On the back of three Union Omaha players getting their first goal of the season, and in front of the biggest home crowd of 2023, the Owls remained perfect as they finished off their three match home series with a 3-1 victory over One Knox.

𝗙𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗟 | 3-1

Another season-record crowd on hand for our 5⃣th straight dub at Werner Park.

Thanks to all 4,093 of you who helped us cap off a 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵 homestand! 👏@UndeniablyDairy @MidwestDairy | #OMAvKNX pic.twitter.com/VAIGCgRA9t

— Union Omaha (@Union_Omaha) August 6, 2023

Fans ignored the heat and humidity, turned out in droves, and brought the excitement to Werner Park as Union Omaha and One Knox lined up to finish their regular season series.  The two faced off in Weeks 15 and 19 of the 2023 USL League One Regular Season, with both matches featuring their fair share of drama and tonight’s match was no different.

One Knox had the opening kickoff and wasted little time in testing Union Omaha goalkeeper Rashid Nuhu.  In the fourth minute of play, One Knox midfielder Ilija Ilić fed a through-ball to forward Jake Keegan as he looked to split Union Omaha’s defense.  With the ball at his feet and defenders on his heels, Keegan was suddenly in a one-versus-one with Nuhu.  Keegan tried to thread the ball low, but Nuhu played it right and made the clearance look easy.  Believe it or not, that was the only save Nuhu had to make for the entire match.  The Golden Glove leader and One Knox goalkeeper Sean Lewis was not as fortunate.

Union Omaha broke the deadlock in the 26th minute and it was a culmination of many Owls touching the ball before it crossed the goal line.  From the time defender Dion Acoff put himself between a One Knox player and the ball and Joe Brito scoring the goal, a total of eight Union Omaha players found themselves involved in the development of the goal with touches along the way.  The execution of the goal followed 8 passes, with only Nuhu and team captain JP Scearce taking more than two touches on the ball, and the entire play took 31 seconds.  As the ball found its way into the box, Brito was there to clean up the loose ball and give his side the early lead.  The goal was his first of the season and Pedro Dolabella’s third assist.  With a goal in hand, the Owls carried the lead into halftime feeling confident, but yearning for more.

The halftime stats were fairly even between the two clubs, but the one of the biggest notes that was conveniently left off the halftime stat sheets was unfinished chances.  Union Omaha had two big chances, scoring one, tallied on the halftime stat sheets, but the Owls had several other opportunities for an easy tap-in on the far post.  The home side did a good job of routinely forcing the ball into the penalty area and creating a path along the mouth of the goal, but couldn’t connect to a body on the far post for the goal-scoring opportunity.  The second half was far different and so was the scoreboard.

Just as One Knox was trying to recover from the deficit, the visitors were dealt another blow in the 46th minute when midfielder Angelo Kelly was issued a second yellow card, resulting in a red card.  Now One Knox had to make even more adjustments, all while finishing the match without a vital player roaming the midfield.  This seems like an appropriate time to mention that One Knox entered the match down four defenders for various reasons: suspension, injury, and illness.  While nothing seemed to be going in favor of One Knox, the opposite rang true for Union Omaha.

Second-half substitute and Union Omaha midfielder Joe Gallardo received a great over-the-top pass from Luis Gil and Gallardo suddenly found himself working along the flank without a defender.  After settling the ball, Gallardo sent a picture-perfect cross to the head of Conor Doyle, who was able to get his head on it and double Union Omaha’s lead.  The goal was Doyle’s first of the season and Gallardo’s third assist, two of which have come in the last three matches.

