Welcome to Week 25, Búhos nation.  There’s only five weeks left in the regular season and the playoff race is heating up.  USL League One has five matches this weekend and each has its own set of intrigue.  Before we jump into the match previews, let’s take a look at the standings:

	Club	Mov’t	MP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1.	Chattanooga	↑1	22	10	10	2	32	21	11	40
2.	Union Omaha	↓1	20	10	8	2	28	15	13	38
3.	Greenville	–	22	8	7	7	30	28	2	31
4.	FC Tucson	–	22	8	6	8	34	33	1	30
5.	Tormenta	–	24	8	5	11	31	35	-4	29
6.	New England II	↑3	21	8	4	9	29	32	-3	28
7.	Forward Madison	↓1	20	6	10	4	23	23	0	28
8.	Ft. Lauderdale	↓1	23	7	6	10	33	38	-5	27
9.	North Texas	↓1	22	6	9	7	30	28	2	27
10.	Toronto FC II	↑1	22	6	8	8	26	28	-2	26
11.	Richmond	↓1	21	6	7	8	25	27	-2	25
12.	North Carolina FC	–	21	5	4	12	24	37	-13	19

Mov’t – Movement in the standings from Week 24 to Week 25.

MP – Matches played

MATCH 1

Richmond Kickers (6-7-8, 11^th Place) vs Toronto FC II (6-8-8, 10^th Place)

City Stadium, Richmond, Virginia

Saturday, September 25^th @ 5:30 (CST)

            Their stats in the leaderboard to show much of a difference between the clubs, but once you look a little deeper, their identities really start to show themselves.  Toronto is winless in their last five, but don’t start to count them out of contention for this match, or the playoffs.  The Young Reds just finished a tough run in the schedule, facing the top three clubs in consecutive weeks.  With the help of recent loan Jacob Shaffelburg, this club is looking to right the ship and make a run for the playoffs.  Toronto FC II is a equipped with a squad to leaving you chasing their passes for the entire match.  The team ranks 1^st in overall passes, is also tied for 1^st in passing accuracy, and has playmakers like Garrett McLaughlin, Luca Petrasso, and Kobe Franklin to give opponents headaches.

            There’s no sleeping on Richmond, either.  The Kickers have a golden boot contender, Emiliano Terzaghi, and a golden glove contender, Akira Fitzgerald, on their roster.  Getting the ball past Fitzgerald is hard enough, but then you have to think of the two defensive stalwarts: Ivan Magalhães and Jalen Crisler.  Together, they’ve cleared over 160 threats and currently sit in third and fourth, respectively, in clearances in the league.  Moving up the field, midfielder Zacarías Correa is the chance creator for the club.  He may play defense, but Nil Vinyals is a close second for chances created for the Kickers.  And don’t even start to think the threats end on the field.  The Richmond Kickers regularly draw healthy crowds to their matches and make some noise, too.

Three reasons why the Richmond Kickers will win:

1. In ten home matches this season, they conceded a total of 9 goals.
2. Their only loss at home came on April 24^th.  The club is undefeated at home beyond that loss.
3. Emiliano Terzaghi.  The man is not only a threat with his goals (12 on the season), but also his physicality (7 yellow cards) and his ability to draw defenders out of position and open up the field for his teammates.

Three reasons why Toronto FC II will win:

1. In the two previous matches between these two clubs at City Stadium, Toronto FC II is undefeated.
2. The last time Richmond defeated Toronto FC II was back on July 26^th, 2019.
3. Richmond’s last win at home this season was July 31^st, almost two months ago.

This match will be interesting to watch because both clubs are looking to jumpstart their hopeful runs to the playoffs.  Both have a legitimate chance, but three points starting now are must-haves. 

MATCH 2

Chattanooga Red Wolves (10-10-2, 1^st Place) vs New England Revolution II (8-4-9, 6^th Place)

CHI Memorial Stadium, Chattanooga, Tennessee

Saturday, September 25^th @ 6 PM (CST)

            Remember that time that one team returned home from a match earlier this season in Chattanooga with three points?  Me neither.  The Red Wolves are ferocious at home.  If any club hopes to defeat Chattanooga at home, they can’t just bring their A-game.  They have to bring the A-game’s A-game.  With six matches left to their season, two at home (including the match this Saturday), and Union Omaha right on their heels, you can bet they’ll come out swinging.  Chattanooga wants home field advantage in the playoffs and they need widen that lead on Union Omaha to do so.  Don’t be surprised if future commercials for the Baby Revs feature Sarah McLachlan’s songs.

            If this is a David vs. Goliath type of a match, then New England is happy to call themselves Goliath, even if you won’t.  The Baby Revs have seven clean sheets so far this season, tied for second in the league.  These guys also like to shoot a lot.  The club leads the league in shots (306).  They’re also ranked fourth in passing, tied for third in passing accuracy, and have tallied the highest amount of successful dribbles in the league.  Just like their moniker suggests, they’re a militia hell bent on bring guerilla warfare to the soccer field.  They’re going to keep the ball on the ground, suffocate the opposition with their possession, use all areas of the field, and pepper the goal with shots.  New England currently sits on the fringe of playoff contention and don’t want their last season in League One to end unceremoniously.  Move aside doubters because they’re only looking for bettors.

Three reasons why Chattanooga will win:

1. The Red Wolves average a goal against them at home.  Teams have only scored more than one goal against them on two occasions while at home, as well.  On attack, Chattanooga has nearly doubled opposing goals across all home matches.
2. In three previous meetings between the two clubs, New England II has never defeated Chattanooga.  The Red Wolves have nearly tripled New England’s goal count (8-3) across those matches, too.
3. The Baby Revs haven’t won on the road in 98 days.  They also have more losses on the road than wins and draws combined.  That’s means only 8 out of a possible 27 points on the road.

Three reasons why New England will win:

1. Chattanooga isn’t exactly stellar against teams that like to pass the ball.  Here are the top five passing clubs in the league: Toronto FC II, Tormenta, Ft. Lauderdale, New England II, and Forward Madison.  Chattanooga has played these teams seven times so far this season.  Their record: two wins, four draws, and one loss.
2. It’s no secret that Chattanooga likes to cross the ball.  They rank fourth in the league in successful crosses.  New England II, however, likes to win aerial duels.  When looking at defenders who have played in ten or more matches this season, they’ve won nearly two-thirds (64%) of their aerial duels.  Couple that with the fact that New England goalkeeper Joseph Rice saves 72.3% of the shots on goal and you have a tough defense.
3. The Red Wolves rank first in fouls conceded and are tied for first in yellow cards received this season.  This will provide plenty of set pieces for New England II.  With as much possession and as many shots as the Baby Revs normally have in a match, this will simply be another weapon in their arsenal.

