Union Omaha’s Streak Ends; Drops Home Match To Hailstorm 1-2

All things must end, and so it is with unbeaten runs. The Owls’ luck ran out thanks to a pair of second half goals from Billy King and Bruno Rendon to overturn Pedro Dolabella’s opener in a match that saw two sending offs and a flurry of yellows during first half stoppage time. Missael Rodriguez found himself dismissed for a second yellow card and Northern Colorado assistant coach Colin Falvey found the right words to get himself sitting in the locker room for the rest of the match. Despite the disadvantage, Omaha had plenty of chances, but were unable to put away a final ball to salvage the match.

Dom made six changes in the side that started the Jägermeister Cup draw/win against Central Valley just three days prior, and back to a side that looks more like their normal League One side (only one change from the starting XI at Charlotte). Rashid Nuhu was back in net with only Mechack Jérôme remaining from the Cup side in the back line. Blake Malone, Marco Milanese, and Dion Acoff joined Missael Rodriguez and Lagos Kunga to round out the side. 

Northern Colorado, however, made no changes to the team that drew/won against Charlotte Independence last weekend. Their dangerous starting XI, having a little more rest time, would try to retain their Jäger Cup form into the league and win for the first time this year.

And in the beginning, it looked as if they would do just that. Northern Colorado had their way with early possession pinning Omaha back on several occasions. The first 10 minutes didn’t seem to allow the defense time to breathe as Hailstorm used timely interceptions in midfield to cut out any possible attacks and controlled passing to drive forward on their own. The Owl defense was able to stay disciplined and compact, however, giving Hailstorm few great looks at goal. A couple of shots from outside the box and some weak scuffs wouldn’t trouble Rashid much.

That’s not to say that Omaha had no chances in attack, however. There was space up the left side of in attach with Marco, Missael, and Aáron Gómez making good runs to win some early corners. Joe’s deliveries were a little to far direct toward the penalty spot though, and neither opportunity came to much of anything.

By the 15’, the game had become much more even possession-wise. The Owls had found their way into the flow of things and were engaged in a pretty back and forth battle with the Hailstorm midfield.  Neither team was able to really get a lot of advantage, with both teams doing well to attack, counter, and, defend. Omaha’s attack found itself quick and well paced, but missing a final ball to put against Lalo Delgado’s net.

The Hailstorm would find the first really big chance of the match in the 29’. After a turnover by Aáron in midfield the ball found it’s way to Ethan Hoard dribbling into the final third. With defenders on him, Hoard found the dangerous Bruno Rendon sprinting up the left side with no on in front of him. A perfectly paced through ball found Rendon 1-on-1 with Nuhu, but the normally lethal winger put his shot off target and into the side netting. It was a fortunate release of the pressure, but would only serve to foreshadow how much of a problem Rendon would be.

Emboldened by that passage of play, Hailstorm started stepping up the attack again, and the pressure. They were finding space to shoot again, but their efforts were well snuffed out either by a diving Rashid or timely interventions. The Owl defense was staying in front of the Northern Colorado attackers, but they expended a lot of energy as the kept playing with that fire.

In the 38’, Rendon would make his presence known again in a huge way. After a good run of possession culminating in a chance from Marco, Hailstorm transitioned very quickly to attack. Rendon took the ball in space from his own half and was able to fight off Missael and almost break away again. Only a tactical foul by Missael would stop the attack. At the time it seemed a good yellow to take, but that thought would change by the end of the half.

Just before that, however, the Owls would finally get a good delivery in and Pedro wouldn’t miss it. Lagos set up a corner by making a brilliant dribble up the right hand side on a through pass from Mechack that the forward thought would put him in alone against Delgado. It took a desperation sprint by Chelo Martinez to foil the attack, but that didn’t rid the danger. On the ensuing corner, Joe set a ball with a perfect curve that Pedro met about 8 yards out. The header left Delgado flailing and Omaha celebrating as a frustrating half looked to end with the game in their favor.

That wasn’t quite what the scriptwriters had in mind, though. Just seconds before the halftime whistle would have blown and with Hailstorm on the attack, Lucky Opara took a pass on the right hand side and started to dribble forward into space. Missael came charging in and slid forward into the attacker drawing a whistle from referee Rafael Santos. While Missael pleaded that he didn’t make contact with Opara, Santos reached for his pocket and a second yellow card. So close to halftime, the team would find themselves an Owl short for the remainder of the match.

That only started more chaos though. Opara would find himself carded when in the discussion he pushed Joe twice, the second time knocking him over, right in front of the ref. Pedro stepped in over Joe to make sure both sides stayed out of a scrum, but you could see the tension had come to a boiling point. Lagos would find himself in the book as well for getting involved. Falvey, meanwhile had some beef to get out with the ref (for some unknown reason…) and saw yellow. Politely disagreeing with that call got an immediate red for the assistant coach and Northern Colorado would be down a man—albeit on the bench.

When the halftime whistle did finally sound, an additional 10 minutes had been played in the half—critical minutes for a team that had to see out this match and make sure they were fit for the trip to Chattanooga in 4-days’ time.

When the second half started, Omaha naturally found themselves on the back foot. Despite compressing in defense and putting on PC in place of Nortei, chances came early and often for Hailstorm as they could sense how wounded the Owls were.  Martinez and Noah Powder made themselves nuisances, finding good positions on the right side of attack and getting close enough to make some good looks at goal. One of those early shots from Powder caused Rashid to make a diving save to his right to maintain the lead.

Just as the team seemed to be settling in and about to weather the onslaught, Northern Colorado managed to strike. Noah Powder received the ball up the right hand side and ran into Marco just outside the penalty area. Though normally a brick wall that close to goal, Powder brushed off his challenge and managed to turn into the box. With Blake coming over to help, Opara found room toward the byline to take the layoff from Powder. With no one to help in the middle, and with Mechack beaten inside by Billy King, it was a simple cross and finish for the Hailstorm to level the score.

Though they had been dominated early in this half and had given up an equalizer, the Owls still had a good bit of fight left in them. In the 62’ minute, Lagos found himself with the ball around midfield and with a plan. Showing some insanely good ball skills, he dribbled his way past most of the retreating Hailstorm defenders and made his way toward the top of the box. That, unfortunately, is where it all fell apart. Chasing to take on three defenders instead of pushing an easy pass out right, Lagos was tripped up and dispossessed just at the edge of the area ending the attack.

But before the onlooking Parliament could begin their boos and pleas to the referee, Hailstorm initiated a lethally quick counter-attack. A long ball by David Garcia found its way over the defense and right into the path of Bruno Rendon. Played on by Blake, Rendon took the ball forward against Rashid, dribbled into the left side of the box, and this time he wouldn’t miss. Slotting home for his 1st League One goal, Rendon showed again why he is fast becoming Omaha’s nightmare.

The next five minutes would be even tougher as Hailstorm started to sense blood in the water. Moving forward, they would unleash an attack that might have killed off the game if not for some timely defending, blocking, and Rashid directing the pushback against the one-way traffic. It started to look like Omaha would break again, and there didn’t seem to be any answers for it.

The good news is that the fight wasn’t fully gone from the hosts. After surviving the barrage with only a one-goal deficit, Omaha started to hit back on the attack. Subbing on Luca Mastrantonio for Pedro and Zeiko Lewis on for Joe seemed to energize the team while maintaining a good defensive presence. Luca was able to go forward on occasion, drawing defenders with him, and was pretty well on form with his long-ball distribution from the back. A couple of crushing, but legal, challenges helped Hailstorm think twice about pursuing a third goal too hard.

The bad news is that it never came to anything that troubled Delgado. The Hailstorm defense was pinned back for the better part of the final 15 minutes of action, but they were disciplined and compact enough to prevent any real shots. Anything that looked too dangerous (and their were a few) was swallowed up by their keeper before the running strikers could get a foot to it.

By the time the final whistle sounded, you could tell that the Owls had given it a lot for the second half, and specifically the final 20 minutes. A couple of breaks in the armor were all Hailstorm needed to take the three points and send Omaha to their first home defeat in over a year.

The Positives

For as frustrating a game as this is, there were some positives to take away from it. First, is that this team doesn’t quit. They were under a ton of pressure against a good team, especially in the second half, and still managed to give themselves a shot to at least equalize the game. Once settled in, they were able to play their style of soccer—through the middle and possession based with long balls coming when needed. It never felt desperate in attack, and it never felt complacent. It felt deliberate and controlled, even if it didn’t come off in the end.

Second, I love the way this team didn’t back down, but also didn’t lose their heads. It was mentioned among the Parliament that Rashid showed some great leadership in settling the guys down, both on the pitch and in the midst of the extracurriculars that flared up around the half. Pedro rushed in to help his guy, but also was seen trying to keep the sides separate after Opara pushed Joe down. That is extremely important growth, especially for our Captain who is not always known for being the calmest in situations like that. I feel the second half really showed their character, and I couldn’t be more proud of them for it.

Finally, we did manage to score one. Aside from Prideraiser getting off the mark, the fact that we scored when it didn’t look like we were creating much shows some promise. Set pieces are often the great leveler, and we continue to be good in getting to those balls and at least putting them toward goal, if not in goal. Pedro wasn’t having the best night in midfield up to that point, but when you score one like that a lot can get redeemed. Joe’s delivery helped it along, but the Brazilian’s presence in the area is one that we’re lucky to have.

The Negatives

I’m going to get this out of the way now, lest it become a full ref rant. Missael never touched Opara on the slide tackle. My feed happened to freeze once at the perfect frame to show our striker sliding fully under the right foot and past him. Opara sold the hell out of that. And while we’re at it, Lagos was fouled—hard. It wasn’t a penalty, but he was fouled close enough in the box to provide a threat. Also, if that foul is called, the counter to Rendon never happens. The ref seemed very card happy, and that’s not usually good to play under for a physical team.

Ok. That said.

Missael had no business making that challenge. His first yellow was without question. I get it against a guy like Rendon, but the Owls find themselves making “professional fouls” a lot, and this time it bit us in the ass. Don’t get me wrong—I love Missael’s passion. I’m going to be inconsolable for a few weeks after the season ends knowing he’s going to move on to another level (at least if Chicago has ANY brains in their front office). But he’s got to make a better decision there. Keep from the appearance of evil, as it were.

But while we’re on decisions, I have to call out Lagos as well. I am well and truly hushed from my take on him after the Kansas City match concerning his dribbling skills. He needs to keep that up. He’s opening space and making things difficult for defenses. However. When you’ve got three guys in front of you and a layoff pass to your right inside the box, I don’t see trying to go the hard road, especially after you’ve used up quite a bit of gas getting there in the first place. Lagos played his heart out, but there were a couple moments that his decisions didn’t pan out.

But a single missed pass from Lagos isn’t what doomed the team. Really, I don’t feel like the red card made losing inevitable. But for the second match in a row, the team registered one shot on target (Pedro’s goal). I’ll read off some other stats. 6 shots (4 blocked). 12 touches in the opponent’s box. 49% passing in the final third, 0.23 xG. Those aren’t great, despite the fact that our attacking play up to that point is solid. Even being down a man, we won possession (52-48), passes (400-361) and benefited from 23 fouls (yep…23). 

I don’t think that will continue—this team is too good. It’s also not a single player’s fault. But it’s been an item trending down for the past couple of weeks. The problem is that we have one major playmaker that probably won’t be ready for a full 90’ and another that’s gone and gotten suspended ahead of our clash at a scrappy (and improving) Chattanooga Red Wolves side. It’s going to be up to the other playmakers and leaders on the team to figure this out.

The good news is, I believe they can.

The Ugly (But Fair)

I kinda owe this one out of fairness to our next opponents because of my comments on a recent podcast I guest-hosted on. 

The pitch looked awful. What is normally home plate and the infield were very brown, you could see the rows for the sod striping the land between where first and second normally are, and the ball on occasions just died when it hit the infield. It was embarrassing, to say the least.

Just as with the Red Wolves, though, I’m not placing blame here. We flip the field constantly between baseball and soccer, and the weather has been crazy enough that we might need an old priest and a young priest at this point. The grounds crew is an extremely hard working group, and they should be proud of their efforts. This isn’t easy to manage. 

And I also don’t have to tell Martie, Alexis, Gary, or any of the leadership of this team. They are well aware of how it looks. That’s why they’re working so hard to get a place of our own. Plus, I’m sure the Storm Chasers are tired of the random divots, dead spots, and anomalies that soccer causes on a baseball diamond. I acknowledge that we all get it.

But I can’t call it out in others if I don’t call it out for us. It may be unavoidable and truly nobody’s fault, but there are a lot of people watching who don’t see that. All they see is a field in poor condition.

(I promise, I won’t bring up the field condition again, unless someone gets hurt. Maybe if it causes a fluke goal. Ok, I’ll try REALLY hard not to bring it up again.)

Interesting Facts:

  • I actually missed the match live and had to watch it on replay the day after. I was sitting in the Denver airport (of all places) in the corner of a bar having a second beer for the first time in a very long time. Of course, it was a Modelo.
  • With the flurry of cards shown, that leaves Blake Malone and Rashid Nuhu as the only starters in this match who have not picked up a card of any sort in League One play.
  • Bruno Rendon has scored as many goals in the Jägermeister Cup (4) as the entire team has scored in League One play. He leads the team (and League) in Cup goals, but is also tied for the team lead in League One goals…with 1.
  • Dominic Casciato has now been in charge of Union Omaha for 38 regular season matches, or enough for one English Premier League season. In that time, he’s compiled a record of 23-9-6 (W-D-L) which is 78 points. Jay Mims’ first 38 matches brought a record of 19-13-6, or 70 points. Both of those point totals would have made Champions League places this year. Oh, well…
Yep. That’s me in the corner, trying to enjoy a Modelo and deal with Denver. Solidarity Forever.