59’ – 𝗢𝗪𝗟𝗦 𝗚𝗢𝗔𝗟! | 2-0

Some excellent build-up play as @Jgallardo98_7 feeds @ConorDoyle14, who taps in our second of the night!#OMAvKNX | @BellevueU pic.twitter.com/cYuK8HHD9J

— Union Omaha (@Union_Omaha) August 6, 2023

Another second half substitute made a big impact in the very late stages of the match.  Midfielder Chavany Willis was subbed on in the 88th minute and scored Union Omaha’s 3rd goal less than 10 minutes later.  As One Knox was still establishing possession, Willis pressed high and forced a turnover, to which Scearce rewarded Willis with the ball immediately afterwards.  Willis, who is always eager to shoot from a distance, took one touch to turn towards goal and unleashed an absolute banger to twist the already-present dagger in the hearts of One Knox fans.  The Jamaican bathed in the cheers of Union Omaha fans for an extra moment, as the goal was his first of the season, too.

90’ + 7 – 𝗢𝗪𝗟𝗦 𝗚𝗢𝗔𝗟! | 3-0

He only scores bangers!@ChavanyW scores a long-distance ripper for his first of the year to seal the W 🙌#OMAvKNX | @BellevueU pic.twitter.com/o9afPqgU22

— Union Omaha (@Union_Omaha) August 6, 2023

One Knox would erase the clean sheet two minutes later with a goal of their own, but the Union Omaha victory was already in hand.

The win gave the Owls another trio of points, which lifted them to third place in the league standings.  Next week, Union Omaha travels to Windsor, Colorado to face off against Northern Colorado Hailstorm for the last match in that series.  The next home match for Union Omaha will be on Saturday, August 19th, when Chattanooga Red Wolves come to Werner Park for Hispanic Heritage Night.

Random Facts

• Union Omaha just did what only two other USL League One clubs have been able to do this season: win each match of a three-game homestand.
• Union Omaha has now played a total of 540 straight minutes at home without trailing.
• The Owls have scored 3 or more goals in 6 different matches, something never accomplished in club history.  The closest was the 2021 team, who did it in 5 different matches.
• This year’s squad is averaging 1.57 goals per match, which is the same average as the 2021 squad at the end of their regular season.
• In Union Omaha’s 11 home matches so far this season, the team has experienced a monumental shift in their defensive performance.  In the first 5 matches, in which the team only had 1 win, they gave up 10 goals.  In the last 6 home matches, in which the team has won 5 and drawn once, the team has only conceded 5 goals.
• Union Omaha continues to be undefeated when scoring first.  The Owls are also undefeated when scoring two or more goals.

Postmatch Interviews

Head Coach Dominic Casciato
General thoughts on the evening:
“Yeah, satisfied. A little tired, obviously. It’s been a bit of a heavy week for us, but really pleased for the guys. We spoke about taking maximum points from this homestand and being able to do that now is fantastic. I’m just really proud of the guys and the effort they put in.”

On the secret to Union Omaha’s recent success at home:
“We have a great fanbase and I think that fanbase makes it difficult for teams to come here. I think the guys really relish playing in front of the crowd that we have and tonight’s biggest home crowd of the season, it’s just great. It’s great to play in front of our fans. We love our fans and long may that continue. Hopefully we get more and more at each home game.”

On first goals from Joe Brito, Conor Doyle, and Chavany Willis:
“Yeah, we’ve spoken about how everybody is responsible for the team’s success. Everybody has to step up at different moments in the season, in a game, in a difficult period that you’re going through. So with Joe Brito, we’ve spoken to him about adding goals to his game and it’s great for him to get his first one of the season. Conor, he’s got plenty of assists. His set piece delivery has been outstanding. His recent form has been excellent. I think that run towards the front post tonight was excellent, as well. So, super pleased for him to get his first goal and then super pleased for Chavany.  He’s somebody that opportunities have been a little bit limited for him, but he came on tonight. His attitude was good and obviously a great strike from outside the box. We all know he can do that. He’s got great quality and hopefully we see more of that this season.”