A match like this has all of the ingredients for an upset.  It will be interesting to see how each side planned for the match.  Both teams are hungry, so fans and viewers will certainly enjoy this one.

MATCH 3

Forward Madison (6-10-4, 7^th Place) vs. Greenville Triumph (8-7-7, 3^rd Place)

Breese Stevens Field, Madison, Wisconsin

Saturday, September 25^th @ 7 PM (CST)

            If you’re looking for a barn-burner, keep looking.  This one is going to be like an on-going card game of War: something good may happen from time to time, but a winner will seemingly never be decided.  In six matches between these two clubs, four ended in a draw.  The average goal count for both sides is less than a goal per match, as well.  Here’s the positive with a match like this: these two clubs are evenly matched and will show a lot of heart for the full 90 minutes.  Call me crazy, but I actually enjoy low-scoring affairs.  You get to see how each side changes their tactics.  I like watching two sides scrap and battle for every inch, every pass, and every shot on goal.  That builds the tension to the very end.

            Greenville seems to have one foot in the playoffs and they aren’t looking to share that comfort with anybody else, especially someone who decide what they’re going to the party.  The reigning champion hasn’t had the same season as last year, but that doesn’t mean their aspirations are any different.  They still have goal-scoring machine Marios Lomis, who is tied for first in goals this season.  Dallas Jaye, last year’s Golden Glove winner, is still minding the net for the Triumph and has five clean sheets to his name.  They are still a well-coached team and can achieve good results against high-ranking opponents.  In fact, the Triumph have played one of the current top-3 teams six times and only lost one of those matches (I’m including fourth-placed FC Tucson since Greenville is currently in third place).  As far as they’re concerned, they’re still the champion and they intend on keeping it that way.

            After Week 24, Forward Madison slipped under the playoff dividing line and they’re ready to wreak havoc in order to get back to the adults table.  Just like last season, they’ve established Breese Stevens Field as a formidable place for opponents to earn points.  Their passionate fan base show up and make noise for the whole match.  The club has only lost two matches at home.  The Flamingos are averaging a goal per home match, all while keeping the opponents average to less than a goal per home match.  They’re able to achieve this with all of their quality passing (fifth in the league for passing and tied for first in passing accuracy).  It doesn’t hurt having a tandem like Jake Keegan and Ryan Sierakowksi, either.

Three reasons why Greenville will win:

1. When playing on the road and the score is separated by a single goal, Greenville won 75% of those matches.
2. Half of Greenville’s clean sheets happened while the team was playing on the road.
3. These two clubs have been going head-to-head since 2019 and Forward Madison has yet to win a match.  Furthermore, the only goals that Forward Madison has scored in the series came in the same match, which ended up as a tie.

Three reasons why Forward Madison will win:

1. Aside from their loss to North Carolina FC on August 25^th, you’d have to go back to July 10^th to find their other, most recent loss.  The last time they lost at home was back in June.
2. Forward Madison is tied for second in the league for fewest goals conceded while playing at home.
3. Greenville has only scored one goal in Breese Stevens Field, back on August 28^th, 2019.

I think this will be the closest match of the weekend.  The true soccer fans inside Breese Stevens will be sitting on the edge of their seats.  That should be a fun atmosphere, riddled with anxiety, but still fun.

MATCH 4

North Carolina FC (5-4-2, 12^th Place) vs. North Texas SC (6-9-7, 9^th Place)

Sahlens Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park, Cary, North Carolina

Sunday, September 26^th @ 1 PM (CST)

            What better way to end Week 25, than the last installment of “The Battle of the North’s”?  North Carolina FC has gone through quite the transformation as the season has progressed.  In their first five home matches, they only won one and lost four, with a goal differential of -4.  Their last five home matches have given them three wins and two losses, with a goal differential of 2.  This is a club that has earned respect and deserves careful planning from opposing clubs.  They may have the slimmest of chances to make the playoffs, but that allows them to be the spoiler.  You know who deserves spoiling?  The guys who don’t want to play in this league next year.

            North Texas gave Union Omaha quite the battle when they hosted the Owls last week.  The problem is they were the host.  At home, they’re a lion.  On the road, they’re a lamb.  They’ve played 11 matches as the away team and only won one of those matches.  Out of a possible 33 points, they’ve only managed to collect 7.  Want more stats?  I gotcha covered.  At home, they’ve scored 22 goals and conceded 10.  On the road, they’ve scored 8 goals and let in 18.  If North Texas wants to make the playoffs, they need to reverse their results on the road.  They only have three home matches and three away matches left in the season.  If all three of those away matches are losses, they don’t have a very good chance of playing past October.

Three reasons why North Carolina will win:

1. North Texas is winless in their last eight matches.  The only road win they’ve earned was back on August 7^th.
2. There have been six occasions where North Texas played a playoff team (top 6 in the league standings at the time) and then the week afterward, they would play a team below the playoff threshold.  Out of those six matches, North Texas only managed to win one.
3. North Texas has only scored two goals in their last five away matches.  They’ve been held scoreless in the last three away matches.

Three reasons why North Texas will win:

1. In the 10 home matches for North Carolina FC, their opponents are scoring, on average, two goals a match.
2. North Texas defeated North Carolina just over a month ago with a score of 4-0.
3. North Texas has played three matches on a Sunday, winning two of them.  In those three matches, they scored seven goals and only allowed three.

Well, I hope you all are excited for another great week of League One play.  Be on the look-out for the Union Omaha preview.  That should coming out in just a little bit.  Since you’re done reading this article, check out some of the other great material that Who Gives A Hoot has to offer.  A new episode of the podcast was released today, so go give that a listen.

            There are five weeks left in the USL League One regular season and a lot of people are wondering how the playoffs will look.  There are teams positioning themselves for a first round bye, many more teams fighting to stay in the hunt, and then there are the wayward ones who hope to become a blip on the radar before the final whistle blows in Week 29.  Below, I’ve done the math to sort out the playoff necessities and what their remaining strength of schedule looks like.  If you need a reference to the USL League One playoff format, you can find more information about tiebreakers, home field advantage, and more here.

            First off, let’s look at the current standings in League One:

	Club	Mov’t	MP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1.	Chattanooga	↑1	22	10	10	2	32	21	11	40
2.	Union Omaha	↓1	20	10	8	2	28	15	13	38
3.	Greenville	–	22	8	7	7	30	28	2	31
4.	FC Tucson	–	22	8	6	8	34	33	1	30
5.	Tormenta	–	24	8	5	11	31	35	-4	29
6.	New England II	↑3	21	8	4	9	29	32	-3	28
7.	Forward Madison	↓1	20	6	10	4	23	23	0	28
8.	Ft. Lauderdale	↓1	23	7	6	10	33	38	-5	27
9.	North Texas	↓1	22	6	9	7	30	28	2	27
10.	Toronto FC II	↑1	22	6	8	8	26	28	-2	26
11.	Richmond	↓1	21	6	7	8	25	27	-2	25
12.	North Carolina FC	–	21	5	4	12	24	37	-13	19

Mov’t – Movement in the standings from Week 24 to Week 25.

