina FC to 4 wins, 2 draws, 1 loss. There’s only one team among the USL League One clubs that the Owls have won more matches against and that’s Tormenta FC. Union Omaha has 6 wins against the Tormenta FC club (and still hasn’t lost a single match to them all-time).
- This is the 19th non-consecutive match in which the Owls have avoided trailing for a single minute throughout the entire match.
- Union Omaha is still undefeated when scoring 2+ goals in a single match.
- The Owls also remain undefeated when scoring first.
- Union Omaha remains undefeated when leading at halftime.
- This is the 8th match in which the team has scored 3+ goals, which is still an ongoing single season record for the club.
- This victory is also an addition to an ongoing single season club record for Union Omaha, winning their seventh straight home match. The previous record belonged to the 2022 team, who had four straight wins at home.
- The home win matched the club’s home undefeated streak record. In 2021, 2022, and now 2023, Union Omaha has gone undefeated through eight matches. Saturday’s match against Richmond could break that record.
- Union Omaha has now scored 30 goals at home, which is an ongoing regular season record for the club. The previous record was set by the 2021 roster, who scored 23 goals at home. Those 30 goals at home is also the most by any club in the league this season.
- This victory at home breaks the previous record for points earned at home in a single season. The 2023 Owls have earned 27 points at home, surpassing the previous record of 25 points held by the 2021 squad.
- Union Omaha now has 46 points on the season, which is only 5 points shy of the club’s single-season point record, which was collected throughout the 2021 season.
Match Summary
Attendance: 2,684
Availability Report:
OMA: DF #3 Stefan Mueller (Out – Injury)
NC: GK #1 Nick Holliday (Out – Injury)
NC: DF #5 Daniel Navarro (Out – Injury)
NC: MF #61 Kyrome Lumsden (Out)
NC: MF #44 Raheem Somersall (Out)
NC: MF #8 Pecka (Out)
NC: FW #17 Shak Adams (Out)
Goal Summary:
9’: OMA – #9 Pedro Dolabella (assisted by #5 Marco Milanese)
11’: NC – #19 Garrett McLaughlin (assisted by #9 Oalex Anderson)
45’+2: OMA – #8 Joe Brito (assisted by #9 Pedro Dolabella)
59’: OMA – #10 Steevan Dos Santos (assisted by #11 Joe Gallardo)
75’: OMA – #7 Noe Meza (assisted by #20 Luis Gil)
85’: NC – #14 Rafa Mentzingen (assisted by #10 Jaden Servania)
90’+4: NC – #88 Preston Popp (assisted by #3 Nelson Blanco Flores)
Substitution Summary:
71’: NC – #14 Rafa Mentzingen replaces #7 Luis Arriaga
72’: OMA – #20 Luis Gil replaces #9 Pedro Dolabella
72’: OMA – #7 Noe Meza replaces #11 Joe Gallardo
78’: NC – #4 Luke Croll replaces #24 David Garcia
78’: NC – #22 Max Flick replaces #13 Louis Pérez
78’: NC – #88 Preston Popp replaces #19 Garrett McLaughlin
78’: NC – #99 Nathan Ntalu replaces #9 Oalex Anderson
82’: OMA – #13 Anderson Holt replaces #26 Dion Acoff
82’: OMA – #12 Eddie Gordon replaces #8 Joe Brito
86’: OMA – #44 Alex Steinwascher replaces #10 Steevan Dos Santos
Discipline Summary:
12’: NC – #15 Mikey Maldonado (Yellow card)
15’: NC – #6 Gustavo Fernandes (Yellow card)
19’: OMA – #17 JP Scearce (Yellow card)
49’: NC – #7 Luis Arriaga (Yellow card)
54’: OMA – #28 Shaft Brewer Jr. (Yellow card)
69’: NC – #18 DJ Benton (Yellow card)
70’: OMA – #9 Pedro Dolabella (Yellow card)
83’: OMA – #10 Steevan Dos Santos (Yellow card)
90’+3: NC – #4 Luke Croll (Yellow card)
Who Gives A Hoot? 