Key Events:

Northern Colorado Yellow Card: 11’ – Jackson Dietrich (Bad Foul)

Union Omaha Yellow Card: 20’ – Nortei Nortey (Bad Foul)

Union Omaha Yellow Card: 38’ – Missael Rodriguez (Tactical Foul)

Northern Colorado Yellow Card: 41’ – Chelo Martinez (Hard Foul)

Union Omaha Goal: 45’+5’ – Pedro Dolabella (A: Joe Gallardo)

Union Omaha Yellow Card: 45’+6’ Missael Rodriguez (Bad Challenge – Second Yellow)

Union Omaha Yellow Card: 45’+7’ Lagos Kunga (Dissent)

Northern Colorado Yellow Card: 45’+7’ Lalo Delgado (Dissent)

Northern Colorado Yellow Card: 45’+7’ Lucky Opara (Shoving A Player)

Northern Colorado Yellow Card: 45’+7’ Colin Falvey (Bench – Dissent)

Northern Colorado Red Card: 45’+8’ Colin Falvey (Bench – Dissent) 

Northern Colorado Sub: 46’ – Billy King ON; Ethan Hoard OFF

Union Omaha Sub: 46’ PC Giro ON; Nortei Nortey OFF

Northern Colorado Goal: 54’ – Billy King (A: Lucky Opara)

Northern Colorado Yellow Card: 60’ – Patrick Langlois (Bad Challenge)

Northern Colorado Sub: 60’ – Marky Hernández ON; Jackson Dietrich OFF

Northern Colorado Goal: 62’ – Bruno Rendon (A: David García)

Union Omaha Sub: 70’ – Luca Mastrantonio ON; Pedro Dolabella OFF
– Zeiko Lewis ON; Joe Gallardo OFF

Union Omaha Sub: 76’ – Ryen Jiba ON; Blake Malone OFF

Northern Colorado Sub: 79’ – Enock Kwakwa ON; Chelo Martinez OFF

Northern Colorado Yellow Card: 89’ – Noah Powder (Time Wasting)

Northern Colorado Yellow Card: 89’ – Enock Kwakwa (Bad Foul)

Northern Colorado Sub: 89’ – Danny Robles ON; Noah Powder OFF

Union Omaha Sub: 89’ – Mark Bronnik ON; Lagos Kunga OFF

Uninspired Performance Leads To Goalless Draw Against Fuego FC

Union Omaha’s goal well dried up quickly Wednesday night as they struggled to a 0-0 draw against Central Valley Fuego FC in Match 3 of the Jägermeister Cup. Though they were able to salvage an extra point by winning the PK shootout 4-1, it did little to erase an overall uninspired 90 minutes in which the Owls dominated possession but had nothing to show for it. Wallis Lapsley was again the hero of the day, stopping four shots in regulation and one penalty to secure the two points.

Coach Dominic Casciato continued showing some rotation for these matches as he made five changes from the team that started the 1-4 victory at Charlotte last time out. Lapsley resumed his normal place as the Cup goalkeeper while Zeiko Lewis, Brandon Knapp, Anderson Holt and Will Perkins all got starts. Just as exciting was the return from injury of PC Giro to the bench, seeing the team sheet for the first time since the trip to Knoxville on April 12.

For Jermaine Jones’ side there were three changes from the team that lost to One Knox in their last outing. Carlos Ávilez returned in net while Chris Heckenburg and Zahir Vazquez made up the remaining numbers in place of Mouhamed Dabo and José Carrera-Garcia.

It didn’t take long to realize that this game would be quite a bit different from the last match these two played two months ago. Fuego seemed content to play back and look for chances to counter or deliver long balls into the attacking third, which meant that despite Omaha owning most of the possession the visitors would occasionally find some dangerous routes in on goal. They were helped by some errant passes early and the Owls often defaulted to their own version of direct play in an attempt to make something happen on offense.

This did create a very early chance for the hosts as Luca Mastrantonio, under no pressure in the back, found the run of Aáron Gómez down the left side of the final third. He was able to outpace his defender, show some great physicality to hold off a challenge near the touch line, and find a trailing Joe Gallardo outside the box. From there, Gallardo picked out Pedro Dolabella with a cross that should have been a great chance on goal. Unfortunately, Pedro was felled by some contact and a bit of a jersey pull by Emmanuel Gómez that allowed Ávilez to claim the ball easily. Despite the obvious contact and shirt tug, the referee quickly waived off any appeals for a penalty as Fuego relieved the pressure. This would be a recurring theme with the officials who seemed willing to let a very physical game run its course.

While the Owls continued to own possession, the majority of attacking pressure was with Central Valley early. Though the defense stayed compact and dealt with most of the danger, Wallis was called into action to deal with the occasional shot.

One of those shots came in the 14’ when Alfredo Midence took advantage of the compact defense to find an unmarked Robert Coronado on the left just outside the attacking third. With lots of space to maneuver, he managed to get past the onrushing Will Perkins and dribble into the box. From there he unleashed a straight blast toward net that took all of Wallis’ reflexes and strength to parry away for a corner. Though true attacking chances like this would become less common, the Omaha keeper showed why he’s the best backup in the league.

The Owls would finally get a couple of decent chances about the middle of the first half. Nortei Nortey would see a great run by Zeiko Lewis on goal, but put the ball too close to Ávilez for the striker to get on it. Shortly after, Nortel would take matters in his own feet, dribbling across the top of the box and clearing space to shoot. His effort would be off balance and too wide and weak to trouble the keeper, but it was at least Omaha’s first official shot of the match. Finally, Aáron Gómez would find his way clear on a quick throw in from Joe Gallardo, only to be pulled back by Issa Yaya who earned a yellow card for killing off the attack.

However, the remainder of the first half continued to be marred by sloppy play, leading to several Central Valley chances, but nothing that would come to a goal. Bad back passes were either barely recovered by the back line or saved in spectacular fashion. By the time the Owls made it into the locker room at halftime, they could count themselves lucky not to be down in the match, despite an overwhelming advantage in possession.

Coming out of halftime, Coach Dom made two changes bringing on Lagos Kunga and Ryen Jiba for Pedro and Mechack Jérôme, and moving Anderson Holt off the left and into a center back position. Almost immediately you could see the impact of the substitutions and the break as the Owls came out much more controlled and dangerous in their attacks.

This showed as within 3 minutes of the restart Omaha would finally get their first shot on target of the match. Taking the ball in the attacking zone, Lagos showed off his dribbling skills to open up Joe Gallardo on the left side. Joe was able to use Lagos’ continuing run to cut back inside and dribble to the top of the box where he fired a low shot that Àvilez had to dive to keep out. The ball spilled out of the keeper’s hands and Aàron almost slotted home, but instead drove the ball directly into Àvilez’ still prone body allowing the Fuego defense to recover and clear the danger.

Despite the energetic and more deliberate style of play on display, that would be the final shots on target for the Owls. They did cause a few more moments of chaos from set pieces and pressing, but nothing managed to fall in the hosts’ favor. They were able to significantly reduce the bite in Fuego’s attack with much better skill and pressing than was shown in the first half. Central Valley responded by playing back, staying compact, and really denying that final ball that would’ve seen Omaha rewarded for it’s improved play over the last 45 minutes.

With the match drawn, the Owls would find themselves in their second penalty shootout of the competition. Once again, they would go first and choose to kick into the Berm end where many of the 3,020 in attendance joined the Parliament to try to spur their club to the extra point.

Luca Mastrantonio would take the first kick and fired to the keeper’s right. Despite guessing correctly, Ávilez couldn’t get to the well placed kick. Robert Coronado would take the same approach, bouncing the ball just before it reached Wallis and putting it over his outstretched arms to level the shootout.

Adam Aoumaich then stepped up and once again fired a lofted shot for his kick. He managed to keep it down this time and left the keeper no chance as it rippled the roof netting. Nahir Vazquez then had a chance to match, but his slight delay in the run up would not fool Wallis who dove to his right and stopped his fourth penalty kick of the year.

After that it was PC who took the ball for his first meaningful involvement in the match. The veteran showed his composure taking a no nonsense run up to the ball and burying it in the side netting, despite Ávilez seeming to know that the ball would be to his left. That put all the pressure on José Carrera-Garcia who tried to loft one into the roof, but ended up skying it over the bar and into the cheering Parliament.

With the door open to put the match away, Missael Rodriguez made no mistakes with his kick. A simple shot to the keeper’s left scored as Ávilez guessed incorrectly and the Owls would win yet another shootout by a count of 4-1.

The shootout win still wouldn’t be enough to move Union Omaha out of the cellar in their group, though it did move them into a tie at 4 points with Central Valley Fuego. Northern Colorado still paces the group with 6 points from 3 matches and Spokane holds second with 5 points, but has the wild card slot with 4 goals and a +1 Goal Difference.

Next up for the Owls is a home match against Northern Colorado on June 1, this time in USL League One play. Always a tough matchup, the team will look to return back to the form that has them second in the table with 13 points from 5 games, while Hailstorm is bringing up the bottom with only 2 points from 4 played.

The Positives

First and foremost, the return of PC is a huge positive in this match. Though he only played 23 minutes, he was still able to get into the flow of the game and took his PK with poise and control. He didn’t factor hugely in the match otherwise, but the fact that he’s back after a long absence is a huge plus.

Next is Wallis Lapsley. It seems every time he plays, there are nothing but positives to say about him. He really did save the points for the team yet again with timely saves, including in the shootout. Despite Fuego only registering 0.48 xG on 34% possession, the shots they did have were often quite dangerous. I’ve said before that I think Wallis could start for several teams in League One, for a few in the Championship, and would probably be a good backup option for some in MLS. Thankfully, he’s here when we need him.

Finally, I think that the turnaround in attacking play, control, and overall chemistry was excellent in the second half. Dom made the appropriate changes and the subs took advantage. Anderson did as good a job as he could on the left side and playing some wing, but having Ryen come in and let Anderson slide into center back helped shore up some of those opportunities Fuego had in the first half while providing a lot more creativity in attack. Lagos coming on for Pedro was a good change not because Pedro was doing poorly necessarily, but that Lagos put an energy into the match that Fuego hadn’t had to deal with up to that point. These changes helped the team cut out having to play the long ball and let them play a much more controlled and dribbling attack through midfield—which then opened up more of the long balls when needed later. It’s frustrating, and a little unfair, that the changes didn’t end up leading to a goal. But for the second straight match the team was able to respond to a substandard first half performance while almost completely neutralizing any threat the other team could mount. That ability will be critical as the season goes on.

The Negatives

The entire first half…again. This time there wasn’t a heavy rain or waterlogged pitch to blame for the sloppy passing and lack of creativity in attack. Dom said in his (very brief) postgame comments that it was “flat”, and that is a very nice way to put it.

When you have 67% possession in the first half, but can’t put a shot on target, that tells me the possession isn’t moving forward. The team was caught in the offside trap several times, but those were all on long balls trying to play past the Central Valley high line. They were able to play that high line because a lack of sharpness in the short passing game kept the threat out of the midfield, so there was little danger of a quick run with a well placed through ball breaking that line. Additionally, the long balls often seemed overly hopeful at best, desperate at worst.

That’s not trying to take anything away from Jermaine Jones’ side. They executed their gameplan, played the counter well, and set the offside traps that caught our strikers out. But we have to understand that teams are going to play this way against us, especially when we should have an attacking advantage against them. Being able to break that down is going to be critical going forward.

My final thought on this is that once again we played substandard in the first half. You can blame rotation, finally having a decent break for the first time all month, possible complacency playing an opponent that hasn’t been successful this year, whatever. It doesn’t bode well if that continues. Thankfully, for now, it’s only two games. That’s a blip that we need to make sure doesn’t become a trend.

Interesting Facts: 

  • This is the first match between these two sides that has ended 0-0, and the first time we’ve drawn (after 90’) in the history of the matchup. 
  • Union Omaha only registered one official shot on target in the match. This is the second time this year they’ve done that (0-1 win at One Knox). The Owls were held to one shot on target only twice all of last year (all competitions).
  • Wallis Lapsley has faced 8 penalty kicks this year and saved 4 of them (1 over the bar). That’s a save percentage of 57% for on target shots. Not bad considering PKs generally produce a 0.79 xG (79% of the time, they work every time)!
  • Adam Aoumaich’s PK is the first time he’s slotted a meaningful ball home in his professional career. It won’t count as a goal in the stat books, but we’ll take it!

Key Events:

Central Valley Yellow Card: 21’ – Alfredo Midence (Bad Challenge)

Central Valley Yellow Card: 29’ – Issa Yaya (Tactical Foul)

Union Omaha Yellow Card: 32’ – Brandon Knapp (Bad Challenge)

Central Valley Sub: 37’ – Razak Cromwell ON; Issa Yaya OFF (Injury)

Union Omaha Yellow Card: 45’+1’ – Will Perkins (Bad Challenge)

Union Omaha Sub: 46’ – Lagos Kunga ON; Pedro Dolabella OFF
– Ryen Jiba ON; Mechack Jérôme OFF

Central Valley Sub: 46’ – Ashkanov Apollon ON; Emmanuel Gómez OFF

Central Valley Sub: 56’ – Qudus Lawal ON; Alfredo Midence OFF

Union Omaha Yellow Card: 60’ – Anderson Holt (Bad Challenge)

Union Omaha Sub: 67’ – PC Giro ON; Nortei Nortey OFF
– Missael Rodriguez ON; Aáron Gómez OFF

Central Valley Yellow Card: 68’ Raúl Mendiola (Tactical Foul)

Union Omaha Sub: 76’ Adam Aoumaich ON; Joe Gallardo OFF

Central Valley Yellow Card: 84’ Clayton Torr (Hard Foul)

Central Valley Sub: 90’+1’ – José Carrera-Garcia ON; Raúl Mendiola OFF

Penalty Shootout:

Union Omaha – Luca Mastrantonio – Scored (1-0)

Central Valley – Robert Coronado – Scored (1-1)

Union Omaha – Adam Aoumaich – Scored (2-1)

Central Valley – Zahir Vazquez – Saved (2-1)

Union Omaha – PC Giro – Scored (3-1)

Central Valley – José Carrera-Garcia – Missed High (3-1)

Union Omaha – Missael Rodriguez – Scored (4-1)

Owls Use Second Half Blitz, Rodriguez Brace, In Rout Of Charlotte

It was a literal tale of two halves as Union Omaha overcame some sloppy play and even sloppier weather to defeat the Independence 4-1 on Friday night in Charlotte.  Goals from Pedro Dolabella and Lagos Kunga bookended a Missael Rodriguez brace to complete the victory in a battle of two teams at the top of the League One table.