MP – Matches played
Pts – Points
MR – Matches remaining
HPPT – Highest Possible Points Total

            There’s a bit of a variation amongst the clubs as far as matches played.  In the remaining five weeks, some clubs will only have to play four matches, while others will have to double that count and play eight matches.  So even though you see South Georgia Tormenta in 5^th place, it doesn’t necessarily mean that’s where they’ll end up at the end of October.  Now that we have the current standings, we know that each club’s current point total is the absolute minimum that each club will have at the end of the season.  Next, let’s look at the highest number each club can earn and see how that affects the playoff picture.

	Club	MP	Pts	MR	HPPT
1.	Union Omaha	20	38	8	62
2.	Chattanooga	22	40	6	58
3.	Forward Madison	20	28	8	52
4.	Greenville	22	31	6	49
5.	New England II	21	28	7	49
6.	FC Tucson	22	30	6	48
7.	Richmond	21	25	7	46
8.	North Texas	22	27	6	45
9.	Toronto FC II	22	26	6	44
10.	Ft. Lauderdale	23	27	5	42
11.	Tormenta	24	29	4	41
12.	North Carolina FC	21	19	7	40

            This table is highly informative for many reasons.  First off, it shows the maximum number of points each club can earn by the end of the season.  It’s impossible for every club to reach their number because there will be losses and draws along the way.  If you start looking at the maximum points a club can earn, you can start to see the so-called “magic numbers.”  For instance, if Union Omaha wants to lock up home field advantage for the entirety of the playoffs, they need to earn 59 points or more, assuming Chattanooga wins the remainder of their matches.  If Union Omaha and Chattanooga want to secure a first-round bye in the playoffs, they have to earn 53 points or greater.  Since the highest point total that Forward Madison can achieve is 52, the top two teams simply have to earn more than 52 points to lock in those positions.  This works for the next four playoff positions, as well.  Since Richmond can earn a maximum point total of 46 points, if other teams want to secure a place in the playoffs, they need to earn 47 points or higher.  Next, let’s take a look at remaining strength of schedule.

            Each club will have their challenges through the end of October, but which clubs will have it easier, or harder, than the others?  Here’s a table with the average points earned per match for each club in League One.  I’ve gone the extra step to calculate the points earned per home match, as well as away matches.  This will come in handy in just a bit.

	Clubs	Overall Pts/match	Home Pts/match	Away Pts/match
1.	Union Omaha	1.90	2	1.83
2.	Chattanooga	1.82	2.17	1.40
3.	Greenville	1.41	1.46	1.36
4.	Forward Madison	1.40	1.73	1
5.	FC Tucson	1.36	1.55	1.18
6.	New England II	1.33	1.67	0.89
7.	North Texas	1.23	1.82	0.64
8.	Tormenta	1.21	1.39	1
9.	Richmond	1.19	1.70	0.73
10.	Toronto FC II	1.18	1.60	0.83
11.	Ft. Lauderdale	1.17	1.33	1
12.	North Carolina FC	0.91	1.2	0.64

            While this table shows you which club is averaging the most points per match overall, it also gives you insight as to how each club is performing at home and on the road.  Union Omaha may have the overall average (due to less matches played) and road average, but Chattanooga is outperforming at home.  Meanwhile, North Carolina FC finds itself at the bottom of each category (tied for last in the away category, but still).  Now that we have these numbers, it’s time to start jumping down the rabbit hole to start calculating that strength of schedule.

            Below is the table showing exactly how the strength of schedule was calculated.  Using the numbers in the previous table, we can piece together which club has the toughest road to the end of October.

            Alright, so that’s the dirty work.  As you look at each club, you’ll see their remaining schedule and the average amount of points earned by their opponent at home or on the road.  Instead of going off of the overall average, this gives us a better look into how each opponent performs, given the circumstances.  Some clubs have an advantage hosting their opponent because the visiting club has a lower average point total on the road.  I’ll include another table below to clean up the results and make it easier to read.

	Club	Opponent avg pt/match
1.	Forward Madison	1.59
2.	New England II	1.52
3.	Tormenta	1.48
4.	Greenville	1.37
5.	Richmond	1.37
6.	North Carolina FC	1.36
7.	Ft. Lauderdale	1.34
8.	Chattanooga	1.30
9.	North Texas	1.26
10	Toronto FC II	1.22
11.	Union Omaha	1.14
12.	FC Tucson	1.12

            Forward Madison looks to have a rough road ahead of them.  Their high number comes mostly from having to play five straight away games against teams who have fared well at home this season.  They finish off the season with back-to-back home games, but even those opponents are high in the playoff race.  FC Tucson looks to have the easiest road to the end of the regular season.  This is due in part to the fact that their four remaining home matches are against some of the clubs with the worst average points on the road.  As for the race to the top spot, it looks like Union Omaha has a slight advantage over Chattanooga.  If you’re looking for some drama in the middle of the table, keep an eye on Toronto FC II.  With an easier opponent load and four home matches, they could easily climb the table and make things interesting.

            I’ll keep you updated on the playoff race each week until the end of the regular season, so keep checking back for more reading material.  The playoff race is heating up, so make sure you keep up to date on all things Union Omaha related and maybe a dab of USL League One info here and there, too.

Down in Arlington, Texas Sunday night, it was one of those evenings where dogs are a trees best friend.  It was hot (right around 100°) and dry (humidity around 33%) – a perfect setting for fire to spread and it did just that, figuratively, onto the soccer field in Chocktaw Stadium.  The match between North Texas SC and Union Omaha was filled with heart, grit, and a few goals to make it interesting.  I’ll save you the suspense: yes, the match ended in yet another draw, the fourth in a row between these two clubs.  The 2-2 final score doesn’t tell the whole story, so let’s dive right in.

            Union Omaha, donned in lightning yellow jerseys, shorts, and socks, were awarded the opening kickoff.  From the get go, the Owls looked to utilize the left side of the field, but the North Texas defense was able to fill their right side of the field with numbers to absorb the attack.  Along with absorbing the attack, North Texas looked very composed playing the ball out of the back.  They felt the pressure, but they remained calm and stuck to their game plan early on.