On limiting One Knox’s offense:
“Yeah, look, we do a lot of work.  We watch a lot of games going into it. Us as a staff: Ladulé, Kevin, Beto, myself, we do a lot of homework on the individual players, on them as a unit, as well. We knew they could move between two shapes: between a 4-4-2 of a diamond and a free box free. So we had prepared for that. I think outside of Jake Keegan’s chance early when he got in behind us, and there was another one in the second half, he didn’t have a ton of opportunities, which we were pleased with.  Disappointed with a goal we conceded at the end of the game, but I think it’s about us doing our homework as a staff and then the players being able to take in that information and execute it like good pros as they are.”

On his secrets to successful second half substitutions:
“I don’t know if there is a secret. I think we have good players, so I think it’s down to the players that come on with the right attitude. Sometimes guys can be sour coming off the bench, right? They want to be starting games, and I get it.  Everybody wants to start, but as I said earlier, different moments in the season, different moments in games, are going to call for different things from different people, so if everybody has the attitude that they’re responsible for the team’s success when they come off the bench, then we’re just going to get stronger and stronger as the game goes on. I think that was the case tonight. Obviously, them going down to ten changed the pattern of the game a little bit, but I thought we managed it and we managed our emotions and it’s looking like a really good three-nil win. So, disappointed with that last goal, but I don’t want to be too harsh on the guys. I thought they executed our game plan tonight really well and the mentality was excellent. We spoke about being ruthless in both boxes and I thought for the most part we did that.”

On Noe Meza’s status:
“Yeah, so he’s had some series of cramps. He came off with a cramp on Wednesday night, so he’ll be back in soon.”

On next week’s match at Northern Colorado Hailstorm:
“Yeah, we’re looking forward to it. Obviously they’re top right now, but I think if you look at the two games we’ve played against them: the first game, obviously they had a man sent off early, but we were definitely the better team.  I think the second time we played them, when we went to their place, I think we were much better. I think we were a better team, but they got one goal off a deflection and the second one was a little bit of a breakdown on our part and we just couldn’t really create any clear opportunity. So, hopefully when we go there this weekend, we’ll be a little bit more clinical in the final third and be able to come away with a win.”

Team captain JP Scearce (1 assist)

General thoughts on the evening:
“Yeah, it felt amazing to close out the week with nine points and obviously it was a very important win. Keep climbing the table and yeah, a little bit disappointed at the end to let off that goal and not get the clean sheet, but got to focus on the positives and happy to win.”

On seeing Joe Brito, Conor Doyle, and Chavany Willis score their first goals of the season:
“Yeah, when Chavany scored, I was thinking about it, like how it’s three guys who get their first goal of the season and I mean, that’s the type of depth we have, where we have a lot of players who could score and they got important goals for us tonight.”

On playing in front of this season’s biggest home crowd:
“Yeah, it felt amazing, as always. We have probably the best support in the whole league and, like I said last game, they’re the twelfth man out there. They give us the energy to keep going, especially late in the game, so it felt amazing.”

On limiting One Knox’s offense:
“Yeah, I think we were sort of letting them have the ball a bit. I think they didn’t really have many ideas going forward and they were going direct and we were just being patient and waiting for a moment to press, so I don’t think the possession stat is too important. As long as we just get the win, I think.”

On next week’s match against Northern Colorado Hailstorm:
“Yeah, we’re excited to go out there again and try to get a result. They’re one of the best teams in the league right now, so we beat them once and I think we have the capability to get a result again, especially with this hot streak we got going.”

Joe Brito (1 goal)

General thoughts on the evening:
“Feels amazing.  You know, we wanted to cap off a great week with a win to get all nine points this week and that was one of our goals coming to this week and that’s what we did. So, we’re all really excited and moving up the table. So, we’re all ready to go for the rest of the season.”

On having success on home turf:
“Yeah, it’s really nice to have a home field advantage. It’s a big thing, especially if we can secure home field for the playoffs. So, that’s something we want to take with us for the rest of the season and hopefully into the playoffs.”