Dominic Casciato made two changes from the side that started in the 0-0 draw the last time these to met. Rodriguez was set up top alongside Aàron Gómez in place of Lagos Kunga. Blake Malone, who was injured for the home fixture, returned to the back line moving Marco Milanese out take Ryen Jiba’s role.

Charlotte coach Mike Jeffries made only one change from the earlier season match, running out Anton Sorenson in place of the injured Fabrice Ngah. The Independence team sheet also saw the return of Shalom Dutey and Omar Ciss, finding their way onto the bench after being out injured.

The first half started out very positively as Omaha took the kickoff and immediately pressed the attack by working a long ball in from Mechach Jerôme into the attacking third. Gómez was able to take possession after a small back and forth and won a free kick from about 35 yards out on the right. Joe Gallardo stepped up to take the kick and whipped a great shot in, but it was precisely where Charlotte keeper Austin Pack was standing.

Shortly thereafter, the Owls had a chance to take full advantage of a dreadful mistake by the Jacks. Off of a cleared Charlotte free kick, Malone put enough pressure on Bachir Ndiaye to force a back pass that Dolabella pounced on just shy of midfield. With Rodriguez running and only one backpedaling defender to beat, Pedro tried to run a through ball for Missael to run on.  There wasn’t enough power on the pass to overcome the wet pitch and Ryan Djedje was able to cut the pass out easily.

This would turn out to be a theme for the rest of the first half, especially as conditions worsened. Several passes were either not hit hard enough, or were inaccurately placed so that their intended target couldn’t get onto it. This wouldn’t be just a Union Omaha problem, as Charlotte often struggled with their own passing. In fact, both sides would combine for 12 interceptions in the first half as occasional wayward passing thwarted potential attacks on both sides.

That would be the case for Omaha to create the first big Independence chance of the match. In the 9’ Luca Mastrantonio attempted a long pass to the midfield that skipped well past any Owl and found its way into the Jacks’ defense. The ball found it’s way to Ndiaye who found Luis Àlvarez with room to run into the final third. A good dribble and Àlvarez was able to find a slashing Djedje who was free in on goal. It took a diving save from Nuhu to keep the score level early.

The teams continued to go back and forth at each other with mistakes offering up good opportunities at both ends. As the rain got heavier and heavier, there were some obvious issues plaguing Omaha for their preferred attacking style. However, the defense remained compact and were generally able to cover against the counter when mistakes would happen. A few times the team looked to be caught out, such as in the 26’ when a bad pass from Dion Acoff started a whole field break for Charlotte. Even though outnumbered, the vanguard of the back line would hold up play long enough for Dion to get on his horse and make it all the way back to make good on his defensive duties. It seems to follow the same pattern, which is what allows Omaha to attack the way it does with confidence.

That confidence would get shattered not long after, as Charlotte opened the scoring. A long clearance was cut out by Clay Dimick who started a quick counter. Dribbling forward on the right side, he appeared to pick out Àlvarez near the top of the box. However, Àlvarez let the ball run through and onto the feet of JC Obregon. Obregon worked the ball to his left and rolled an unbalanced shot toward goal. The ball appeared to take a slight deflection of Malone, which was just enough to get the slowing shot past a diving Nuhu. It wasn’t the prettiest goal in the world, but it still gave the Jacks a 1-0 lead.

The rain and the conceded goal seemed to change the demeanor of the team for the worse as the first half drew to a close. Omaha would see two more yellow cards for some physical play, and never really got into a good attacking momentum. By the time the first half whistle blew, the team looked like they didn’t have any answers for the storm they’d just been through.

But just as the rain put a literal damper on the first half, the weather would let up and the team seemed to respond in kind. Dom made a single change, bringing on Lagos for Luca to spark some more attacking play, and the change seemed to work almost immediately. The first minutes of the second half saw more runs, a little more creativity, and some great defense played to stop Charlotte on their attacks, but the Owls still couldn’t seem to find a breakthrough on Austin Pack.

The 54’ minute would finally bring relief and an equalizer a long time coming. The press having been revitalized in the second half, Omaha forced Independence into a giveaway inside their own box. Backed into the left corner, Dimick thought he had an outlet to Djedje to beat the Búho press. Djedje didn’t see Gallardo running in from midfield, and, as he turned to get out of the area, was met with a solid shoulder-to-shoulder challenge that dispossessed him from the ball. Gòmez pounced on the loose ball and found Pedro running in to join the play. With Pack and the rest of the defense out of position, Dolabella found the net to level the score.

From there the Owls were back to their normal look. Though possession remained even, the better chances started coming Omaha’s way. When Charlotte did make pressing attacks, the defense remained compact, and the midfield was able to stay away from some of the fouls that had brought in yellow cards and free kicks in dangerous positions during the first half.

Then, having waited 264’ in all competitions to score against the Independence, it would only take 8 minutes to do it again. Lagos Kunga (who I have called out for his attempted dribbles previously…like last week), took the ball from the right side of the box and dribbled to the byline. Somehow evading two defenders, he continued his dribble toward Pack’s near post. Then, with a little bit of Búho magic, he threaded a pass that missed Pack and two other defenders waiting to shut him down. That pass found Missael, who was not going to miss from around the penalty spot. 

It was an amazing individual effort for Lagos, demonstrating the skills he can bring to bear when he’s on his game. It wouldn’t be the last time his dribbling would open up the Charlotte defense. It was critical in setting up a run by Missael that came very close to drawing a penalty, and would also lead to him scoring later for us.

Charlotte would have their chance to equalize in the 74’ as a frantic sequence saw their best chances of the second half go by the wayside. Off a corner, Rashid stepped up in his box to get a diving glove on the ball to try to put it out for another corner. Nick Spielman managed to get the ball on his chest to save it before looping a cross back into the middle of the box for Dimick to get a clean header on it. With no one else to beat, the crossbar stepped in to rebound the ball back out to Gabriel Obertan who rolled a shot toward net that was kept out only by Dolabella’s timely foot. The rebound from the blocked shot fell to Tresor Mbuyu, who ended the threat by misfiring his shot wide right for a goal kick. In a moment of chaos that often goes against the Owls, they held firm with some compact defending, and a little bit of luck.

Having survived that encounter, Omaha looked to put this game away and not relieve the heartbreak of the last two matches. In the 76’ off an intercepted pass and counter, Pedro found Missael running up the pitch with no one around him. Starting on the left side just inside midfield, he would dribble all the way up to the top of the box, passing one defender, then cutting inside to beat two others and open space for a shot. His right-footed shot to the left side of the net fooled Austin Pack, and the Owls found themselves with a 2-goal cushion.

Despite Charlotte getting a few more opportunities late in the second half, to include a potential penalty shout off a free kick, the Omaha defense cut out everything the Jacks could throw at them. Even with 8 minutes of added time given in the second half, the feeling was that the Owls would see this out, grab the three points, and be happy with an amazing second half performance.

But that didn’t mean that Lagos didn’t want to put the icing on the cake, and further put my nose in any comments made about his dribbling abilities. After Brandon Knapp won a loose ball in the attacking half, he managed to pass it off to Lagos with acres of space to run. He drove down to the edge of the area, and despite having an open layoff pass to open up Zeiko Lewis, Lagos decided to cook the two defenders in front of him. Rounding them, and with only Pack to beat, Lagos chipped the ball up over the sprawling Charlotte keeper who could only watch helplessly as the ball bounced into the goal. It was another moment of quality from Lagos who was able to show his ability as a ball handler as well as a distributor.

When the final whistle blew, an ecstatic Omaha team celebrated not only the win and their place at the top of League One, but also getting rid of their late game struggles. A 4-1 victory against a good side like Charlotte served notice that not only is this team dangerous, but knows how to rebound when things haven’t been going their way. That mentality will serve them very well as they look to repeat as Players Shield winners and bring another cup back to Omaha.

The team finally gets a chance to breathe as their next match brings them home to face a slumping, but still dangerous, Central Valley Fuego team on May 29 in Jäegermeister Cup action. They’ll need to take advantage of all of that rest as following that, the Owls stay home to face Northern Colorado on June 1, then travel to Chattanooga to make up their earlier match (postponed by “field conditions”) on 5 June. Another three-games in eight-day stretch will test their resolve yet again.

From Coach Dominic Casciato-
When asked about what was said to the guys this week to get ready for Charlotte:
“We prepared as we usually do for every opponent, there was nothing too different or special about our messaging for this game. It was about getting back on track and beating a very strong opponent. We didn’t mention that the club had never won in Charlotte, but it was something we were aware of as a staff.“

On the turn around between the first and second halves:
“First half we allowed our standards to drop, and struggled to get effective pressure on the ball. At halftime we made a few tactical adjustments to fix that, and the guys executed those adjustments perfectly.“

On Lagos coming on for Luca for the second half:
“The substitution at half time was part of our tactical adjustments, but Lagos is a top player that can be dangerous anytime he has the ball. He proved that on Friday night and also gave us a huge effort without the ball which was really pleasing to see.“

On Nortei Nortey’s good night and progression:
“Norts played well on Friday night – he has been steadily improving and has had a good run of games now. We understand that there’s always an adjustment period for any new player coming into a new environment, so I’m sure that he and the rest of our new signings will continue to go from strength to strength as the season develops.“

The Positives

Pretty much all of the second half. Dom’s substitutions came at the right time to tweak what the team needed in those moments. The attacking spark from Lagos helped set the tone for the second half turnaround. While I would have loved to see Missael get his shot at a hat trick, pulling him off right after his second goal for Ryen Jiba allowed our defensive back line to reconsolidate while maintaining our ability to press up the wings and put pressure on Charlotte. That, with Zeiko coming in for Joe, also helped stave off the injury bug on a wet pitch where anything could happen. And we definitely can’t afford more injuries to our attackers right now. Knapp was sent out to help kill things off and give Gòmez a rest, but his quick legs and interventions led directly to Lagos getting to show me up one more time with his goal-scoring run.

Aside from the substitutions, the team rebounded really well from both the losses and a pretty ugly first half. Whether the conditions played into the first half or not, the team was able to rally from a goal that while not necessarily a fluke, seemed like it could have been avoided. Taking that kind of a punch on the road after those chaotic moments have led to defeat recently is a good measure of the character of this team.

The Negatives

First, I’m going to go to the opposite side of the previous statement. The first half was ugly, and not just because of the conditions. There was a demeanor about the team that was struggling. I’m not them, so I won’t say what was or wasn’t going on in their heads, but the body language, the pace, and the killer instincts were not on display as much after the opening 5 minutes. This team has played a lot of soccer in the last three weeks, and maybe that was taking a little bit of a toll. It didn’t help conceding that goal after dealing (if only just) with many of the problems Charlotte caused. I don’t know the causes. I can only tell what I could see through the beaded water on the camera lens, and it didn’t look quite right.

I’m also going to get into some of the yellow cards. We seem to take a LOT of them for somewhat preventable reasons. For instance, Dion’s yellow card in the 12’ came from a frustrated and somewhat cynical pull back after being dispossessed and starting a Charlotte counter. With the center backs still back, Nortei in reaction, and Pedro tracking back with him, there seemed to be no reason to pull his man back and get the sure yellow. 

While I won’t knock Luca’s or Joe’s yellows (they were legitimate attempts to get to or defend the ball that were just too aggressive), There have been cards taken in every match that seem unnecessary. Don’t get me wrong, I love the physicality, and a well placed tactical foul can definitely prevent a worse outcome than taking a yellow, the team seems to do it a lot when there is coverage or when frustration seems to be more of the driving force behind the challenge.

By all means, keep that passion and that drive to do well, but let’s try to do it without making the ref go to his pocket, ok?

Interesting Facts:

  • I already spoiled this one online, but the last time we scored in a match against Charlotte was October 23, 2023. The final score in that one was also 4-1 with Steevan Dos Santos scoring a hat trick. Stranger than that, he also scored in second half added time (90’+5’) for the fourth goal.
  • Despite losing the possession battle (48-52), Union Omaha outshot Charlotte 18-12. That’s not the interesting part. 10 of our 18 shots were on target, with 6 of those off target being blocked. That means only 2 of our 18 shots were fired in a way not to bother the defense. That’s a marked improvement over previous matches. In a shout out to our defense, Charlotte only managed 4 of their 12 shots on target.
  • Missael Rodriguez is on a major hot streak. He’s scored 6 goals in 4 consecutive matches against League One opponents (Cup and League). In those matches, he’s averaging 1 goal every 45 minutes. Add in his assist against Tormenta, and he’s averaging a goal involvement every 38 minutes. He should be on everyone’s watch list to bring home Union Omaha’s first golden boot, or at least Young Player or Newcomer of the Year.

Key Events:

Union Omaha Yellow Card: 12’ – Dion Acoff (Tactical Foul)

Charlotte Independence Goal: 36’ – JC Obregòn (A: Clay Dimick)

Charlotte Independence Yellow Card: 39’ – Ryan Djédjé (Hard Foul)

Union Omaha Yellow Card: 40’ – Luca Mastrantonio (Bad Challenge)

Union Omaha Yellow Card: 43’ – Joe Gallardo (Bad Challenge)

Union Omaha Sub: 46’ – Lagos Kunga ON; Luca Mastrantonio OFF

Union Omaha Goal: 54’ – Pedro Dolabella (A: Aàron Gòmez)

Uniion Omaha Goal: 62’ – Missael Rodriguez (A: Lagos Kunga)

Charlotte Independence Sub: 64’ – Noah Pilato ON; Ryan Djédjé OFF
64’ – Gabriel Obertan ON; Joel Johnson OFF
64’ – Kharlton Belmar ON; Luis Àlvarez OFF

Charlotte Independence Yellow Card: 73’ – Noah Pilato

Union Omaha Goal: 76’ – Missael Rodriguez (A: Pedro Dolabella)

Union Omaha Sub: 77’ – Zeiko Lewis ON; Joe Gallardo OFF
77’ – Ryen Jiba ON; Missael Rodriguez OFF

Charlotte Independence Sub: 87’ – Miguel Ibarra ON; Bachir Nidaye OFF
87’ – Shalom Dutey ON; Anton Sorenson OFF

Union Omaha Sub: 90’+2’ – Brandon Knapp IN; Aàron Gòmez OFF

Union Omaha Goal: 90’+4’ – Lagos Kunga (A: Brandon Knapp)

Charlotte Independence Yellow Card: 90’+6’ Nick Spielman (Shoving A Player)

Velocity Puts Brakes On The Owls With Late Winner

For the second time in three days, Union Omaha found itself on the brink of a penalty shootout only for a very late goal to hand them a painful loss. This time it was Javier Martin Gil finding the game winner three minutes into injury time to claim all the points in the first ever meeting between the two clubs. Missael Rodriguez continued his goal-scoring form and Pedro Dolabella added one from a penalty, but it wasn’t enough to hold off Spokane. Goals from Andre Lewis and former Owl Luis Gil equalized each time before Martin Gil settled the scoreline at 3-2.