            In the 4^th minute of play, Union Omaha’s Conor Doyle added a productive wrinkle to the Owl’s offense.  Playing as the left midfielder, Doyle received a pass on the left side of the field and instead of turning toward the sideline, he opted to turn inside.  As he did, he opened up a lot more possibilities for himself and his teammates.  As you can see in the video below, there were far more red jerseys occupying the left flank.  When he turns inside, there’s plenty of space with which to work.  After passing the ball to Sousa, he doesn’t give up on the developing play.  Watch him continue to run into the North Texas half and doesn’t get picked up by the defense until Devin Boyce feeds a long ball toward the right corner.  Even with two defenders closing in on him quickly, he’s able to get the ball into the penalty area.  Despite the play not ending in a goal, that kind of movement off the ball is incredibly valuable to throwing off the defense.  It was an improvised, yet calculated run because Doyle had the situational awareness to spot the weakness in the North Texas defense.

            Almost immediately after that play ended, another bright tactical decision was made by Union Omaha.  North Texas was playing a conservative defense and their initial point of pressure seemed to be right at the half line.  So, Union Omaha developed a plan to stretch the defense and open up space for the offense to work.  As you watch the next gif, watch the backline and supporting midfield combine for multiple short passes.  This was the bait that they needed to draw North Texas players further up the field.  Once enough numbers were present, Union Omaha’s Damiá Viader quickly crossed the ball backward to teammate Blake Malone.  Once Malone settled the ball, he left it for Emir Alihodžić to quickly turn a lob a deep into the final third.  With the North Texas midfield drawn forward and the defense setting their line too far back, there was plenty of open space and the defense was left vulnerable and Alihodžić correctly identified a potential one-on-one downfield.  Union Omaha forward Greg Hurst was close to connecting with that pass, but North Texas goalkeeper Colin Shutler did well to leave his line and intercept the ball.  This is another case of great planning and good execution.

            Now if you paid attention to any of the possession statistics from the four previous matches between these two clubs, you noticed how much more North Texas had than Union Omaha.  If you don’t recall the numbers, I’ll help you out: over the past four matches against North Texas, Union Omaha possessed the ball on average 43.3% of the time.  Knowing this, Union Omaha had to plan for the eventuality of North Texas owning the majority of the possession again on this occasion.  It’s good that Union Omaha manager Jay Mims didn’t try to force the issue and make the Owls play a style of play they aren’t accustomed to.  Instead, he developed a plan to achieve multiple goals.  First step: pressure high.  Don’t let the backline get comfortable with the ball and don’t let the midfielders find the passing lanes.  Second step: move personnel from side to side to condense numbers wherever the ball is.  More players near the ball means the opponent has less time to think about what they’re going to do with the ball, limits them to one or two touches, disrupts their desired flow, and creates more chances for the Owls to capitalize on a mistake.

            Here’s another video for you to watch.  You can see North Texas swinging the ball across the backline and waiting for something to open up.  When they choose to attack down their right side, you can actually see the Union Omaha midfielders keep their line and shift to their left.  In fact, they shifted so much that Devin Boyce was practically inside the center circle.  At one point in the video, you can count six North Texas players within about 20 yards of one another.  In that same amount of space is eight Union Omaha defenders.  With passing windows and touches limited, North Texas dropped the ball and tried to quickly shift their attack to their left side.  Union Omaha, being the highly-disciplined squad that they are, adjusted just as quickly.  Now looking for attacking opportunities on the left side, North Texas players found themselves outnumber again: 4 to 6.  This time, North Texas forward Kalil Elmedkhar rushed his touch, Boyce was able to apply some pressure, and turned it over to Union Omaha captain Ferrety Sousa.

            Both clubs were moving the ball well, battling for possession, and fighting to gain another yard of space.  In order to break the deadlock, a moment of boldness would need to happen.  Enter Damiá Viader: the cunning Catalan with copious amounts of creativity to contribute.  In the 11^th minute, he received a pass about 15 yards inside of the North Texas half.  From the camera angle, he had no passing options available and plenty of red shirts in front of him.

So what does this guy decide to do?  Dribble straight at the defense.  This guy went full-on Leroy Jenkins mode, grabbed a Super Star from Super Mario, and took on the defense all by himself.  As he dribbled toward the goal, he didn’t even bother to juke the first defender.  He might as well have not even acknowledged his existence.  The next defender saw him coming a simply took a knee, clearly telling Viader that he’s not worthy of defending him.  Then, right as Viader gets to the top of the 18-yard box, the defenders start crowding him.  None of them were trying to push him or even trying to stab at the ball.  It’s almost as if they were escorting him into their own box.  It didn’t take long for Damiá to take full advantage of the opportunity because he lined up a shot for his right foot and went upper-90 to the near post.  North Texas’ goalkeeper, Colin Shutler, gave a good effort to parry the shot away, but wasn’t quick enough to get lateral.  It was a fantastic goal and Damiá’s fifth goal of the season.

            You would think North Texas would be rattled after such a goal, but they composed themselves very well.  Once the ensuing kickoff granted them possession, they made sure to keep it, move it around, and try to find the right space in Union Omaha’s defense.  They were easily stringing together ten passes, incorporating multiple players, and trying to work different angles.  It paid off in the 17^th minute.  Coincidentally, North Texas was able to connect 17 passes in a row before the goal.  The team was having a difficult time finding the right way to get the ball into the middle of the field.  Caiser Gomes, one of the North Texas defenders, received a pass and immediately sent the ball long and into a crowded middle of the field.  From there, a few one-touch passes and a scoop-pass by center midfielder Blaine Ferri that went over the Union Omaha defense was all that was needed to free Kalil Elmedkhar, get him in a one-on-one with Union Omaha goalkeeper Rashid Nuhu, and send the ball into the back of the net.

I could’ve sworn that Kalil ElMedkhar was offside, but after taking a screenshot, I think the referees made a good decision to avoid making the call.  In the screenshot provided below, it looks like ElMedkhar’s right foot is even with the right foot of Jacob Crull.  If there were to be an offside called, it would be because of ElMedkhar’s right shoulder possibly being inches in front of the defense, but that would require Video Assistant Referee (VAR) and USL League One doesn’t have that available.

            The rest of the first half was a possession battle between the two sides.  North Texas had a couple of good chances on goal and Union Omaha had a promising attempt, as well.  North Texas was beginning to gain more of a presence in the middle of the field.  As that happened, Union Omaha was seen to scramble a bit more.  The Owls tried to keep the ball away, but fast-breaks don’t often lend favorable chances for extended possessions, so they were forced to play more defense until the halftime whistle was blown.

            At the start of the second half, it seemed to play out a lot like the start of the first half.  North Texas was maintaining possession, Union Omaha was shifting personnel to create numbers in the area, and North Texas was fighting to find some space in the middle of the field.  There did seem to be a tactical shift with the North Texas defense.  Instead of letting themselves spread out and become vulnerable to thru-balls, they started showing more of a bunker defense.  This shift would create problems for Union Omaha because they had the personnel advantage in the final third, closed down passing lanes and crossing opportunities, and also closed down the shooting angles.