On playing in front of the record-setting crowd:
“Yeah, it’s amazing. It’s always amazing to come in front of this crowd and they just keep showing up for us and we’re always setting records: with the crowd on Wednesday and then the crowd today, so they’re always doing great to support us and it helps push us across the finish line.”

On scoring a goal tonight:
“Yeah, it felt amazing.  Last time we played them, I think I should have scored, so I really had that in my mind that I wanted to get one today and I was able to do that. Hopefully the floodgates are open now.”

On next week’s match against Northern Colorado Hailstorm:
“I know they’ve had a good season.  Last time we played them, they beat us and the time before that, we beat them. So,we’d like to win this series this season and it’s a big win because they’re top of the table, so that’s where we want to be.”

Match Summary

Attendance: 4,095

Availability Report:
OMA: DF #3 Stefan Mueller (Out – Injury)
ONE: DF #13 Dani Fernandez (Out – Suspended)
ONE: DF #16 James Thomas (Out – Injury)
ONE: DF #40 Sean O’Hearn (Out – Injury)
ONE: DF #3 Kyle McDowell (Out – Illness)

Goal Summary: 
26’: OMA – #8 Joe Brito (assisted by #9 Pedro Dolabella)
59’: ONE – #22 Conor Doyle (assisted by #11 Joe Gallardo)
90’+7: OMA – #6 Chavany Willis (assisted by #17 JP Scearce)
90’+9: ONE – #12 Callum Johnson

Substitution Summary: 
45’: OMA – #11 Joe Gallardo replaces #9 Pedro Dolabella
56’: ONE – #11 Frank Ross replaces #10 Ilija Ilić
56’: ONE – #30 Jan-Erik Leinhos replaces #6 Yesin van der Pluijm
60’: OMA – #28 Shaft Brewer Jr. replaces #26 Dion Acoff
63’: OMA – #13 Anderson Holt replaces #5 Marco Milanese
66’: OMA – #44 Alex Steinwascher replaces #10 Steevan Dos Santos
66’: ONE – #91 Gio Calixtro replaces #55 Gabriel Claudio
80’: ONE – #21 Matthew Vowinkel replaces #7 Jake Keegan
81’: ONE – #23 Sam Fletcher replaces #14 Jimmie Villalobos
81’: ONE – #12 Callum Johnson replaces #9 Rodolfo Castro
88’: OMA – #6 Chavany Willis replaces #8 Joe Brito

Discipline Summary: 
37’: OMA – #9 Pedro Dolabella (Yellow card)
38’: OMA – #5 Marco Milanese (Yellow card)
44’: ONE – #8 Angelo Kelly (Yellow card)
45’+1: ONE – #4 Jordan Skelton (Yellow card)
46’: ONE – #8 Angelo Kelly (2nd Yellow – Red card)
85’: ONE – #23 Sam Fletcher (Yellow card)
90’+6: ONE – #21 Matthew Vowinkel (Yellow card)

Let the good times roll, Búhos Nation!  Union Omaha rode the support of the record-setting midweek home crowd on their way to a 2-0 victory over Lexington Sporting Club.

Fans had plenty of reasons to enter Werner Park on Wednesday night: Women in Sports Appreciation Night, $2 tickets on the berm, $2 concessions, and $2 beer.  The club announced the promotional night and the fans responded in turn.  Even before the opening whistle, it was evident that this was going to be a special night.  Not only were the seatbacks and berm filling during warmups, but the energy within the stadium was building up steadily toward kickoff.

Lexington opened the match with the kickoff and showed little patience with their opening possession, booting the ball deep to the corner.  Mirroring what the Owls experienced against in Week 19, the visitors seemed to show zero patience in their attack.  Lexington opted for stretch passes and direct play two weeks ago and Lexington Head Coach Sam Stockley had similar plans for tonight’s match.  As the match wore on, Lexington seemed to settle into shorter passes and combination play, but Union Omaha didn’t show any patience in reading their full game plan and acted quickly to strike first.

