Union Omaha extended their ongoing league record of consecutive wins, defeating the Richmond Kickers 2-1 in front of a season-high crown of 4,046 at Werner Park on Saturday night.
Photo courtesy of Union Omaha Twitter: @Union_Omaha
The first half was a busy and contentious one, especially for Union Omaha’s left side personnel. Marco Milanese, Joe Brito, and Luis Gil were kept busy for vast portions of the first half as the Kickers looked to take control of the flank. The visitors were held at bay, especially given the help that Conor Doyle and team captain JP Scearce were able to provide. The Owls had opportunities of their own in the match, especially in the 31st minute, but ultimately the two sides would go into the halftime break scoreless.
Once the teams returned to the field and the second half started, the Owls capitalized soon after the restart. In the 58th minute, Conor Doyle sent a tantalizing corner into the box. As the ball floated into play, it seemed destined to find one head in the crowd and midfielder Pedro Dolabella finished the set piece with a powerful header into the ground and past the keeper. Dolabella added his fifth goal to the season, scoring all five goals in the last eight matches. Doyle’s assist was his sixth of the season, tying his single-season assist record while playing with Union Omaha. The last time he had six assists in a single season was back in 2021.
Union Omaha doubled their lead in the 82nd minute after a streaking Shaft Brewer Jr. found Noe Meza invading Richmond’s box. After feeding the ball to Meza, there were few options available, but credit goes to Meza for picking his head up, finding an open Luis Gil inside the box, and laying off a pass that was easy to handle. Gil took one touch before curling the ball just inside the near post for a beautiful opening to his scoring campaign. With the goal, Meza earned his second assist of the season, as well.
Richmond would get a goal in second-half stoppage time, thanks to an unfortunate own goal from Union Omaha’s Shaft Brewer Jr., but that was as close as the scoreline would get before the final whistle ended the match. By virtue of the win, and three points, Union Omaha kept pace with table-topping North Carolina FC. Next week, the Owls travel to Chattanooga to battle the Red Wolves in The Den. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30PM CT and will be broadcast on ESPN+. The next home match for Union Omaha will be on Saturday, September 23rd as the Owls take on Central Valley Fuego. The promotional theme that night is Oktoberfest, so don’t forget to take advantage of the fun deals and merchandise offered by the club, as well as the fan get-togethers before the match.
Postmatch Quotes (from the club’s recap)
Head Coach Dominic Casciato
“Good win tonight,” Union Omaha Head Coach Dominic Casciato said. “We’re really pleased for the guys. I think first half, it took us a little while to get going, but in the second half, we started to play some good stuff and got awarded with two goals, so really pleased for the guys to win again.”
Pedro Dolabella (1 goal)
“Happy to score another goal and help our team to keep the streak going,” Dolabella said. “We talked in the locker room that our streak was not going to end tonight, and we keep going for another week. We’re one step closer to our goals, but we know we haven’t achieved anything, so this week, we’re going to work even harder to focus on Chattanooga next weekend.”
Luis Gil (1 goal)
“I’m just fortunate that we’ve been able to get wins,” Gil said. “It’s been a grind for us, but, you know, we keep putting in the work. So that’s the most important part is just getting the win at the end of the day.”
Random Facts
- Union Omaha extended the USL League One consecutive wins record to 8 matches.
- The Owls broke a club record for going undefeated in 9 consecutive home matches.
- The Union Omaha victory evens the all-time series against Richmond with each club winning 3 matches, drawing 3 matches, and losing 3 matches.
- This is the 20th 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 remain undefeated when scoring first.
- This victory is also an addition to an ongoing single season club record for Union Omaha, winning their eighth straight home match. The previous record belonged to the 2022 team, who had four straight wins at home.
- Union Omaha has now scored 32 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 32 goals at home is also the most by any club in the league this season.
- The victory gives the Owls 30 points earned at home, the most in club history.
- Union Omaha is only one win away from breaking a club record for total points earned in a single season. The 2021 season ended with the Owls earning 51 points.
Match Summary
Attendance: 4,046
Availability Report:
OMA: DF #3 Stefan Mueller (Out – Injury)
RIC: FW #99 Kharlton Belmar (Out – International Duty)
RIC: FW #7 Ethan Vanacore-Decker (Out – Injury)
Goal Summary:
58’: OMA – #9 Pedro Dolabella (assisted by #22 Conor Doyle)
82’: OMA – #20 Luis Gil (assisted by #7 Noe Meza)
90’+2: RIC – Own goal by OMA’s #28 Shaft Brewer Jr.
Substitution Summary:
63’: OMA – #70 Lagos Kunga replaces #8 Joe Brito
63’: OMA – #7 Noe Meza replaces #11 Joe Gallardo
81’: OMA – #26 Dion Acoff replaces #5 Marco Milanese
81’: OMA – #6 Chavany Willis replaces #10 Steevan Dos Santos
83’: RIC – #37 Nicholas Simmonds replaces #9 Matt Bentley
83’: RIC – #3 Chris Cole replaces #24 Nathan Aune
83’: RIC – #17 Ryan Sierakowski replaces #19 Justin Sukow
83’: RIC – #16 Jake Mecham replaces #8 João Gomiero
83’: RIC – #34 Beckett Howell replaces #27 Chandler O’Dwyer
90’: OMA – #12 Eddie Gordon replaces #20 Luis Gil
Discipline Summary:
21’: OMA – #10 Steevan Dos Santos (Yellow card)
40’: RIC – #6 Zaca Morán (Yellow card)
45’+3: RIC – #8 João Gomiero (Yellow card)
90’+4: OMA – #9 Pedro Dolabella (Yellow card)
Who Gives A Hoot? 