            It didn’t take long for North Texas to take the lead in the second half.  In the 53^rd minute, North Texas forward Kalil ElMedkhar, goal-scorer in the first half, received a pass right near the midline on the left side of the field.  He turned toward the Union Omaha half and quickly sent a curling long ball into Union Omaha’s penalty area, directly to the feet of teammate Freddy Vargas.  Without even taking a touch to settle the ball, Vargas slotted the ball under an advancing Rashid Nuhu and gave his club the lead.  The pass from ElMedkhar was beautifully executed and Vargas did well to finish the chance.  Nuhu seemed to feel there was a possibility of offside being called, but the camera angle and the speed at which it panned across the field didn’t allow viewers a chance to support his claims.

            For nearly half an hour, Union Omaha put the pressure on North Texas with little to show for it.  There were great chances in front of the net, like in the 75^th minute when Union Omaha forward Evan Conway had a clear chance at goal and head the ball past the far post.  He knew that he had a great chance before him and wasn’t afraid to show his frustration after the ball went out of bounds.  Union Omaha fans would only have to wait six more minutes before they could celebrate again.

            In the 81^st minute, Union Omaha defender Jacob Crull was able to win an aerial duel after a North Texas goal kick.  The ball found its way to teammate Evan Conway, who quickly combined with Damiá Viader to move the ball up the field.  Once Viader was running pace-for-pace with Conway on the left flank, Conway gave Viader the ball and broke his run toward the North Texas penalty area.  One of the North Texas defenders floated toward Viader and opened up a large gap for Conway.  Viader saw the space and fed the ball to Conway, who could barely settle the ball before Caiser Gomes was on top of Conway.  The window of opportunity was shrinking faster and faster as more defenders rushed toward him, but Conway was still able to get the ball in the net.  The immediate celebration let you know how much that goal meant to the squad.  Substitutes on the sideline joined in the celebration with all of the field players.  The team was tied with North Texas, on track to earn a point on the road as the end of the regular season inches closer, and Evan Conway just scored for the first time in 135 days.  There was plenty to celebrate.

            If you’ve noticed anything about the coaching style of Jay Mims, it’s that he’s not going to let the team settle with a tie.  Maybe he thinks ties are like kissing your sister or maybe he knows that one is the loneliest number.  Whatever the reason, Jay Mims put the fire back in the team’s belly and urged them to keep battling to the end of the match.  With the small amount of time left, Union Omaha was able to generate one more quality chance on goal.  Second-half sub Ricardo Rivera went one-on-one with Caiser Gomes in the penalty area, cut the ball back, and spotted Devin Boyce charging into the box.  Rivera connected a pass to Boyce, who lined up the shot from the right side of the penalty area.  Striking hard and low, aiming for the back post, everything seemed to go in slow motion as the ball crept across the box.  It looked promising.  It looked destined to go in, but ultimately the shot went just wide of the post.  Soon after, the referee blew the whistle to end the match.

            Union Omaha and North Texas have had truly impressive battles against each other and this occasion lived up to the expectations.  The Owls were happy to pick up a point on the road.  Both teams showed great persistence for the full 90 minutes.  These two clubs meet again during the very last match of the regular season.  With each passing week, every match gains more and more importance, so that last match will be a true joy to watch.

Howdy folks! (That’s a thing people in Texas say right?) That was a fun game of soccer played at a baseball stadium that has football lines, now wasn’t it. In my never ending quest to make this column easier to write, let’s dive in.

1) Goals given up at Globe Life Park.

This is definitely tweet material, but here is a really fun fact for you. Rashid Nuhu has never given up a goal to a player without MLS experience at Globe Life Park Choctaw Stadium. Let’s review:

8/23/2020 Goal 1: Edwin Cerrillo ( 15 MLS appearances, 1027 MLS minutes at the time of goal)
8/23/2020 Goal 2: Rayo (0 MLS appearances, 0 MLS minutes; BUT, this was scored on Sam Howard, so HA loophole)

9/19/2021 Goal 1: Kalil ElMedkhar (6 MLS appearances, 118 MLS minutes at the time of goal)
9/19/2021 Goal 2: Freddy Vargas (11 MLS appearances, 514 MLS minutes at the time of goal)

2) Formation Tweaks

There were a few topics vying for the 2nd spot this week, but all of them had a common theme which was the personnel we were using after the 72nd minute substitutions. While it is satisfying to see your team fight back to claim vital road points, it was even more satisfying to watch Jay Mims pull the strings like a magician from the sideline.

If you were following along at home, he made 3 substitutions, he replaced our leading scorer in the 67′, then did a double switch where swapped out a central midfielder (and took out the teams best aerial threat) and a winger (and our leading assist man) for an central defender and a defensive midfielder…AND IT WORKED!

We played a 4-4-2, but had Dami playing left wing, looking sublime, and Jake looking incredible at left back as well. All of this was supported by Evan Conway looking like his old self again with 4 shots on target (out of the team’s 5) and just luscious stats up and down the board.

Basically, no other way to say this, but that was a brutal TotW snub for Evan. Also, It was incredible to see Evan score again and draw level on the UO all-time scoring charts with Greg Hurst.

3) DAMI WATCH!

*breathes into a paper bag for 10 minutes*

I don’t know if there is a soccer equivalent of The Gordie Howe Hattrick, (Goal, Assist, Fight), but if there is it should be Goal, Assist, Yellow card. And our boy Dami earned his Sunday night with the banger, the point saving assist, and a spectacular yellow card for being correct at an inconvenient time for the ref.

Is this fair use? pic.twitter.com/vWrZ2bYKu8

— FKA Union_Omaha_Ben (@Buho_Nation_Ben) September 21, 2021

Back to the banger, were you watching Dami score this goal and thinking, “Holy Cow, I love watching Dami score goals on TV?” I was, and so I did some digging on Transfermarkt. Here’s another tweetable nugget, this season, all 5 of Dami’s goals and 3 of his 4 assists have come on the road. And since ending the scoring draught, he has been involved in 5 of the 7 goals we’ve scored. What a player.

But, you don’t have to take my word for it…

This guy is the MVP of the league and it’s not even close

— Tyler David (@T_David25) September 19, 2021

See you all at Morrison on Saturday. I’m expecting big things.

            It’s Week 24, Búhos fans!  As each week passes, the next matches get bigger and bigger.  Think about Cardi B’s cousin’s friend’s current dilemma, then think even bigger.  These matches mean a lot.  By the way, don’t google that tweet while on a work computer.  You’ve been warned.  This week, Union Omaha finds itself playing against a familiar foe in North Texas SC.  As the Owls travel down to Arlington, Texas, they look to continue riding their current wave of positive results.  When the clubs take the field at Globe Life Park, they’ll be meeting for the second time in three weeks.  Kickoff is scheduled for 6 PM (CST) on Sunday and, as usual, ESPN+ will provide the live broadcast.