After playing 120’ in midweek, and given the lineup from the last Jäegermeister Cup lineup, a little rotation was expected in the Omaha lineup. However, only three of the starters from the previous match made the starting XI: Lagos Kunga, Pedro Dolabella, and Luca Mastrantonio. Wallis Lapsley would take his place as this competition’s keeper, while Missael Rodriguez started up top in an attempt to utilize his pace and skill to attack a really good Spokane defense.

Velocity Coach Leigh Veidman would roll out almost the exact lineup that had fallen to Central Valley on penalties in their previous match two weeks prior. The only change was Congolese winger Ariel Mbumbu, getting his first action against League One competition, in place of Josh Dolling.

Once again, the Owls would find themselves under pressure early. The energy and pressing were there, but Spokane’s pace, passing, and positioning made it easy for them to beat the press and advance past midfield in the opening stages. Such provided the first really dangerous chance of the night only 4’ into the match.

Playing out of the back, Spokane pushed the ball up the right side to Romain Métanire. The experienced defender looked briefly upfield in time to see Luis Gil make a quick slash up the middle and past former teammate Luca Mastrantonio. With Gil streaking toward goal and the pass taken right on his toe, Luca had little choice but to try to out-muscle him to the ball. It was a little too much as Gil collapsed under the challenge just short of the penalty area. Not only did Spokane earn itself a free kick from a great area, but Luca earned a yellow card for his troubles.

That sparked a chaotic few minutes for Omaha that saw several good chances either squandered by the Velocity, or expertly saved by Wallis. The Owls were not sharp in their movements nor in the midfield which led to several rounds of possession with Spokane regaining the ball quickly after clearances.

But despite the chaos, it was Missael Rodriguez who would open the scoring against the run of play. Adam Aoumaich, on the left side and with few good options, managed to pick out an almost completely uncovered Lagos Kunga to switch the play to the right. With acres of space in front of him, Lagos placed a great through ball to Missael, who had found a bit of an extra gear to speed past the Spokane defenders to the right side of the box. Taking the ball in stride, Missael put the ball on his right foot and launched a shot through Carlos Merancio’s legs and into the far corner of the net for an improbable early lead.

This would be Rodriguez’ fourth goal in five games (all competitions) as the Chicago Fire loanee is turning out to be one of our most potent weapons up front. His speed, combined with Lagos’ timing and precisely weighted distribution, is what made this goal, with credit to Adam for being able to pick out the pass when almost nothing in the midfield had been working.

But as brilliant as Lagos’ pass was, equally as baffling was the play that led to Spokane’s first equalizer just five minutes later. Off a throw in on the left side, Pedro Dolabella managed to challenge the ball and flick it over to Brandon Knapp.  Brandon found Lagos, who was tracking back to help out on the throw. With Andre Lewis right behind him, he dribbled back to the edge of his own penalty area. Having two outlets between Anderson Holt and Luca Mastrantonio, but feeling Lewis’ pressure slightly let off, Kunga attempted to turn and dribble past his marker. That was when the Spokane midfielder put a toe just in front of the ball on Lagos’ turn, nicked it off him at around 12-yards out, and blasted into the net almost before Wallis even knew the ball was gone. 

While Lagos’ distribution was again top class this match, the unsuccessful dribbles and the decision making would end up becoming a theme on the night. After going 4/5 on dribbles against Sporting KC, he would end up 2/11 against Spokane, including that turnover which broke down a (to that point) defense that had been very good at recovering and denying chances that the Velocity found early on in the match.

After the equalizer, the Owls would start to get more into their game. The passing cleaned up a bit and they were able to use their pace and physical presence to force a few more dangerous looks and call Merancio more into action at the Spokane goal. At the same time, Spokane continued to get their chances, generally finding space up the wings and crossing in for what would often be free headers that never quite found the target. 

Even with the game opening up a little, the two sides would find themselves still tied at the half. The hosts went into the locker room probably expecting that they should have had more. Omaha could have made the same claim, but probably felt good going into the break still on level terms. They were losing the possession and passing battles, but the defense had kept them in it as they equalled Spokane in total shots, shots on target, and most importantly, goals.

Starting the second half, the Owls looked to have gotten settled a bit. The press was getting more effective, they were winning the early aerial balls, and the team looked to be playing much better than they’d started the first half. That form would be rewarded only four minutes after the restart in the form of a penalty drawn by Missael Rodriguez.

Cycling the ball in the back, halftime substitution Marco Milanese pushed forward on the right side in an attempt to find some space. He managed to find Rodriguez and put a ball just in front of him on the edge of the penalty area. His marker, Ahmed Longmire, managed to get his head on the ball to flick it away, but the ensuing motion saw him pull Missael down inside the box. The referee pointed to the spot without hesitation, and Longmire can consider himself lucky not to have been booked—if not for the challenge, then for booting the ball halfway up the pitch in frustration.

With a chance to take the lead back, Pedro Dolabella would step up to take the kick. Merancio was able to read the Brazilian’s shot and dove to his left to save it. The shot was too perfectly placed, low and just inside the post, and the diving keeper watched it go past his glove and across the line for a 2-1 Union Omaha lead.

The celebrations were again short lived as Spokane redoubled their attacks immediately after the score. Dangerous runs, crosses, and free headers came at the Owls, but it was another bad turnover that would set up the equalizer from a familiar face.

Lagos found himself caught in possession again, this time double teamed in the defensive half and against the right touchline. After a bit of a scramble, Derek Waldeck would come away with the ball and start pushing up into the attacking third. Between three defenders, Waldeck would find Kimami Smith who cut inside toward the box. He pushed the ball on to Luis Gil, who was almost dispossessed by Pedro closing him down from behind, but the ball managed to stay right on Gil’s foot. With the defender out of the way and a clean shot on goal, Gil put the ball just out of the reach of Wallis for the Spokane’s second equalizer of the night.

From here the match started going back the way it was in the first half. Spokane was very good in pressure and passing, seemingly energized again by Gil’s equalizer. They would continue to have the lion’s share of the momentum and bigger chances during as the second half moved along. The same culprits—quick runs in behind, well placed crosses and a couple more free headers made it feel like it would not be a surprise if Spokane managed to find the scoresheet again.

For the most part, however, our defense stepped up. Wallis continued to show his quality, making saves from the free headers with excellent positioning or diving to parry a smashed shot. With some occasional luck from a shot off target, the Owls managed to hold the game level.

There were even a couple of good chances for Omaha to get a third goal. Missael would have two chances in very dangerous positions, but neither of them would pan out. The first came on a penalty shout as Rodriguez took a long pass and flicked the ball ahead for himself into the box. Derek Waldeck stood his ground and obstructed the striker from getting back onto the ball, sending him to the floor again. The referee would have none of it this time and waved him up. 

The second big chance came from almost exactly the same position after Missael got the ball in space on a well executed counter attack. With one defender to beat, he shifted the ball onto his right foot and let off a shot that had plenty of pace, but was just left of the goal mouth.

Ultimately, Spokane would foil all of Omaha’s remaining attacks and find a bit of additional time magic of their own. In the 90’+3’, Josh Dolling would begin the attack from midfield as he found Javier Martin Gil on the right side. Martin Gil was able to push forward and found a centering pass back to Dolling outside the box. Dolling picked out Romain Métanire on the wing who put another dangerous cross into the box. This time, however, it was a free flick of the other Gil’s foot that deflected the pass just up and over Wallis. The home crowd erupted, Martin Gil took a yellow for removing his shirt, and for the second time in quick succession a moment of switch off at the back led the Owls to defeat.

The Positives

The depth of this team continues to impress me. In my last recap for the Jäegermeister Cup win over NoCo, I called out Wallis as a great pickup and a keeper that could start on almost any other team in League One. But consider this: we had a heavily rotated side off the back of a physically and mentally taxing loss. Despite losing the possession and passing battle, the defense managed to keep most of the attacks out of Wallis’ goal. The team played well together at times, and even under pressure, it was two big mental mistakes that really kept Spokane in the game long enough to win it at the end. That is amazing considering the turnover in the team. 

This team was good enough to win this match, and for the first time in a while I don’t have to look at the depth chart and cringe. Not that I want more injuries, and we definitely miss the experience that Steevan, PC, and Dion (who was not listed on the team sheet) when they aren’t playing, the second line is going to be just fine.

The Negatives

I want to preface this by saying that I love Lagos Kunga. He’s a quality player, and his distribution and passing stats are constantly among the best of our attack. He can get into space, he can find the open man, and he can put the ball in net. He has a lot of skills that are excellent at this level and will continue to grow.

However…

Aside from his showing against Sporting, he has been caught in possession a lot lately. As I mentioned in the main recap, he was 2/11 on dribbles against Spokane, and two of those unsuccessful dribbles led to goals. He seemed to hesitate in his decision making on the turnover for Lewis’ goal, and I’ve seen him try some audacious dribbles between defenders. To his credit, sometimes it works (or at least draws a foul). More often than not though, it hasn’t.

Over all competitions, he is 14/32 on his dribbles, which seems to imply that either he doesn’t have the skill for the dribbles, or he’s taking on dribbles with a lower probability of success. Given that I’ve seen him make some great moves with the ball, I tend to believe it’s the latter.  Full disclosure here though, this is only a perception. I’d need to do a significant review of the data to make a full assessment on that.

Believe it or not, I didn’t write that just to pick on Lagos. The real negative here is that mental switch off that happens with somewhat regularity and is starting to hurt us more. It’s not always players like Lagos. Against Tormenta, Pedro had a bit of a head scratcher that led to a goal. Brandon Knapp and Luca both had a moment that was unlike them against NoCo that led to goals. The mental bit gets passed around its fair share—it just happens that it was Lagos’ turn in the chaos chamber this time. But these are the “moments of chaos” to which I believe Dom was referring after the Tormenta match. This team is good…really good. They just have to clean up a couple of these costly errors.

Interesting Facts:

  • I’ll get the painful one out of the way first: over the last two matches, Union Omaha has trailed for only 8 minutes out of 210. Of course, they lost both of them.
  • Ok, second painful one: this was the first time that the Owls have lost to a League One team in regulation since July 15, 2023; a 3-0 road loss to Lexington SC
  • This is only the sixth time in Union Omaha history that they’ve lost two consecutive matches (all competitions). The last time was May 27/June 3, 2023 against Madison (1-2) and Charlotte (3-0). Omaha has only once lost three consecutive matches; in the 2020 season.

Key Events: 

Union Omaha Yellow Card: 4’ – Luca Mastrantonio (Tactical Foul)

Union Omaha Goal: 11’ – Missael Rodriguez (A: Lagos Kunga)

Spokane Velocity Goal: 16’ – Andre Lewis (Unassisted)

Union Omaha Sub: 45’ – Marco Milanese ON; Luca Mastrantonio OFF

Union Omaha Goal: 51’ – Pedro Dolabella (Penalty)

Spokane Velocity Goal: 56’ – Luis Gil (Unassisted)

Union Omaha Yellow Card: 65’ Marco Milanese (Foul)

Union Omaha Sub: 65’ – Joe Gallardo ON; Will Perkins OFF

Union Omaha Sub: 66’ – Nortei Nortey ON; Zeiko Lewis OFF
– Aáron Gómez ON; Adam Aoumaich OFF

Spokane Velocity Sub: 73’ – Jack Denton ON; Collin Fernández OFF
– Josh Dolling ON; Ariel Mbumba OFF

Spokane Velocity Sub: 83’ – Javier Martin Gil ON; Luis Gil OFF
– Camron Miller ON; Marcelo Lage OFF

Union Omaha Sub: 83’ – Blake Malone ON; Pedro Dolabella OFF

Union Omaha Yellow Card: 90+1’ – Aáron Gómez (Dissent)

Spokane Velocity Goal: 90+3’ – Javier Martin Gil (A: Romain Métanire)

Spokane Velocity Yellow Card: 90+3’ – Javier Martin Gil (Removing Shirt)

Union Omaha’s Heroic Effort Falls Short Against Sporting Kansas City

Despite a great match by the Owls on Wednesday night, Alan Pulido’s 120th minute winner broke the hearts of everyone in Búho Nation. That’s why it has taken me three days to be able to write this. The boys played their hearts out against a slightly rotated, but still very strong Kansas City team in front of the largest crowd of the year at a beautiful venue and a perfect night weather wise. 

The loss hurt, but the circumstances around the match couldn’t have been better. The pre-match tailgate with the combined might of the Omaha Parliament, South Stand Supporters Club, and the Blue Cauldron only served as a reminder of what soccer in Omaha can be—united in our love of the sport while still fierce rivals on the pitch. The supporters on both sides carried the match on the wings of 4,733 souls chanting at cross purposes, but still in unison. It was perhaps the pinnacle of professional soccer in the Omaha area. If you were there, you’ll remember it forever.

For those that weren’t, I doubt this recap will do it justice, but I’ll try.

Coach Dom did what he always does in the lineup, but some of the positioning would be different in line with the gameplan the staff had come up with. The normal back 3 would be more often supplemented with the wingers staying home and helping defend a dangerous Kansas City attack. The midfielders rotated in and out of their areas looking to make Sporting uncomfortable while looking for opportunities to get forward and counter. Our forwards stayed pretty close and looked to take advantage of their pace to cause chaos when able. 

The only major change was the massive absence of Steevan Dos Santos, injured in the weekend’s victory against Tormenta FC. He wasn’t completely absent—his tall form stood sentry on the stairwell to the media booth for most of the first half. Though his presence and spirit were a huge lift to the team and fans, you could tell in his eyes that he wished he could take the field and fight with his teammates. It was yet another marker of how huge this match was for our club and the city.