In the 24th minute, the Owls were awarded a corner kick and midfielder Conor Doyle stood over the ball, ready to deliver one of three corner kicks in the first half.  Union Omaha fans have become accustomed to seeing Doyle deliver picture-perfect corners to JP Scearce, but tonight that same quality of service would combine with forward Steevan Dos Santos.  Using every inch of his 6’4” frame, Dos Santos rose up among the crowd and directed the ball into the back of the net for the early lead.  For the second straight match, Dos Santos was able to tally one for the Owls.  Dos Santos now has five goals this season and Doyle earned his fourth assist.  Union Omaha took that lead into halftime, but they had no intentions of holding back.

24' – 𝗢𝗪𝗟𝗦 𝗚𝗢𝗔𝗟! | 1-0

Our big man is at it AGAIN! 😱

It’s a fourth goal in six matches for @SantosSteevan to start the scoring off tonight at home!
#OMAvLEX | @CarsonWealth pic.twitter.com/6YPzkAQany

— Union Omaha (@Union_Omaha) August 3, 2023

During the first half, Union Omaha held a slight edge on the possession battle with 55%, but clearly outbattled Lexington in many other areas.  The Owls had seven total shots, with Lexington’s only shot in the first half coming in the 41st minute.  The home side also executed 80% passing accuracy, almost doubled the amount of passes in the opponent’s half, and also doubled Lexington on accurate long balls.  With 45 minutes left to play, fans were eager to see the Owls add an insurance policy and close out the match.

Less than ten minutes inside the second half, Union Omaha was awarded a set piece in a dangerous position.  Defender Marco Milanese stood over the ball and delivered a great service into the box, where team captain JP Scearce cooly finished the play with a header.  Set pieces have become such an integral piece of Union Omaha’s success this season and JP Scearce added another chapter to that tale.  Play would continue back and forth, but the final score ended at 2-0 in favor of Union Omaha.

52’ – 𝗢𝗪𝗟𝗦 𝗚𝗢𝗔𝗟! | 2-0

Scoresheet looking reaaaal similar to Saturday so far… 👀

It’s @jpscearce97 ghosting to the back post on a set piece to double our advantage!
#OMAvLEX | @CarsonWealth pic.twitter.com/hsRqyA0D7o

— Union Omaha (@Union_Omaha) August 3, 2023

The win vaulted the Owls into fourth place in the league standings, somewhere the club hasn’t been since May 5th.  Next up for Union Omaha is a home match against One Knox.  The two sides will go head-to-head at Werner Park on Saturday, August 5th at 7PM CT.  If you aren’t able to attend the match live, ESPN+ will broadcast the match as usual.  The promotional night for August 5th is Education Outreach, presented by Bellevue University.

Random Facts

• The home victory extends Union Omaha’s undefeated streak to 5 matches, including 4 straight wins.
• According to Union Omaha owner Gary Green, Rashid Nuhu tied a USL record with 31 clean sheets.
• The victory prevented Lexington from becoming the first USL League One expansion side to defeat Union Omaha twice in their inaugural season.
• This was the 14th match in which Union Omaha never trailed for a single minute of the match.
• Tonight’s attendance of 3,524 was the highest-ever home crowd for a midweek match.  The previous record was from 07/16/2021, when Union Omaha played Forward Madison in front of 3,304.  The previous record for a Wednesday night was on 10/06/2021, when Union Omaha played Fort Lauderdale in front of 3,126.

Postmatch Quotes

Head Coach Dominic Casciato

Thoughts on the evening:
“It’s a big one for us.  I think if you look at last week’s game, when we went there, we start the game with the wrong mentality and let ourselves down.  We didn’t really show who we are, how good we are, how good our individual players are, and how good we are collectively.  Tonight, I think we showed glimpses of that.  I think there’s still more to come from this group, but good to get three points on the board and great to have such fantastic support on a midweek game like that.”