            Whereas Union Omaha comes into this contest riding high, North Texas SC seems to have lost its way.  The FC Dallas developmental club has lost two in a row, is winless in their last six matches, and faces a Union Omaha squad that has managed better results on the road than at home this season.  Last week, North Texas visited South Georgia Tormenta and returned home empty-handed, much like the week before, as well.  North Texas team manager, Eric Quill, is certainly working overtime to make sure his squad finishes the season on a positive note.  North Texas will need to address their scoring woes on Sunday night because in their last five matches, they’ve been outscored 2-5.  Union Omaha will be focused on expanding that goal differential before the final whistle blows.

            On the other end of the field, Union Omaha fixed their scoring issue and found results to keep up with Chattanooga at the top of the table.  The Owls and Chattanooga Red Wolves are currently even on points, but Union Omaha has two games in hand.  Advantage: Union Omaha.  The Owls have played 11 away matches entering Sunday night’s clash and only lost two of those matches, both by a single goal.  Union Omaha’s manager, Jay Mims, displayed a great sense of relief with the home win over Toronto FC II last week.  In a social media post by the club, Mims was seen repeatedly pumping his fists, saying the three points were “huge,” and expressed many thanks to all of the fans who made it to Werner Park for the match.

            Going back to last season, Union Omaha and North Texas SC have played each other four times.  Union Omaha has one win in the series and the rest of the results were draws.  The total amount of goals scored in those four matches comes out to a 4-3 advantage for Union Omaha.  When the two clubs meet face-to-face, both sides are more likely to earn yellow and red cards, instead of goals.  In the four matches already discussed, there have been a total of 20 yellow cards and 2 straight red cards.  With North Texas SC sitting in 8^th Place with 26 points, they are only one point away from the playoff cutoff point right now.  A win would place them in a much more comfortable position to sneak into the playoffs.  Getting into postseason play may come down to the very last week of the regular season, which coincidentally, is another match between Union Omaha and North Texas SC in Arlington.  It’s going to be a very interesting series of weeks to finish the season.

            It’s difficult to really dial in on what differentiates these two clubs.  They’re both fast, very physical, and work hard to disrupt their opponent early in their attack.  North Texas will win the possession battle and will probably have higher-quality passes, too.  The true decider could easily come down to two areas: duels won and movement off the ball.  With as physical and aggressive as North Texas SC is, Union Omaha will have their work cut out for them to protect their ground and secure the ball after the challenge.  There will be a lot of duels, both on the ground and in the air, so the Owls will need to stay strong and use their opponent’s center of gravity against themselves.  Movement off the ball will be crucial as well, just as fans saw from the Owls last week against Toronto FC II.  When Devin Boyce and Greg Hurst combined for that slick first goal of the match, it wouldn’t have happened without Boyce’s continued run after passing to Hurst.  It takes a lot of situational awareness to make those decisions, but Union Omaha has shown that same ability in countless other instances.  There’s an intelligence and chemistry among the squad at the moment, so hopefully they’ll continue to take advantage of their run of recent form.

            Alright, Búhos Nation, we need to talk some business.  As you may or may not know, Union Omaha will be playing their next home match, against FC Tucson, inside Creighton University’s own Morrison Stadium on Saturday, September 18^th at 7 PM (CST).  I haven’t heard any indication of the match being a sellout, so we need you all to speak with your friends, family members, co-workers, dog walker, mail deliverer, etc.  This is a huge opportunity to show the club what it may look like to have their matches in a soccer-specific stadium, in a downtown location, and supported by a larger-than-usual supporter base.  Last week’s attendance was the lowest of the season, so let’s make sure next week’s match is the biggest in history.  FC Tucson is a quality club with a strong possibility of making the playoffs.  Maybe the two clubs will meet again in November.  Who knows?  In case that does happen, let’s make Morrison Stadium an imposing atmosphere and take them off their game.  We know you love and support the Owls, so gather your crew, purchase your tickets, come to the pregame meetup at the Session Room, and bring the energy to Morrison Stadium!  ¡Viva Búhos!

Well that was a fun night a Werner Park! There is a lot to digest in this one so let’s dive in.

1) JP Scearce scores his first 2021 goal (FINALLY)

Let’s start with a grim stat. For the 4th time in the last 5 home games, we scored a 1st half goal and gave up a 2nd half goal. But this time, the only time out of those 4 games, we scored a second; thank you JP!

Rewatching this again and again, all I'm thinking at this point is "Damn @jpscearce97, that keeper probably has a family" https://t.co/a8v4kdUTKh

— Luke Opperman (@Luke_Opperman) September 12, 2021

So yes, this was an “important” goal for the team, and it must have felt great for JP to finally get his first on the year. But at #datadump we love it because it removed JP from his spot of distinction on the “bad” list.

For me, the “bad” list is players with the lowest number on the G-xG list. JP was first in the league for 2021 on this metric and 7th all time in league history. He is currently 9th on the season and 32nd overall in league history.

JP has had terrible luck this year when it comes to scoring, but not for lack of trying. A few months ago, I asked my friends at the Media Empire if there was a place I could bet on individual goal scorers in League One, because we all knew this goal was coming. I was told it wasn’t a thing and therefore missed out on a massive payday.

2) 5 in the back

There was a little chatter online about us playing five in the back. Obviously, these folks missed the games at Tucson and my coverage of the phenomena. But, I did not, so I grabbed this pic of us playing 5 at the back for the last 10 minutes of the match.

3) Goals at the Berm End

This one is for Luke, Andrew, AND Sean who all asked me about this.

@Buho_Nation_Ben have you ever done a breakdown by goals (or even chances) at Werner Park scored in which end? I feel like a lot go to the "outfield" but I wonder if that has to do with Omaha striking first in the 1st half or if there's a turf advantage.

— Andrew Penner (@apenner) August 29, 2021

So, this was the week to do this. In part, because we’ve played 8 games at home in 2021, same as we did in 2020, in part because this game was the 3rd time I was asked for the data. So I did the research, and…it’s actually pretty interesting.

Findings

• We’ve attacked the Berm End in the first half in 11 of 16 matches.
• There have been 32 goals scored at Werner Park in 16 matches.
• 21 have been scored by Union Omaha (11 by our opponents).
• 12 first half goals, 9 second half goals for Union Omaha. 4 first half goals, 7 second half goals for our opponents. (I don’t like this stat).
• 16 first half and 16 second half goals.
• 16 goals have been scored at the Berm End. 10 by Union Omaha, 6 by our opponents.