On the other side, Peter Vermes didn’t hesitate to put out a strong team sheet, even with some rotation. Though he gave four players their first starts of the season, and left top keeper Tim Melia at home, his squad was nothing to sneeze at. Led by Serbian international Nemanja Radoja wearing the armband and 2024’s top scorer Erik Thommy, the visitors had pace, experience, physicality, and would use it well.

The opening minutes of the match were something the Owls have not had to deal with much this season—heavily favoring Sporting KC. This seemed to be the game plan, however, as Omaha stayed compact and organized as the visitors mounted several physical and quick attacks up the wings. The defensive plan looked to be working as KC could not find many clear shots at goal, and what they did find were easily handled by Rashid Nuhu.

The other thing the hosts would deal with is what seemed to be a heavy amount of calls (or no calls) going in their favor. One that would set that tone early was a waived off penalty plea in the 12’. Pedro Dolabella found Aaròn Gòmez sprinting freely across the middle of the back line toward the left side of the box. A great pass through looked to open Aàron leaving Khiry Shelton no choice but to topple him over from behind. What seemed to be a clear penalty was waved away by the referee, and soon KC was back on the attack.

Quick sequences shortly thereafter put Rashid to the test, but he showed himself equal to the best the MLS side could muster. Turning away Thommy shortly after diving to parry away a shot from Filipe Hernandez showed that our captain would be more than capable of dealing with most of what would get thrown at him.

During all of this, I never felt like the defense was going to buckle the way they did the last time these two teams met. In the quarterfinals of the 2022 US Open Cup, Kansas City ran rampant after scoring just 10 minutes in. Eventually, the score settled at 6-0. This Union Omaha team was almost completely different from that team two years ago, but the lessons seemed to still be there. Playing good defense, rotating positions, and not giving the KC strikers room to maneuver was working brilliantly, so I didn’t think another demolition was in store. However, I also didn’t see a lot of teeth in our attack, and that was troubling.

You can imagine how pleasantly ecstatic I was to see us go ahead in the 31’. Dion Acoff, who had been left alone on the right side for a vast majority of the first half, took the ball just inside midfield and started to work his magic. Dribbling past Robert Voloder, he sped his way up the right side, drawing scrambling defenders toward him. His centering pass was slightly errant, as Marco Milanese left it for Joe Gallardo, and Joe couldn’t quite get a toe on it to turn and shoot. The chaos favored the Owls, however, as Lagos Kunga picked up the ball and rifled a shot that deflected off a defender and past the flailing John Pulskamp. The ball hadn’t even settled in the net as the crowd erupted and the smoke let loose celebrating our first goal against Sporting, and a lead in the match.

(I want to note here that I actually had to apologize to the SKC social media manager, who was sitting next to me in the booth, as I probably deafened her with my scream. It was about this point that I abandoned any pretense of neutrality I was trying to maintain. Sorry, not sorry.)

After the goal, KC redoubled their efforts to get something—anything—past our defense and on to net. They would manage to get a couple of free headers on crosses into the box, but the most dangerous of them from William Agada went mercifully wide. Zorfan Bassong also danced his way into the front yard, but the defensive discipline held strong to take us into halftime with a 1-0 lead.

Halftime was not restful. The energy and adrenaline of that first half had me, and most of the stadium, unable to sit down. I kept running back and forth looking for something to drink, and thinking about what would come in the second half. I could tell that the defense was holding, but didn’t know how long it might be before one mistake might put the visitors in on goal. There were signs of some tiredness—long sprints on the larger Caniglia Field and a pretty physical game could take their toll at any moment. Still, for the most part, I found myself pretty optimistic that we could hold on to the lead. The boys were disciplined, Rashid seemed on the top of his game, and the crowd was backing them with every tackle, block, and counter. I found myself believing more than ever “why not us?”

Of course that optimism took a cauldron-sized dent about three minutes after the restart.  Pedro, who’d been having a really good game stifling the midfield, got caught in possession on the wrong side of the midfield line. Marinos Tzionis took the ball off of him and sprinted toward the top of the box. Our defenders tried to get themselves compact and in position, but Tzionis unleashed a shot early that managed to skim along the turf toward the near post. Rashid seemed to get a bad read on the ball, but dove and almost got to it. Unfortunately, the ball skipped right past him, into the post, and bounced in. 

Just as quickly as the smoke had gone off for our earlier goal, you could hear the air leave the Union Omaha supporters. The traveling KC supporters, who had made a makeshift blue wall behind the goal, erupted in a mixture of celebration and released frustration at the equalizer. It was definitely game on from there.

The home support quickly rallied and started spurring on the team even more fiercely against the now rising chants from the KC supporters. Union Omaha was still on the back foot, still having to play defense, but the counter was still a dangerous weapon, and almost saw us through.

Looking for a way upfield, Mechack Jerôme would find Aàron splitting the center backs on a perfect run. The pass and run caught Pulskamp flatfooted near his goal, and the ball bounced up perfectly for Aàron to run onto. Rather than take a touch and attempt to round the keeper, Aàron would opt to try to chip the ball up and over. The shot was just barely over the bar, but it put Sporting on notice that we weren’t just going to sit back and play for penalties.

As the half went on, that chip would prove to be our most threatening chance to reclaim the lead. There were still great moments of pace and physicality, but you could tell that the energy was starting to drain from the defending and countering. Our first substitutions came just in time with about 15’ to play in regulation as Dom brought on Missael Rodriguez’ fresh legs for Lagos and Brandon Knapp to replace a depleted Pedro, who left all the gas he had in that midfield.

This, and a couple of other subs, were just enough to see the Owls in to extra time. KC kept pressing, their Blue wall kept screaming, but the defense kept holding their own even as the likes of Johnny Russell started making their presence known from the bench.

The extra time period brought more of the same. Ryen Jiba would have a good chance go just wide early in the frame, while Russell would blast a shot off the far post that would’ve beaten Rashid easily. It wasn’t fully back-and-forth, but more like a heavyweight fight where the underdog kept waiting for a chance to counter-punch, but had to keep their gloves up more often than not.

That is at least until very late in the second half of the extra time period, when the refereeing would wave off yet another penalty shout from the Owls. Brandon found some good space on the right side to dribble in toward the box. There he found Joe with position and his back toward two KC defenders. Joe received the ball and tried to turn his man, but found himself getting caught under the arm and forced down and off the ball inside the box. The contact was there, but once again the ref decided there wasn’t enough to make the call (better the match be decided by 10 penalty kicks than one, I guess).

Of course, only a few minutes later, the referee would be saved from the dreaded PK shootout by a great shot from Alan Pulido. Up to this point, I had been nervously awaiting the outcome, praying for the clock to tick down and the whistle to take us to another shootout. That was until I saw Missael start a moment of chaos on the left side.

Being a Liverpool supporter, I have a certain amount of trauma from seeing great players slip in unfortunate areas. The thought of Steven Gerrard flashed before my eyes as Missael made a great defensive hustle play to take the ball off the KC attackers and toward the touch line, but slipped down in his attempt to keep it in. 

That slip caused a minor scramble, with the defenders getting to the ball, but unable to clear when pressed by the Sporting attackers. I remember thinking to myself “please, no…they’re going to score off Missael keeping that ball in.” Then I could only watch helplessly as my psychic powers (which never come off for the lottery…) proved true. 

Full credit to Tzionis, who again hurt us when he turned Joe on the left side and dribbled toward the box to find Pulido. Even fuller credit to Pulido who took the shot, knowing Rashid was shielded and might not be able to react to it in time, and put it perfectly into the bottom corner.  Full credit to the team that came in, took the lower division side seriously, and walked out with another US Open Cup victory.

And full glory to those stalwart Búhos, and their supporters, who took a top-tier team to the very brink of defeat.

After the match, Coach Dom was proud of the team, but obviously hurt by the “moral victory” this would prove to be. “I think everybody did a great job. Joe was excellent with the ball, without the ball,…obviously, the back line I could name the whole team. Everyone gave a good effort. We knew there were going to be moments in the game…that we had to suffer and sacrifice, and the guys did that. They best they could, and I’m really, really proud of them.”

But most importantly, and echoing the feeling of everyone there, the Coach recognized what this game meant for the city and the club.  After praising the UNO staff for “rolling out the red carpet for us”, he went on to say “I think the city of Omaha was very excited about this game. Hopefully, some of those fans that came to watch Kansas City will come and watch Union Omaha now in our league games and our cup games to come. Omaha’s a great soccer city, and events like this are only going to help it get stronger.”

Indeed it will. Even in heartbreaking defeat, you can tell that this club and this city are on the verge of great things to come. And when it does, it will make the heroic efforts of our Owls even that much more special. That is the magic of the Open Cup.

The Positives:

Everything. Every bit of effort from the club. Every single fan that attended. Every single moment from a match that acquitted both sides very well in this competition. Pure. Cup. Magic.

The Negatives:

That we lost. A couple of mistakes led to the final scoreline, but even in that negative there is no shame. Mistakes happen, and the team kept fighting. You can’t expect complete perfection, and Wednesday was a night that called for it. 

That and the feeling of what might have been.

Interesting Facts: 

  • Dom’s gameplan was very well executed.  The defense was on for 68.4% possession against, gave up 23 shots, yet only 7 of those were on target.  The opposition got 37 touches inside the box, had 14 corners and still only managed 1.11 xG.  The goalscorers, Tzionis and Pulido, were held to just the 1 shot on target each for a .25 and .17 xG respectively.
  • This was the first US Open Cup match that the Owls have lost at home. It’s also the first loss at home since the USL League One Semi-Finals last year. However, they haven’t lost at home regulation since a 3-0 defeat to Charlotte Independence on June 3, 2023.
  • Union Omaha has never lost to anything less than an MLS club in the US Open Cup (SKC twice, St Louis City once).

Key Events:

Union Omaha Goal: 31’ – Lagos Kunga (Unassisted)

Sporting KC Sub: 45’ – Memo Rodriguez ON; Filipe Hernandez OFF
– Daniel Salloi ON; Khiry Shelton OFF

Sporting KC Goal: 48’ – Marinos Tzionis (Unassisted)

Union Omaha Yellow Card: 57’ – Luca Mastrantonio (Foul)

Sporting KC Sub: 62’ – Alan Pulido ON; Erik Thommy OFF

Sporting KC Yellow Card: 66’ Memo Rodriguez (Foul)

Sporting KC Sub: 69’ – Johnny Russell ON; William Agada OFF

Union Omaha Sub: 76’ – Missael Rodriguez ON; Lagos Kunga OFF

Union Omaha Sub: 77’ – Brandon Knapp ON; Pedro Dolabella OFF

Sporting KC Yellow Card: 78’ – Johnny Russell (Foul)

Union Omaha Yellow Card: 81’ – Brandon Knapp (Foul)

Union Omaha Sub: 93’ – Ryen Jiba ON; Marco Milanese OFF

Union Omaha Yellow Card: 97’ – Joe Gallardo (Time Wasting)

Sporting KC Yellow Card: 97’ – Nemanja Radoja (Foul)

Sporting KC Sub: Andreu Fontàs ON; Zorhan Bassong OFF

Union Omaha Sub: 99’ – Zeiko Lewis ON; Dion Acoff OFF

Sporting KC Yellow Card: 108’ – Robert Voloder (Foul)

Union Omaha Sub: 117’ – Adam Aoumaich ON; Nortei Nortey OFF

Sporting KC Goal: 120’ – Alan Pulido (A: Marinos Tzionis)

Joe Gallardo Leads Owls To Victory, Still Unbeaten Against Tormenta

Joe Gallardo notched a goal and an assist, as did Pedro Dolabella, and Nortei Nortey opened his Omaha account as the Owls overcame a bit of chaos and a late surge to defeat Tormenta FC on Saturday night.  Missael Rodriguez also got in on the scoresheet for the second consecutive match to continue his good form for the year.  Goals toward the end of each half, including a corner so well taken it scrambled the television feed and a Pedro Fonseca penalty, provided some drama in what was bit of a nervy match considering the final scoreline.

Coach Casciato rolled out a more normal starting XI this time out, giving Blake Malone and Steevan Dos Santos their first starts since returning from injury.  Rashid Nuhu made his return, Dolabella was back in midfield and, Mechack Jèrome slotted in the back for Luca Mastrantonio with Dion Acoff instead of Ryen Jiba.  The biggest difference this time, however, was the apparent use of Blake Malone as the main center back with Milanese playing out to the left with Gallardo.  This pairing would make for some excellent attacks on the left side, but would also leave some vulnerability as Malone and Jèrome learned to pair with each other in front of Nuhu.

For Tormenta, Ian Cameron got some relief on the injury front.  Nicholas Akoto returned to provide some much needed help to the midfield. Of course, the departed Conor Doyle made his way back wearing the armband for the Ibises in a much anticipated return. Despite their inconsistent form this year, a dangerous duo of Niall Watson and Sebastian Vivas started up front with former New Mexico United keeper Ford Parker as the last line of defense.

The Tormenta attack flipped the script some on Omaha, who are used to starting the game quickly in possession.  Much of the first 5 minutes found the Ibises in the ascendancy, pressing the attack while giving the Owls no real options to go forward without running into a defender.  In the 3’, a quick attack spurred on by a turnover at midfield provided Pedro Fonseca an opportunity to split Malone and Jèrome. The defenders did well to get back, but left an open shot from the top of the box.  Fonseca couldn’t get enough over the ball and skied it over Nuhu’s goal.  Off target, but Tormenta put down early that they wouldn’t be intimidated by the Owls.

Two minutes later, the Búhos’ backpass issues almost caused an attack as Jèrome misplayed a touch on a pass by Nuhu that he barely won back between three Ibis attackers.  There was some good fortune in this, though as it allowed the ball to play up through midfield to Lagos Kunga. Kunga dribbled his way into the final third with the Tormenta defenders backpedaling into the box.  This gave him an open look, but the shot was scuffed and easily saved by Parker. 

