Thanks to three goals in the first half, the Owls were able to leave Chattanooga with three points and a guaranteed spot in the playoffs. Even despite giving up a late goal in the second half, Union Omaha remained victorious with a final score of 3-2 over the Red Wolves.
Image courtesy of Union Omaha Twitter: @Union_Omaha
Union Omaha jumped off to an early lead when Steevan Dos Santos scored in the 18th minute. Midfielder Luis Gil forced a turnover off of a Chattanooga throw in and the Owls were off to the races. With a few quality passes, Joe Brito was suddenly open for a shot on goal and Chattanooga goalkeeper Carlos Avilez was sent low to block the shot. The resulting rebound left the ball sitting inside the box and Steevan Dos Santos was there to earn his eighth goal of the season.
Less than 20 minutes later, the Owls would strike again. Conor Doyle lined up for a corner kick and delivered a low service toward team captain JP Scearce, who was sitting at the top of the goal area. No descriptors can fully convey the beautiful backheel pass that Scearce would deliver to Marco Milanese. Scearce’s exceptional touch on the ball, while incredibly difficult, set up Marco Milanese for his first goal with the club.
Chattanooga tried to make things interesting, scoring a goal off a direct kick in the 39th minute, but Union Omaha would add more space to the scoreline just before the halftime whistle. In first half stoppage time, the Owls were able to pounce on another loose ball and jump-started their counterattack immediately. Dion Acoff was able to find Pedro Dolabella, who dribbled the ball well into Red Wolves territory and led Luis Gil into the penalty area. With a one-touch pass to the back door, Brito was there to find the back of the net and extend the lead. Brito scored his fourth goal and Gil earned his seventh assist of the season.
In second-half stoppage time, the Red Wolves cut the lead to one goal and that’s as close as they would get to a result. The victory gave Union Omaha three points, allowing them to jump to second place in the league. By virtue of the victory, the Owls also stamped their ticket to the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season.
Image courtesy of Union Omaha Twitter: @Union_Omaha
Union Omaha returns home on Saturday, September 23rd for their last weekend home match of the regular season. On Saturday evening, the Owls will host last-place Central Valley Fuego and look to sweep the visitors in their regular season series.
Postmatch Quotes
(All quotes come from the club’s recap)
Head Coach Dominic Casciato
“Really pleasing to get another win tonight. Chattanooga is a tough place to come,” Union Omaha Head Coach Dominic Casciato said. “They’re a team that never gives up and the crowd can be pretty hostile, and it was difficult to come and pick up points, so pleased for the guys to get the win. I thought we played some really good stuff at times, as well. Disappointing to give away the two goals that we did, and I think the good thing for us is there’s definitely a lot of room for us to grow and to keep getting better, and that’s what we’ll work on doing now as we look forward to Fuego next Saturday.”
Team Captain JP Scearce
“Feels very good to get the win tonight and to clinch playoffs for the fourth consecutive year,” Scearce said. “This is a club that has known nothing but success, and I’m very proud of how we have that success going this season. Hopefully we can keep this momentum going and finish the regular season strong so we can secure home field advantage for the playoffs.”
Marco Milanese (1 goal)
“Another big performance by the team,” Milanese said. “Winning on the road is never easy in this league. We are very happy to have clinched the playoff spot, but our focus stays on trying to end on top, so we can host a semifinal at home. I’m very happy and proud of myself for the first goal, but the touch by JP was unreal. Overall, we’re very happy and can’t wait to play back at home next week.”
Random Facts
- Union Omaha extended the USL League One consecutive wins record to 9 matches.
- The Owls have tied a club record for most consecutive wins on the road. With three straight wins, they have achieved something only the 2022 Union Omaha roster could.
- Union Omaha has also broken a club record for most points earned in a single season with 52 through 27 matches. The 2021 Union Omaha roster held the previous record with 51 points through 28 regular season matches.
- The victory extends Union Omaha’s lead in regular season matchups against the Red Wolves. The Owls now have four wins, three draws, and two losses during the regular season against Chattanooga. Even with last season’s playoff loss included, the Owls still hold the lead all-time with four wins, three draws, and three losses.
- This year’s roster has reversed Union Omaha’s lack of results in Chattanooga. Leading up to the 2023 season, the Owls had only one win in three appearances, scoring only one goal. This season alone, the Owls have earned four points and scored six goals.
- This is the 21st 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.
- Union Omaha also continued their streak of remaining undefeated when leading at halftime.
- This is the 9th match in which the team has scored 3+ goals, which is still an ongoing single season record for the club. Union Omaha also leads the league in this statistic
- Marco Milanese became the 15th player to score a goal for Union Omaha this season, an ongoing club record. The previous record was held by last year’s squad, who had 12 players score a goal throughout the season.
Match Report
Attendance: 2,123
Availability Report:
OMA: DF #3 Stefan Mueller (Out – Injury)
Goal Summary:
18’: OMA – #10 Steevan Dos Santos (unassisted)
34’: OMA – #5 Marco Milanese (assisted by #17 JP Scearce)
39’: CHA – #98 Ryley Kraft (unassisted)
45’+2: OMA – #8 Joe Brito (assisted by #20 Luis Gil)
90’+1: CHA – #20 Ropapa Mensah (unassisted)
Substitution Summary:
63’: OMA – #7 Noe Meza replaces #9 Pedro Dolabella
65’: CHA – #99 Moe Espinoza replaces #29 Alex Tejera
75’: CHA – #9 Marios Lomis replaces #21 Jonathan Filipe
76’: OMA – #11 Joe Gallardo replaces #20 Luis Gil
76’: OMA – #70 Lagos Kunga replaces #8 Joe Brito
84’: CHA – #3 Jonny Guadarrama replaces #14 Pedro Hernandez
Discipline Summary:
38’: OMA – #5 Marco Milanese (Yellow card)
45’+1: OMA – #9 Pedro Dolabella (Yellow card)
45’+4: CHA – #98 Ryley Kraft (Yellow card)
56’: OMA – #17 JP Scearce (Yellow card)
58’: CHA – #23 Manuel Madrid (Straight red card)
78’: CHA – #14 Pedro Hernandez (Yellow card)
Who Gives A Hoot? 