No real advantages, end of story right? Not so fast, here is where it gets interesting.

• 2020: 5 of 14 goals were scored at the Berm End, 3 of the 9 goals UO scored were at the Berm End.
• 2021: 11 of 18 goals were scored at the Berm End, 7 of the 12 goals UO scored were at the Berm End.

What does it mean?! I’m always going to answer: soccer is random. But I think there is something in there. I’d love to hear what conclusions you draw from this. I’m going to keep tracking and will update again at the end of the year.

            Welcome to Week 23, Búhos fans.  Today is a busy day for the USL League One, as every club will be in action.  If that seems at all unfamiliar, you’re right to feel that way.  This is the first time this season that the entire league will be in action on the same day.  With that being said, we all know which match takes precedence – Union Omaha versus Toronto FC II.  This raises another “first” worthy of mentioning: this evening, Toronto FC II will be taking in the sights and sounds of Werner Park for the first time ever.  ESPN+ will broadcast the live match at 7 PM (CST).

            Looking at head-to-head statistics between the two clubs is a bit difficult because they’ve only faced off once in history.  Due to logistical complications brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the club was forced into withdrawing from the 2020 USL League One season.  When the two did compete earlier this season, Toronto FC II was taking up temporary residence in their home (Grande Sports World complex in Casa Grande, Arizona) away from home (Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee, Florida) away from home (BMO training grounds in Toronto, Ontario).  The match ended in a 1-1 draw.

            The Arizona heat took a toll on both sides, but the match still provided plenty of entertainment.  For the most part, the clubs were fairly equal in their statistics.  On paper, the biggest difference was the number of corner kicks.  While Toronto FC II had three corner kicks, Union Omaha had nine.  While watching the two teams play, another area of play that jumped out to me was the fight for possession.  Toronto FC II ended up with more possession by the final whistle, but Union Omaha disrupted and pressured before the Young Reds were able to settle into any sense of comfort with the ball.

            Looking at the current standings, Toronto FC II sits in 10^th place with 25 points, only a single point away from playoff contention.  The Young Reds have only won twice on the road this season, conceding 18 goals in 11 away matches.  The club is currently experiencing a goal-producing issue.  In the month of July, Toronto only had one match in which they were able to find the back of the net.  While they were able to score in August, the Young Reds haven’t tallied a goal since August 18^th, almost a month ago.

            Whereas Toronto FC II finds themselves in a rut, Union Omaha exorcised their goalless demons last week by defeating North Carolina FC 3-0 in Cary, North Carolina.  Left back Damiá Viader stole the night with a pair of high-quality goals.  Forward Ricardo Rivera, playing in his third match with Union Omaha, scored his first goal.  The team’s performance was confidence-boosting, especially since there’s less than two months left in the regular season and Union Omaha is looking to lock up a first-round bye in the playoffs.

            Stylistically, this is a very good matchup.  Toronto FC II will punish any opponent if given the freedom of possession.  Don’t fret too much about that, though.  Everybody knows Union Omaha will press high, press early, and will be relentless in their pursuit to gain possession.  If they can’t gain possession, they’ll take comfort in knowing that they’ve disrupted Toronto’s game plan.  As we’ve seen, both this season and last, most of the clubs in League One do not handle chaos well.  Union Omaha bathes in it.

            Another facet of Toronto’s style that will make tonight’s match interesting is how they move up the field.  In all honesty, it’s similar to Forward Madison.  They like to create triangles on the flanks, play the one-touch passes inside and out, and overwhelm defenses with overlaps from the outside backs.  The incorporation of the central midfielders to these triangles keeps defenses guessing whether or not they’ll simply turn inside and look to switch the play, or force the ball back outside and move up the sidelines.  While this can be threatening, their central midfielders all too often opt to play the ball back outside.  More to the point, they are less likely to look forward for through-passes and utilizing their forwards.  If Union Omaha can overwhelm the midfield and disrupt the ball movement, they’ll be successful in making Toronto a one-trick pony with their long-ball switches.

            There’s less than two months left in the regular season, which means your chances to get out to Werner Park are dropping with each passing week.  Union Omaha matches are a great experience, only enhanced by the tremendous tailgates put on by the Parliament.  When you make it out to Werner Park again, make sure to get there early for free food, drinks, games, and music.  There’s a merchandise booth set up for anyone looking for Parliament clothing, stickers, and scarves.  You can make a donation to the supporters group, too.  Any amount will be happily accepted.

            Once the match is over, make sure to check Who Gives A Hoot Media for the latest episode of the podcast, data dumps, prediction threads, and other articles.  If you still aren’t satisfied with your Union Omaha coverage, you can follow Who Gives A Hoot and Parliament on social media for even more content.  Have a wonderful time watching the match tonight, wherever you may be.  Until next time…¡Viva Búhos!

So, nobody told me last week was the week to actually, you know, be accurate. This was my stupid idea, so I’m getting what I deserve at this point.

	Ben	Jon	Liam	Luke	Rich	Riley	Ryan
New England 1-2 Tucson	0	0	3	0	0	1	3
Greenville 3-0 Toronto	0	0	1	1	0	0	0
Fort Lauderdale 0-0 Chattanooga	2	0	0	2	2	2	2
North Carolina 0-3 Omaha	0	1	1	3	1	1	1
North Texas 1-1 Tucson	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
New England 1-1 Tormenta	0	0	0	0	3	0	0
Total	2 pts	1 pt	5 pts	6 pts	6 pts	6 pts	6 pts

	Record	Points
Ben	46-73	80
Rich	45-74	78
Liam	38-81	71
Ryan	42-78	69
Luke	44-75	64
Jon	42-77	63
Riley	39-75	62

	Ben	Jon	Liam	Luke	Rich	Riley	Ryan
Chattanooga Red Wolves v. North Texas SC (Wednesday, 1-0)	1-1	0-1 🏝	1-1	1-1	1-1	1-1	1-1
Greenville Triumph v. Chattanooga Red Wolves (Saturday, 18:00)	1-1	1-1	0-2 🏝	1-1	1-0	2-0	2-2
North Carolina FC v. New England Revolution II (Saturday, 18:00)	1-2	2-3	1-2	1-2	0-2	1-1 🏝	0-1
Forward Madison v. Richmond Kickers (Saturday, 19:00)	1-1	1-2	1-1	0-1	0-1	0-2	0-0
South Georgia Tormenta v. North Texas SC (Saturday, 19:00)	0-3	0-2	1-1	0-2	1-1	2-1 🏝	0-2
Union Omaha v. Toronto FC II (Saturday, 19:00)	2-0	2-0	2-0	3-0	2-1	2-1	2-0
FC Tucson v. Fort Lauderdale (Saturday, 21:00)	3-1	2-0	2-3	2-1	1-0	0-2	2-2 🏝

Well, that was a delightful introduction to NCFC! We’ll talk more about the numbers in a bit, but first I want to say that I throughly enjoyed watching that game. It was a combination of factors for sure. A large part of it was the delightful commentary from the local commentary team of Austin da Luz and Dean Linke along with quality camera work and high resolution images. Both commentators have a long standing history with the club and region gave gave a glimpse into the rich history of the club and soccer in the region. Sure there were quaint mispronunciation of a bunch of our players names but that happens at it happens at Werner Park too! Only the most ironhearted would not have appreciated the shoutouts to our players with NCFC connections and their parents. Now, it was clear from the surprise shown to things like, Nuhu’s kicking ability, that they hadn’t watched much of us, but I had watched none of them so who am I to judge. But best of all, to finally hear someone associated with League One give unlimited praise to our team had to be salve to even the most jaded member of Buho Nation. It was neat. The result didn’t hurt either, so let’s dive in.