Tormenta will think that they should have had a penalty shortly thereafter as a good spell of possession saw Callum Stretch receive the ball on the right side and place a beautiful curling ball toward the middle of the area.  The pass found Pedro Fonseca on the left side for a completely unmarked header that flew over the bar.  However, it was Jèrome’s challenge on Sebastian Vivas that easily could’ve set Tormenta up for an early lead.  The center back tried to stop himself as he was trailing Vivas, but couldn’t and managed to bowl him over in the center of the box.  The Owls caught a break, though, as the referee waved off all appeals for a penalty.

Had that been called, the match might have been on its way to a very different result.  Instead, it was Omaha who took advantage in the 9’. Working the ball up the left side, Aáron Gomez got the ball in space and slid a pass to Dos Santos at the top of the Tormenta box.  Holding the play up, Steevan passed the ball back to Pedro Dolabella who drew two defenders toward him and opened space for a pass to Nortei Nortey about 35-yards out from goal. Out of nowhere, Nortey decided to have a go and fired a shot towards Parker.  The ball bounced just outside the six-yard box and took a hop that seemed to cross up the diving keeper who got a glove on it, but couldn’t keep it out of the net.  Nortei’s first for Omaha, coming somewhat against the run of play, set the tone for how the rest of the match would play out.

If going down 1-0 following a disputed penalty no-call had any effect on Tormenta, giving up a second three minutes later could have been disastrous. A set of two corners in quick succession set up Marco Milanese from the right side to deliver an in-swinging ball that was punched up and away by Parker.  The ball fell to Lagos Kunga who rifled a shot on the volley that streaked past everyone to rattle the crossbar.  That deflection fell to Joe Gallardo who put a grounder toward the net that found the feet of Pedro Dolabella. The Brazilian Midfielder made sure that the ball would end up over the line, deflecting up and over Parker from about 7-yards out to double the advantage.

Play would continue to go back and forth for the remainder of the half as the Owls started growing more into the game with the confidence that a 2-goal lead can give.  They continued to work the wings, mostly on the right side, and shut down the majority of any balls that came back at them through midfield.  Though there were no real dominant stretches of possession, both teams had plenty of opportunities to get forward but were unable to break down the defense.

At least that was the case until just before halftime when Tormenta would pull one back. Aàron Gòmez got caught in possession just shy of midfield by three Ibis defenders. In his attempt to get the ball back to one of his defenders, Gòmez went down and ended up giving up a throw-in.  Callum Stretch tried to take advantage with a quick throw to Vivas on the right side, but Milanese’s quick feet put the ball out for a corner instead. While that corner wouldn’t come to anything, a second corner awarded for Gòmez’ clearance set up Conor Doyle to hurt the team he once led. A good delivery from the Ibis captain found it’s way to Sebastian Vivas who slotted home past Nuhu and a stunned Owl defense to make it 2-1 heading into the half.

That would not be the last pain for Omaha before the end of the half, though. Having just come back from injury, and making his presence felt on the game, Steevan Dos Santos took an awkward fall while delivering a perfect switch pass to Dion Acoff on the right side. As beautiful as the pass was the result was just as ugly. Steevan would be down for several minutes on the field with trainers eventually having to help him off the field. A frustrating end to what had been a hopeful return saw him replaced by Zeiko Lewis just on the stroke of halftime.

The chaotic contest would continue in the second half with more of the same.  Both teams started to get more physical as the teams traded yellow cards for tactical fouls and hard challenges, but there were still no breakthroughs.  The game became a struggle in the midfield and turned into a little bit of attack-counter-counter play with both teams looking to secure a spell or two of sustained possession.  Both sides had really good chances but couldn’t take advantage—as marked by a 65’ minute free header for Dolabella that missed the target.

The 70’ minute would finally see the goal that should’ve settled Omaha down and put an end to the match. Playing out of the back, Nuhu put a short pass out to Dion Acoff near the right touch line. Acoff would find Gómez near the center of the park and sprint down the right side to receive the ball back from midfield and open up the defense. Past his defender, Acoff fired a cross that exposed Parker’s indecisiveness in attempting to play the ball. Joe Gallardo, coming up the left side, managed to get enough of a boot on it to slowly roll a shot toward net. Despite the lack of power on the shot, Parker had put himself in a position where he could only watch as the ball trickled past him into the far corner to restore the Owls’ 2-goal lead.

While this should have put the game out of reach, it only emboldened the visitors to attempt to fight back to get something out of the match. The pressure increased, but for the most part the Búho backline stayed disciplined and compact in front of Nuhu. Several good chances failed to return anything for the Ibises, including a scary goalmouth scramble that was just cleared away in time to preserve the lead.

But as hard as Tormenta fought back, Omaha had one more in their pocket courtesy of Missael Rodriguez.  Marco Milanese started the attack on the left with some pretty footwork that slipped his marker and allowed him to push the ball up.  A quick pass to Joe Gallardo set up a through ball that fed precisely into a well-timed run by Rodriguez. With what was his first few touches of the match, the in-form forward out paced his defender, cut just inside to the edge of the box, and curled a shot to the top of the net to make it 4-1 and seal off the game.

The drama wasn’t completely over, however, as Tormenta continued to press the attack and try to get in behind the Owl defense. This finally succeeded, in what Coach Casciato would term a “moment of chaos” for young defender Blake Malone. A turnover in play at midfield fell to Jackson Khoury whose pace started a transition before most of the Owl defenders knew what had happened.  Khoury found teammate Gabriel Rodriguez slashing into the box just ahead of Malone. Working to get to he ball up the left side, the Ibis forward held himself up long enough to induce Malone to clatter into him with a challenge that was almost, but not quite, shoulder to shoulder.  As Rodriguez went down, the referee pointed to the spot instantly giving Tormenta hope of at least a consolation goal.

That hope was realized as Pedro Fonseca stepped up to the spot to take the kick. With the smoke still in the air from Missael’s goal, the penalty specialist drilled a shot to Nuhu’s right as the keeper dove incorrectly left. 

The remainder of the match continued to be frantic, but when the final whistle finally blew, the Owls continued their unbeaten run to go three points shy of table leaders Greenville Triumph with three games in hand.

The Positives

Goals. In buckets. From four different goal scorers.  Although you can argue that two of those goals came off of Ford Parker’s misreading of the play, the fact is the Owls finally poured it on in league play. After going 270+ minutes without scoring (all competitions), they’ve scored 6 now in the last 136’.  Getting the ball in dangerous positions is finally paying off, specifically with Dion’s cross to Gallardo and Missael’s run and score showing what can happen when we just put the ball on net.

That said, we still only put 6 on net from a total of 18 shots (10 inside the box) with an xG of 1.79. But sometimes all it takes is a goal or four to put a team in the right mindset.

I’ll also call out the defense here, but not just the backline who had a bit of an off night (for them) conceding from a set piece and a penalty. The defense being played in midfield right now has been crucial to the teams’ success.  Three of the top four in tackles were midfielders (Gallardo, Dolabella, Nortey). The same for recoveries (Dolabella, Gallardo, and Kunga). Long balls and aerial duels more often than not end in the Owls’ favor and teams are finding it hard to play through the middle, which gives our primary back three time to adjust to longer attempts to play in opposing forwards.  It’s all been a recipe for success that, despite the scoreline tonight, has led to fewer great chances against the team.

The Negatives

If anyone can find negatives from a 4-2 victory, that would be me. And that negative is chaos. There were times that the match seemed to be pure chaos where the team wasn’t able to put their normal level of possession and control to kill off spells of danger from Tormenta. Talking to some of the media staff we noted that Tormenta didn’t play badly for long stretches of the game. They actually beat us in every major offensive category except for passing accuracy, and notably had more touches in the box than we did—a rarity for this team. While the defense was generally able to scramble together to prevent shots (or at least shots on target), it was at times a scramble.

Dom even mentioned as much in his post game comments. Speaking afterwards he told me that he “would have liked to control the chaos of the game a bit more than we did.” He also credited the penalty given away at the end to a quality Tormenta side that threw men forward, but that it was one of “the moments of chaos that we need to do a better job of controlling,” that illustrates what he was talking about.

These kinds of moments can be expected of teams in this league, especially as players transition in and have to gain new chemistry every year. And in fairness, the Owls did pick up three crucial early points. However, this will spell disaster later in the year if this becomes less of a one-off and if teams can figure out how to exploit it when it does happen.

Interesting Facts:

  • Union Omaha has never lost to Tormenta FC (8-0-3). But in addition, this is the fifth time (and third consecutive) that Omaha has scored 3+ goals in the match.
  • Nortei Nortey’s improbable goal had an xG of just 0.01.
  • All seven Owl league goals have come from different scorers this year.

Key Events:

Union Omaha Goal: 9’ – Nortei Nortey (A: Pedro Dolabella)

Union Omaha Goal: 10’ – Pedro Dolabella (A: Joe Gallardo)

Tormenta FC Yellow Card: 28’ – A. Lombardi (Hard Foul)

Tormenta FC Goal: 45’+1’ – Sebastian Vivas (A: Conor Doyle)

Union Omaha Sub: 45’+6’ – Zeiko Lewis ON; Steevan Dos Santos OFF

Union Omaha Yellow Card: 54’ – Lagos Kunga (Tactical Foul)

Tormenta FC Yellow Card: 58’ – Niall Watson (Hard Challenge)

Tormenta FC Sub: 64’ – Philip Spengler ON; Niall Watson OFF

Union Omaha Yellow Card: 68’ – Marco Milanese (Tactical Foul)

Union Omaha Goal: 70’ – Joe Gallardo (A: Dion Acoff)

Tormenta FC Yellow Card: 72’ – Nicholas Akoto (Hard Foul)

Tormenta FC Sub: 75’ – Gabriel Rodriguez ON; Sebastian Vivas OFF
– Mason Tunbridge ON; Conor Doyle OFF

Tormenta FC Yellow Card: 76’ Gabriel Rodriguez (Time Wasting)

Union Omaha Sub: 80’ – Missael Rodriguez ON; Lagos Kunga OFF
– Brandon Knapp ON; Aáron Gòmez OFF

Union Omaha Goal: 81’ – Missael Rodriguez (A: Joe Gallardo)

Tormenta FC Goal: 84’ – Pedro Fonseca (Penalty)

Tormenta FC Sub: 85’ – Joshua Ramos ON; Nicholas Akoto OFF
– Daniel Steedman ON; Tavio D’Almeida OFF

Union Omaha Yellow Card: 90’ – Missael Rodriguez (Hard Challenge)

Union Omaha Sub: 90’+2’ – Luca Mastrantonio ON; Dion Acoff OFF
– Anderson Holt ON; Joe Gallardo OFF

Owls’ First Shot Of Jäeger Turns Into A Draw

Union Omaha’s first crack at the Jäegermeister Cup ended in a 2-2 draw against an always tough Northern Colorado Hailstorm squad. A quick strike by Bruno Rendòn had the hosts reeling, but an even quicker brace by Missael Rodriguez turned the game around right before halftime.  The seemingly inevitable Ethan Hoard equalized in the second half and ultimately sent the game into penalties. The heroics weren’t done for the Owls, however, as Wallis Lapsley stopped three Hailstorm penalties.  The PK win earned Union Omaha an extra point in the Cup standings sending them to the top of their group.

Coach Casciato used the Cup tie to start a little bit of rotation heading into a cramped two weeks which will see the Owls play 4 games in the space of 11 days.  Aside from the aforementioned Lapsley starting in goal, Anderson Holt and Brandon Knapp got their first starts of the season on the right side of the pitch.  Missael Rodriguez replaced Pedro Dolabella in midfield and Lagos Kunga continued his run of starts in the absence of Steevan Dos Santos.  Blake Malone also saw his return to the bench following a spell on the injury list.

Eamon Zayed put out a team almost completely unchanged from the side that rescued a late draw in Chattanooga 11 days prior with the only change being the debut of Haruki Yamazaki, the young collegiate standout midfielder that had signed with the team a mere 2 days before the match.

Despite the rotation, the Owls started the match on the front foot and looking dangerous in attack.  2’ into the match Joe Gallardo delivered a great corner that found Anderson Holt for a free header about six yards out Lalo Delgado’s net.  The Hailstorm keeper was quick to react and put it over the bar, showing why he’s one of the best in the league.

Just three minutes later, another corner would find Luca Mastrantonio, whose flick would just glance off the crossbar and out of play.  The pressure would continue, concentrating mostly up the left side, and Northern Colorado didn’t seem to be able to find an answer for most of it, leaving Delgado or inaccurate shooting to save them early.

That would change in the 17’ as the normally disciplined Búho backline would get caught by a well-timed run from Bruno Rendòn.  A chaotic sequence in midfield saw Luca Mastrantonio gain possession, but his off-balance pass was easily intercepted by Ethan Hoard.  With Rendòn called onside by the assistant referee, Hoard was able to put a pass in that beat Mastrantonio and a wrong-footed Marco Milanese to put the Hailstorm man in on goal. Rendòn managed to slip the ball past Lapsley on the 1-on-1 and into the far corner for the opening goal. Despite dominating the play for the first 15’, the Owls found themselves staring at a deficit.

The goal seemed to rattle Omaha just a bit, as Northern Colorado found themselves getting more and more into the match.  Hailstorm would find several decent opportunities, but the defense would find a way—sometimes just enough—to keep the ball off target.  The lack of breakthrough for either side led to some more physical play, a couple of hard fouls, and then both teams attempting to play the ball long in hopes of getting past a couple of defenses that had withdrawn some into themselves.  

Despite leading the match in possession, shots, and passes, it seemed that the Owls were destined to go into the half down a goal and needing to regroup.  That was when Missael Rodriguez announced himself to the game and the crowd in spectacular fashion.

Following a good defensive recovery in the final third, Joe Gallardo got a pass off to Aaròn Gòmez who started a counter up the right side.  Despite six Hailstorm defenders tracking back, Gòmez found Ryen Jiba on the left side and switched the ball to him in stride at the edge of the 18-yard box.  Jiba dribbled into the box and placed a pinpoint ball onto the right foot of Rodriguez who made no mistake from the 6-yard box.  Delgado had no chance to save a very well worked goal, and the Owls looked to be heading into halftime with a tie game.

But Rodriguez wasn’t done yet. About 90 seconds later, Lagos Kunga was able to pounce on a misplayed ball by Johnny Fenwick.  With the defense off balance, Rodriguez began another millisecond-perfect run and Kunga hit him in stride.  Alone with the keeper, Rodriguez found his initial shot saved by an on rushing Delgado.  The rebound, however, bounced very kindly and with two defenders now around him, the Chicago Fire loanee headed the ball into the empty net.  Despite adamant protests of offside, Hailstorm had squandered their lead and would go into the half down 2-1.

While you could argue that the halftime lead was deserved, the Owls knew they could very easily be down, and possibly by more than one goal.  The halftime period would need to be a chance to breathe, remember the compact defense and team play that had gotten them thus far, and to take control of the game from a Northern Colorado team that is never out when Zayed is on the sideline and Hoard is on the pitch.

Dom would make two changes at halftime, bringing on defender Will Perkins in place of Joe Gallardo—partially to have the extra help, but mostly to rest an important piece of our team ahead of league and Open Cup play.  At the same time, Zeiko Lewis would get his Omaha debut in place of Aarón Gómez.

Despite the changes, the first 15 minutes of the second half played out a lot like the end of the first half, but without the goals. Northern Colorado remained dangerous on the quick counter attack, while the Búhos dealt with it each time of asking.  The midfield was doing well in winning first and second balls, but despite continuing to out-possess the Hailstorm, there weren’t a lot of clear chances that threatened the defense.

As good as the defense was playing, a bad decision in the back would lead to Hailstorm’s equalizing goal.  While trying to control the ball and play out of the back against the Northern Colorado press, Brandon Knapp completely misplayed his pass back to Luca.  Mastrantonio raced for the loose ball, but the opportunistic Ethan Hoard was there to take the ball in stride at the edge of the area.  Hoard attempted to toe-poke the ball past Lapsley, but the keeper managed to get his body in front of it.  Unfortunately, in a very familiar looking sequence, the ball caromed off of Hoard and into the back of the net for an unlikely, but very real, equalizer.

Both teams would continue to attempt to press each other and try to get past the tight defenses.  By the later stages of the second half, the rain would intensify turning the pitch into a nightmare for traction.  While this generally opened up play, the Omaha defenders were always able to get back and force an errant shot, pass, or otherwise keep Hailstorm from fully flipping the lead.

Even when the lightning delay came in the 84’ minute, the players didn’t seem to lose too much of their enthusiasm to try to find all three points.  The teams continued running and pressing, finding more space in behind on the wings and in the midfield, but the best chance of the second half would go to Rodriguez off a free kick.

A good run by Adam Aoumaich between three defenders would end in a foul on the left side of the box, about 21-yards out.  On a hat trick, Rodriguez stepped up and put a great curling ball in to Delgado’s near post.  Though the keeper may have gotten to it, the ball was just off target into the side netting, and that would be the last real chance to secure the win for the Owls.

With the format of the Jäegermeister Cup awarding a second point in a drawn match to whomever wins a PK shootout, the teams lined up in front of the Berm end to secure a win.  Omaha was able to go first and immediately put pressure on the visitors when Zeiko Lewis fooled Delgado with a stutter-step kick for the first shot. Johnny Fenwick would then come up for Northern Colorado, but this only increased the pressure as the Hailstorm captain tried to fool Lapsley to the keeper’s left. Lapsley easily made the save, and the Owls were in great position to take the point.

In the next round, Marco Milanese would also beat Delgado, while Lapsley guessed correctly again, stopping Isidro Martinez by diving to his right.

The third round would see Northern Colorado claw back a little bit as Adam Aoumaich got under his kick and blasted it over the bar and the Parliament behind.  Noah Powder would step up and finally beat Lapsley, who guessed correctly but couldn’t get a glove to the well-placed shot.

Next, Mark Bronnik, whose PK saw Omaha past El Paso Locomotive in the Open Cup, calmly beat Delgado with a shot down the center.  Irvin Parra would keep the pace up by putting it past Lapsley, who again guessed correctly but couldn’t make contact.

With a chance to put the match away, Missael Rodriguez came up and beat Delgado to the middle, however, the shot was a little too high and clanged off the crossbar.  Northern Colorado had an opening that didn’t seem possible after the second spot kick.

But our keeper put the Wall in Wallis by shutting it down just as quickly.  His third PK save of the night bested Jake Keegan, who tried to power a shot into the low corner to Lapsley’s left.  The ball parried away and the celebrations began, if not slightly later than the 2,135 fans in attendance might have liked.

The Positives

I could talk about finally scoring a goal after almost 275’ of play in all competitions.  I could talk about being the first team to score two goals in the Jäegermeister Cup.  I could talk about Missael Rodriguez, beating a tough Northern Colorado side while in rotation, or even how green the pitch at Werner Park looked.  But the biggest positive I have is Wallis Lapsley.  The backup keeper took his shot at glory in getting the first start of the season for us.  He played remarkably well, made six saves, only let in two goals (which were not his fault), and made three huge saves in penalties.  As much as we love all-everything keeper Rashid Nuhu, he has struggled in PK shootouts before. Knowing that we have a backup that can not only answer the call, but can be outstanding when needed, is an amazing feeling for a club to have.  We are lucky to have Wallis on the team, especially now that his heroics might wash away any unpleasantness that may have been around from his time at Tucson. The man could probably start in a lot of places, but he’s here for us now.

The Negatives

The goal scoring drought is over, but finishing still needs a little work.  If you don’t count the three shots that Missael put on target, we had 4 shots on goal from 14 total shots.  We took 5 of those 14 from inside the box.  We’re getting in decent positions, even when we take shots from outside the box, but they are either getting blocked or are flying off target.  And as much as I hate to pick on him, Adam Aoumaich’s penalty kick is a prime example. He has done a great job when on the pitch getting in position, but his aim seems to be quite off.  That’s fine when being contested, but his first clear shot of goal was well over the target and the mark.  Call it nerves, youth, or what you want, but if the accuracy on these shots gets better, it’ll force the keepers in this league to work—often by pulling the ball out o their net.

Interesting Facts:

  • Until the third round of this shootout, Union Omaha had gone 7/7 on penalty kicks this year.
  • This was the first match this season that the Owls were beaten in touches and shots from inside the box (17-23 and 8-10).
  • Another oddity with the Jäegermeister Cup is that while goals, assists, saves, and points don’t transfer over to the league standings, discipline does.  Lucky Opara’s yellow card in the 79’ will count toward any card accumulation suspensions in the league.

Key Events:

Northern Colorado Goal: 17’ – Bruno Rendòn (A: Ethan Hoard)

Union Omaha Goal: 44’ – Missael Rodriguez (A: Ryen Jiba)

Union Omaha Goal: 45’+1 – Missael Rodriguez (Unassisted)

Union Omaha Sub: 46’ – Zeiko Lewis On; Aaròn Gòmez Off
  – Will Perkins On; Joe Gallardo Off

Northern Colorado Sub: 58’ – Noah Powder On; Patrick Langlois Off
          – Isidro Martinez On; Marky Hernandez Off
– Irvin Parra On; Danny Robles Off

Northern Colorado Goal: 62′ – Ethan Hoard (Unassisted)

Union Omaha Sub: 62’ – Mark Bronnik On; Lagos Kunga Off

Union Omaha Sub: 73’ – Blake Malone On; Nortei Nortey Off

Northern Colorado Yellow Card: – 79’ Lucky Opara (hard foul)

Union Omaha Sub: 79’ – Adam Aoumaich On; Ryen Jiba Off

Northern Colorado Sub: 83’ – Jake Keegan On; Haruki Yamazaki Off

Penalty Shootout:

Union Omaha – Zeiko Lewis – Scored (1-0)

Northern Colorado – Jonny Fenwick – Saved (1-0)

Union Omaha – Marco Milanese – Scored (2-0)

Northern Colorado – Isidro Martinez – Saved (2-0)

Union Omaha – Adam Aoumaich – Missed (2-0)

Northern Colorado – Noah Powder – Scored (2-1)

Union Omaha – Mark Bronnik – Scored (3-1)

Northern Colorado – Irvin Parra – Scored (3-2)

Union Omaha – Missael Rodriguez – Missed (3-2)

Northern Colorado – Jake Keegan – Saved (3-2)

Extra Time – Three Questions For Dominic Casciato

For those of you who read the recap of the Charlotte match this week, you’ll notice that I had some thoughts on the Owls’ recent lack of scoring. Through three matches in the league, we’ve scored three goals. Through three matches in the US Open Cup, we’ve scored seven—but all of those were against USL 2 competition (ok…one looked more like MLS PAST PRO, but still). There is a distinct lack of finishing against our USL 1/C competition. It seems, as a wise coach once said, the hardest part of soccer really is just putting the ball in the net.

Thankfully as hard as it has been for us, it’s been even harder for our opposition. Rashid Nuhu and the Búho Backline has allowed all of two goals this year in all competitions. In those six matches, he’s saved 19 of the 21 shots that the defense has actually allowed to get through on goal. The defense looks more like the 2021 team that conceded only 22 goals in 28 games en route to the Shield and League Championship.

Between the positive and not-so-positive, I decided to ask Coach Dominic Casciato three questions to help put this early season into some perspective as we head into a very full May schedule.

*Note: All responses were received via e-mail. Quoted portions are presented as received.

First, I had to ask the obvious question about the statuses of Steevan Dos Santos, Blake Malone, and PC Giro, who have all missed the last two matches. Much to my delight, and the relief of Búho Nation, Coach confirmed that all three should be back in training this week.  

This is good news, not only because of the goal involvements and ball control these three provide, but also because of the run of games we have coming up. Starting on May 1 with the Jäegermeister Cup tie against Northern Colorado, the Owls will see four games in 11 days. And if the Hailstorm don’t bother you (an Eamon Zayed coached team always should), or South Georgia Tormenta (don’t discount Bolt), there’s a little team called Sporting Kansas City followed three days later by a trip to a very good and well supported Spokane Velocity.  By the end of the month, Union Omaha will have played as many games in May than in the first two months of the season combined.

The depth of this team hasn’t truly been tested the way it will be this month, and we’ll need all hands available to make sure we can withstand it with our league and cup positions intact.

Second, I had to address the giant Grey-and-Volt Owl in the room: our finishing. We’ve gone 210’ without scoring a goal (230’ if you count the final 20 minutes vs. One Knox) and with Dos Santos not in the team. I asked Dom if he was concerned about the lack of finishing in the last two games. I followed up with asking if this was a sign of how much Dos Santos meant to his attacking plans.

In his own words: 

“Not concerned, no, because we’ve been creating high quality chances and getting into the right areas. If you look at how many touches we are getting in the opposition box, it’s more than anyone else – so we just need to make the most of those chances. Steevan is obviously a top player and very important for us, but we are confident that we will begin converting those chances with the quality of players we have available, with or without Steevan.”

While the stats don’t fully support us getting more touches in the opposition box than anyone else (20.7 per game vs. Spokane’s 26.8 per game), within our own games Dom is spot on. In all three league games, we’ve had the ball in the opponent’s area more than they’ve had it in ours—and usually significantly more. If you add in the El Paso Locomotive match, the ratio goes even higher (we outperformed them 41-15).  

That has translated to a 71-29 shots advantage over USL 1/C teams this year.  42 of those shots have come from inside the box. The boss is right–we’re getting in really good areas to have create chances.  The issue, as he alluded to, is making the most of those chances.  Only 15 of those 71 shots (21.1%) has made it on target.

Not that Steevan would make that any better. His goal against One Knox was his fourth shot of the season in USL 1, and the first on target. Still, his holdup play and physical presence allowed his teammates to get in great positions, notably as he notched two assists in the win against Central Valley Fuego. He’s as much an enabler as he is a scorer, winning second balls in dangerous positions and setting up the others when he’s not teeing off himself.

So Dom’s logic holds that as amazing as Dos Santos has been for us across all competitions, he’s only a part of the quality that the Owls can bring to bear in attack. In reality, we’re one or two amazing saves from the likes of Austin Pack from not even having this conversation. So obviously, the problem isn’t one player’s absence—it’s getting more accuracy in shooting and constantly putting opposing keepers under pressure. That should come as time, and a consistent run of matches, goes on.

Finally, I had to ask about the amazing form that our defense has seen so far. A .33 goals against average in all competitions isn’t solely on Shido, as great as he has been at times this year. Additionally, we’re racked up three consecutive clean sheets across those competitions. I had to solicit some praise from Dom for our back line and how they’ve been able to lock down opponents.

Of course, he started by crediting the whole of the team:

“Yes, the backline and Rashid have been outstanding. Defending is a team effort so I’d praise our forwards first for their ability to maintain pressure on the opposition and not let them advance into dangerous areas too often. Then obviously our backline has done a good job on limiting the opposition’s chances to very few per game once the initial pressure has been broken. Then finally, Shido has come up huge and made some incredible saves when the opposition have managed to find a way past our backline.”

You don’t need to look to the stats to see what he’s talking about.  From the first minute of a match, everyone up front is running and pressing in a controlled, deliberate manner.  Rotations and coverage have been well-timed and are probably the best reflection of team chemistry of the lot. Several times a match you can watch the forwards force mistakes from a team playing out of the back.

If the ball does get past the initial press, the midfield has been there to step up. Pedro Dolabella has had to step in and help anchor that group with leaders like Conor Doyle and JP Scearce moving on this year. With him, Nortei Nortey, and help on the wings from the likes of Dion Acoff and Ryen Jiba, opposing attacks have found an unforgiving midfield when attempting to play through.

If the ball has to go over the top, Marco Milanese, Luca Mastrantonio, and Mechack Jérôme have been in good position to cut out the passes and get the second ball back to our midfield. Acoff, Jiba, and Malone (when healthy) have done extremely well using their speed to get back when needed to cut off what would normally be easy breakaways, odd-man advantages, and weird bounces that happen to put attackers in the way.

As Coach said, this has been a total team defensive effort, and why you see such an advantage in passing, shots attempted (and on target), and touches inside the box. 10 players—comfortable with each other, the system, and their jobs—are working like a pretty well-oiled machine despite the early season schedule issues.

Then, of course, if you can get past all of that, you still have to beat two-time Golden Glove/Goalkeeper of the Year, and our Captain, Rashid Nuhu.

Good luck with that.