1) Streak breakers!

Thank goodness, I don’t have to update any of my scoreless streak data from last week. The streak ended 7 minutes into the game at 380 minutes. Let’s not need to revisit this information anytime soon. Dami’s goal was brilliant and Evan Conway got his first ever game winning assist!

Also let’s not dismiss Austin Panchot as our good luck talisman in this endeavor. In two of the three games he has started for the club we’ve broken 300+ minute scoring draughts. He even scored the draught breaker last year.

But that wasn’t the only streak that was ended on the night. We got a penalty!!

I thought this was awfully harsh penalty for NCFC to receive. Perhaps this is because the more typical League One experience is Ricky having his jersey pulled, impeding play, while running through the box with no call being made. But on the balance of play this year we deserved at least ONE penalty so, glad we got one. I also loved that their goalkeeper got a yellow for messing up the area around the penalty spot.

We went 29 games without a penalty being called. 382 days are a long time, but Evan and Dami once again combined to snap a streak that had gone on too long.

2) DAMI WATCH

There is still 35.7% of the season remaining, but with a performance like that, Dami leaves no doubt in my mind that he is the USL League One defender of the year. Let’s review the case:

Category	Dami	League Rank	Team Rank	Defender Rank
Goals	4	13	2	1
Assists	2	22	4	4
xG+xA	5.44	19	2	2
Crosses	130	2	1	1
Chances Created	41	2	1	1

Oh also, he plays left back for the best defense in the league. Are you not entertained?

3) Teams we haven’t beaten

With our victory against NCFC, our list of teams that have played in USL League One (when we were in the league anyway (RIP Lansing)), that we haven’t beaten is down to three: Chattanooga (0-2-1), Richmond (0-1-1), and Toronto FC (0-0-1). I’m hopeful we can wrap this list up before the end of the season. That would, of course, involve us beating Chattanooga in the playoffs, but that kind of seems necessary to win the title anyway. Our first shot to get this list to zero, is Saturday at TFC II. See you there!

            Good morning and happy match day, Búhos fans!  It’s been a while since I was last able to submit something for your reading pleasure, but I am back and ready to get you excited for tonight’s match between Union Omaha and North Carolina FC.  Believe it or not, these two clubs have never played against one another, so tonight’s match will have an extra dose of intrigue.  The match will take place in Sahlen’s Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina. ESPN+ will broadcast the match, which kicks off at 6 PM (CST).

            North Carolina FC hasn’t had a desirable season in its first season of USL League One action, especially after spending the previous three seasons in the USL Championship.  Through the first eleven weeks of the USL League One season, NCFC had only earned a single point toward the standings.  The club had to wait until Week 12 to earn its first victory, a 2-1 home victory against the Richmond Kickers.  Since Week 12, the club has only lost four matches, while winning three matches, as well as drawing three matches.

Even after looking over the results since Week 12, it’s hard to pin a true identity to the club.  On the surface, they have a Jekyll-and-Hyde quality to their results, but when you dig a bit deeper, you start to see what truly makes this club tick: youth development.  When the club dropped from the USL Championship to USL League One, the club even cited focused development of youth in the region as their new, primary focus.  Staying true to their new mission, of the 28 players on their current roster, 22 have earned starts with the club and every player has seen the field in at least one match.  Yesterday, “Mr. NCFC” Nazmi Albadawi announced that his last match would be played on September 11^th.  The long-time club player and 2021 team captain decided to hang up his cleats to take a full-time job in Raleigh, North Carolina.  In his retirement, Naz will also take on a coaching role within the Academy.  The club has developed a culture of fostering player growth from within and key players in the success of the club have taken the mission to heart and elected to help with youth development, as well.

Currently, North Carolina FC has 16 points in the League One standings and sits in last place.  In their last five outings, the clubs has managed a victory, a draw, and three losses.  The club does seem to have some confidence at the moment, as they earned a draw on the road against the Richmond Kickers and beat Forward Madison at home the previous Wednesday.  While the club may be riding on some confidence heading into tonight’s match, the month of August was not particularly friendly to them.  On a month-to-month comparison, August saw the club concede the most goals this season (13).  The next closest month was June, when the club conceded eight goals.  Sure, the club played the six matches in August, but even after removing the outliers, the club still had the most goals scored against them in August.  This bodes well for Union Omaha, who are working through their own woes at the moment.

The Owls enter Saturday’s match having drawn North Texas SC at home last week.  The club has only lost once in the last two months, so what could possibly be casting doubt on the club?  Scoring goals.  Union Omaha didn’t score a single goal in August.  The goal that ultimately led to a victory over FC Tucson was an own-goal.  The goal against Forward Madison was completely erased when the storms rolled through town, the match was postponed, and USL stated the re-match would be played from the very beginning.  The last time Union Omaha scored a goal was July 31^st.  With less than two months until the end of the regular season, Union Omaha has to start finding the net if it wants a first-round bye in the Playoffs.  It’s not all doom and gloom, though.  With Evan Conway back on the front line, along with his partnership with Greg Hurst, it’s only a matter of time before the goals return in their favor.  Defenses will be stretched and offensive pressure on the flanks, provided by Dami Viader and Ferrety Sousa, will keep the NCFC defense on their heels.  Also, Union Omaha is only two points behind Chattanooga Red Wolves and six points ahead of North Texas SC, all while having a game in hand.  The Owls are still in great position to finish the regular season in prime position to make a strong push in the playoffs and toward the title.

Since Union Omaha is on the road, make sure to seek out one of the viewing parties in Omaha or Lincoln.  It’s a great place to meet fellow fans of the Owls and enjoy the match day festivities.  After the match, keep checking back to Who Gives A Hoot for episodes of the podcast, articles, and social media posts.  We love the Owls and want to give you the best entertainment related to your favorite local club.  Until next time… ¡Viva Búhos!