Independence Send Owls’ Perfect Start Up In Smoke With 0-0 Draw

For the second consecutive meeting at Werner Park, Union Omaha failed to find the back of the net against a resolute and well-organized Charlotte Independence team. Rashid Nuhu with his own stalwart back line also kept his third consecutive clean sheet (all competitions), but that seems little consolation in a game where the Owls dominated possession, shots, passing, and virtually every other category that normally marks a team winning a game comfortably.

Coach Dominic Casciato chose to go with the same starting XI that had started against El Paso earlier in the week, and once again Steevan Dos Santos, Blake Malone, and PC Giro were off the team sheet.  Despite the absences, the lineup looked solid against a Charlotte team that has not been nearly as good on defense this year. As expected, the chances would come, but the goals would not.

Adding to the frustration was a referee crew that seemed ready to call the game very closely.  Early calls would set the tone for the normally physical Búhos, specifically a 6th minute yellow card to Lagos Kunga for what apparently was called a tactical foul.  As Bachir Ndiaye dribbled the ball past Kunga and midfield, the Omaha forward reached out to impede the player’s progress, despite having four defenders behind to help.  Definitely a foul, but referee Atahan Yaya decided to set the tone early in an attempt to keep control of the game.  

A similar foul, in almost the same spot and similar circumstances, just 10 minutes later would see Dion Acoff carded for another pullback on Ndiaye.  This seemed to put Omaha on notice for the rest of the match.  Though they would ultimately be out fouled 21-13, the early bookings definitely had an impact on the Owls’ play style through the middle.

But the referees had no play into some early chances for both sides.  In the 14’, Charlotte had eyes on taking the lead as a good dribble in traffic from Tresor Mbuyu saw him get some room about 35-yards out from goal.  The hopeful shot had plenty of pace on it and would have forced Nuhu into a desperate save, had the ball not flown just wide of the keeper’s right post.  On the quickly taken goal kick following, Omaha won a second an third ball to get Aaron Gómez free on the left side.  He managed to cut it back to Joe Gallardo who unleashed from just outside the box.  The ball would curve just the wrong way and skitter past a diving Austin Pack, but also wide right of the post.

The first really dangerous chance of the match would happen for Charlotte against the run of play in the 11th minute.  Attempting to play out of the back, Luca Mastrantonio drove his pass directly into a leaping Juan Carlos Obregon, Jr.  The deflected pass would bounce up and help lead Obregon directly in on Nuhu.  Mastrantonio was able to recover and push his man out wide, but some fancy footwork got the ball on his right foot and around the defender.  Nuhu was up to the task, however, and averted the danger.

Soon, the injury bug would strike Charlotte and defender Fabrice Ngah.  In the 16th minute, having just made a great defensive recovery and stretch to put an Aaron Gómez cross off it’s mark, Ngah would find himself limping slightly away from the play.  As Acoff was getting his yellow card, Ngah managed to get to midfield, attempting to walk it off.  However, it was obvious that his hamstring area was giving him problems.  Ultimately, Ngah would be unable to continue, forcing Charlotte to bring on Anton Sorenson for the remainder of the match.

The rest of the first half would continue the theme of close, but not close enough.  Several times the Owls would be able to get behind Charlotte’s defense, but always something seemed to throw off the works.  If it wasn’t a heavy first touch, it’d be a hesitation that allowed a defender to recover, a well-blocked (or off target) shot, or a nice save from Pack.  Kunga won a second ball in space in the 30th minute, but his volley flew just over the bar.  4 minutes later, Gallardo put a shot on target from outside the box, which Pack was able to recover after an initial bobble off his chest.  Not 2 minutes later, Gallardo would be at it again, this time on a slightly deflected pass taken with his back to goal.  His pop up ball to a bicycle kick would’ve been a second contender for Omaha’s goal of the year, if it hadn’t flown just over a rooted Pack’s net. 

Bad luck wasn’t always the culprit for these missed opportunities.  Often promising attacks would derail before the final ball, with runners not ready to make the appropriate run or not reading the pass that the distributors had in mind.  Being a step slow when it was most needed would end up seeing Union Omaha on to halftime.

To start the second half, Coach Dom chose to bring on Adam Aoumaich in an attempt to spark the offense and take advantage of some of the youngster’s speed and skill in the area. Though a good idea, it didn’t provide the immediate kick that the Owls may have wanted, as it was more of the same following the break.  For the first 15 minutes of the half, threatening attacks went awry right as the danger started to overwhelm the Charlotte defense, either by inaccurate passing or shots just not being struck as well as needed. This time, however, the Charlotte attack had found a way to begin an effective counter, often cut out at the last minute by the center backs, or by the Jacks running into their own passing issues.

In the 60th minute, however, the attacking pressure would build up to the best chance of the day for Omaha.  Adam Aoumaich was able to find some space and curled what would’ve been a brilliant attempt had it not been for Rayan Djedje’s leaping header out for a corner.  Joe Gallardo would send that corner precisely to Mastrantonio, whose headed flick found a charging Pedro Dolabella at the back post.  Dolabella’s shot was heading in until a scrambling Austin Pack proved why he’s one of the best keepers in the league.  The Charlotte number 1 deflected the shot onto the post and out where his defense cleaned up the loose ball and ended the threat.

Shortly thereafter, another Omaha corner kick from Gallardo would be headed down by Dolabella into the path of Mechack Jérôme who likely had Pack beaten at the far post.  Yet another timely intervention, this time by Hugh Roberts, saw the shot go wide for another corner kick.  There wouldn’t be another threat, however, as this Gallardo delivery would be headed well into the Parliament’s Berm.

Continuing the pressure, Aoumaich would make his speed and skill known to Charlotte just 3 minutes later.  Dribbling his way down the left side, Aoumaich placed a soft pass to Dolabella waiting just outside the box.  A cheeky back heel to substitute Brandon Knapp enabled Aoumaich to continue his run and receive Knapp’s well timed pass with only Pack to beat.  The play went a little close to the keeper, however, and Aoumaich’s shot found nothing but Pack’s body and deflected out.

Charlotte wasn’t done threatening by any stretch though.  In the 69th minute, having withstood the Omaha attack for most of the second half, Charlotte was able to produce a corner with some good attacking of their own.  Luis Alvarez crossed in low and somehow missed all the defenders in it.  A quick touch by Nick Spielman found Obregon who fired at Nuhu point blank forcing the Captain into a nice reflex save that rebounded to Clay Dimick. He would fortunately get under his shot on the half volley and push it over the crossbar.

The game would pick up pace a bit at this point—frantic and chaotic with a fight for the midfield interspersed with some dangerous living by both teams.  Charlotte would start to edge a little bit onto the front foot until the 82nd minute, when the Owls would find their last best attempt at goal.

In transition, Jérôme would put a guided lob into the middle of the box from just inside midfield.  A leaping Brandon Knapp met the ball in perfect position to put it in on net.  Once again, however, Pack would rise to the challenge and make a diving recovery to the groans and lamentations of the onlooking supporters.

Playing the ball out quickly, Charlotte found their last best attack of the match as a drive up the left side and a pass found Kharlton Belmar at the top of the box.  Belmar quickly found Joel Johnson, completely unmarked and played on by an oddly deep Mastrantonio, at the penalty spot. Johnson turned and let go a powerful shot, but it was straight at Nuhu who made no mistake in the save.

The teams would trade a couple more chances, but the final 10 minutes of the match were really a lot of long balls and hopeful passes by Charlotte while Omaha reverted back to their possession based attack that just couldn’t find the way through in the end.  By the final whistle, the teams were only a point better than they’d started, with Charlotte surely feeling the better of two.

The Positive:

This wouldn’t be as long a recap of a 0-0 draw if there weren’t some positives to take away.  The first positive is that of the Owl back line and keeper play.  Mastrantonio, Milanese, and Jérôme did an exceptional job of shutting down most of the Charlotte attack.  Dion Acoff was able to use his speed to get back when needed, and Nuhu seems to have returned to his 2021-22 form when he won back-to-back Golden Glove and Goalkeeper of the Year awards.  In fact, this team is starting to remind me a lot of that 2021 team that could go through some dry spells, but still put together some defensive gems to make up for any power outages along the way.

The youngsters look really good, especially Adam Aoumaich.  Between his minutes playing El Paso in the US Open Cup, and against Charlotte, Adam is showing that he has the potential to be a scary force up front in this league.  He’s able to retain possession well, beat defenders off the dribble, and speed onto passes that others might not be able to reach.  His downside, currently, is hitting the target.  In his 105 minutes between those two games, he’s had 6 shots but only 2 on target (although he did bury his penalty against El Paso).  That shows he’s getting in good positions, but just needs to test the keepers a little more to really round out his abilities.

The Negative:

The Owls have now gone 230’ in all competitions without a goal, and almost longer if not for Steevan Dos Santos’ banger in the 70’ against One Knox.  218 of those minutes have been without Dos Santos on the pitch, and it’s starting to show.  His presence up top is missed not just for scoring goals, but being experienced and physical enough to open the doors for his teammates, or to be in the right place to put back their attempts.  In complete contrast to how he started last year, Dos Santos looked in top form from the start this year.  He was moving more quickly, winning more headers, and looking like the USL veteran that showed up to lead the late season charge to the Players’ Shield last year.  There’s a massive hole left with him out.

However, his presence is not the only reason the offense has struggled to score.  All measures say they’re doing great.  They dominated possession (65%-35%).  They almost doubled up Charlotte’s totals of shots inside the box (11-6), touches inside the box (21-12) and passes (476-252).  They had 17 shots to Charlotte’s 8, but still only managed a 1.04 xG.

Part of that is because of the 17 shots, only 6 were on target.  And yet, that’s an improvement within the league as their first two matches saw a total of 22 shots with 3 on target, and those were with Dos Santos on the pitch.  Whether it’s shot selection, solid opposition defending, or technique, the Owls are going to have to test the keepers in this league more (for comparison, they attempted 38 shots against their USL 2 USOC competition, with 22 on target for 7 goals. Against USL C’s El Paso, 32 shots with only 6 on target).

Overall, this draw is frustrating because Omaha looks like they can do better.  However, the season is young, the Owls are still undefeated, and have some room to train before the season picks up again on May 4. 

Interesting Facts: 

  • Not only have the Owls gone 230’ in all competitions without a goal, but they’ve gone 210’ without scoring against Charlotte.  The last goal was Steevan Dos Santos’ 90+5’ minute strike to complete his hat trick in a 4-1 destruction of Charlotte on October 4 last year.
  • This is the 4th draw between Union Omaha and Charlotte (including the playoffs), and the 4th time the match has ended 0-0.  This is the most 0-0 results with any opponent since Charlotte joined the league in 2022. Only Forward Madison (6) and Greenville Triumph (5) have drawn more matches against Union Omaha than Charlotte all-time.
  • Lagos Kunga’s 6’ yellow card was the earliest yellow card given to Union Omaha since Conor Doyle took one in the 1’ in a 2-1 win at Greenville Triumph on August 26, 2023

Next Up:

Union Omaha stays home to get some rest before a May 1 date with Northern Colorado Hailstorm in their inaugural match of the Jäegermeister Cup, followed by a home match with South Georgia Tormenta on May 4, and the small matter of a US Open Cup match at Caniglia Field against Sporting Kansas City on May 8.

Key Events: 

6’ – OMA Lagos Kunga – YC (Foul)
16’ – OMA Dion Acoff – YC (Foul)
18’ – CLT Sub – Anton Sorenson IN; Fabrice Ngah OUT (injury)
42’ – CLT Anton Sorenson – YC (Foul)
45’ – OMA Sub – Adam Aoumaich IN; Ryen Jiba OUT
66’ – OMA Sub – Brandon Knapp IN; Lagos Kunga OUT
66’ – CLT Subs – Noah Pilato, Kharlton Belmar IN; Rayan Djedje, Tresor Mbuyu OUT
78’ – OMA Sub – Missael Rodriguez IN; Pedro Dolabella OUT
82’ – CLT Sub – Omar Ciss IN; Luis Alvarez OUT
82’ – CLT Luis Alvarez – YC (Time Wasting)

USL League One Match Day 2 Preview: One Knoxville v. Union Omaha

If it doesn’t seem like only yesterday since Union Omaha impressed in a 2-1 win at Central Valley Fuego to open the 2024 season, that’s because it’s been far from it. With a wonky schedule, an unexpected sequel to “The Night the Lights Never Existed in Not-Quite Georgia” and two U.S. Open Cup victories against two amateur clubs (well, one and a half amateur clubs), Union Omaha will finally play a second USL League One game when they travel to One Knoxville this Friday.

Union Omaha will have nine days in between matches when this game kicks off, so they’ve had time to reset the lineup if manager Dominic Casciato chooses to. They had 13 days between their U.S. Open Cup matches, and with that time Casciato inserted defender Dion Acoff back into the starting XI. He also mixed with tactics some, letting the wings collect long balls deeper into the attacking zone while trusting them to hustle back and support the three center-back line that was introduced in the first round against Western Mass Pioneers. All in all, only 14 players on the roster have played in at least two matches so far this season, but 20 have played in at least one, so the regular XI for this team is nowhere near predictable yet.

Knoxville will have the same amount of rest as Omaha, they suffered a 3-2 defeat to Greenville Triumph at home in their last match during the second round of the U.S. Open Cup. This will be Knoxville’s fourth straight game at home, only their 2-1 victory at Charlotte Independence on March 16 in their season open was away from home. Knoxville showed similar looks in all three of their games, starting the same three backs in a similar look to what Omaha has played recently. Knoxville has yet to really favor one side over the other in their attacking, which has been frequent in part due to their high press. Knoxville took at least 20 shots in two of their first three league games, with Angelo Kelly-Rosales and Stuart Ritchie being their primary creators in the attack.

This will be part of a busier stretch for Omaha, and quite the opposite for Knoxville. Omaha will host El Paso Locomotive of USL Championship in the third round of the U.S. Open Cup the following Wednesday, before hosting Charlotte Independence next Saturday for their official home opener. Knoxville won’t play again until they go to Chattanooga (allegedly) for match day 1 of the USL Jägermeister Cup on April 27. With the game being streamed on the Goalazo Network, neither team will likely be lacking motivation.