On playing in front of the record midweek crowd:
“Amazing.  They definitely give the guys an extra 5-10%, so hopefully they keep coming and we look forward to another big crowd on Saturday when we play against One Knox.”

On players recovering from the tough battles:
“I hope everybody’s okay and hopefully we have everybody available for the game, so fingers crossed.  I have to go and check out the dressing room now, but hopefully no one’s too bad.”

Stefan Mueller updates:
“Stef is going down for a consultation to Kansas City.  Hopefully, within the next 4-6 weeks, he’ll be back with us once that’s taken care of.  We’re getting closer to having him back.  He’s a big player for us and obviously we haven’t had him since the beginning of the season, so fingers crossed he’s back sooner rather than later.”

On what’s caused the recent turnaround and successes:
“It’s not like we’ve lost a ton of home games.  I think, as a team, we’ve kind of figured out ways to win.  Away from home, as well.  I think earlier in the season, the identity was super, super clear, but we just were switching off in key moments.  Hopefully we’ve turned a corner and we’re not switching off in those key moments because a game like tonight, I think if you go back 8-10 games, we would’ve conceded in tonight’s game.  The last ten minutes would’ve become edge-of-your-seat stuff because you’re trying to hold onto a lead.  Who knows what can happen when the game gets into that stage and the other team is throwing numbers forward.  I think the guys are good pros.  The guys have figured it out.  We’ve spoken to the guys about some different ways of managing leads and holding on.  Credit to the guys for being receptive to that.  We’ve got good pros in that locker room who can rally the troops and pull everybody together when it’s needed.  So yeah, we have to thank the guys and we have good pros.  That’s what it comes down to, as well.”

On Saturday’s match against One Knox:
“Yeah, obviously they won last week against Fuego in the last minute.  It looks like they’ve maybe brought in one or two players, as well.  It’s going to be interesting to see what they’re going to be about on Saturday.  We generally know what to expect from them, in terms of whether they play a diamond or they play a back three.  We know them pretty well.  They play a good style, but so do we.  I think we’ve been more than a match for them in both games we’ve played so far this season.  I think if you look at that home game, we’re really unfortunate to concede a late penalty out of nowhere.  I think we were pretty much in control of 90% of the game.  We’re looking forward to the game and looking forward to another big crowd and hopefully another win.”

JP Scearce (team captain and goal scorer)

Thoughts on the evening:
“The win is the most important part.  Like I said after the last game, we were really looking forward to this game and we needed a response from the last time we played them, so three points is the most important part about tonight.”

On the secret to winning the battle for the midfield:
“I think they were playing pretty direct.  [Head coach] Dom was saying that the second balls were very important, so Conor, Pedro, and I had to dig up the second balls.  We had to do whatever it took to win those, so I guess that’s why I was on the ground so much.”

On scoring in his second straight match:
“Yeah, it always feels good to score.  Felt good to get that cross from Marco [Milanese] and to be on the end of it.  Felt good to get another one in the bag, I guess.”

On playing in front of the record midweek crowd:
“It felt good.  I mean, the crowd always brings great energy and it’s the 12th man.  They always give us good energy and motivate us to perform, so it felt great, as always.”

On what changed within the club that led to the recent successes:
“At the end of the day, I think we all came together and said we have to stop dropping points and stop dropping games.  We all have to do better and that’s what we’ve been doing lately, especially at home.  I know we love playing at home and we love playing on our field.  I think we have a big advantage because not a lot of opponents are used to playing on our field.  We just have to keep winning and hopefully do that again on Saturday.”

On Saturday’s match against One Knox:
“We’re excited.  We’re looking forward to that game, as well.  Last time they were here, they took three points away from us, so we’re looking forward to that one.  Hopefully we come back with a result again.”

Steevan Dos Santos (goal scorer)

Thoughts on the evening:
“It’s always good for the team when we win and of course I’m happy that I could help the team win the game.  Our focus was on three points.

On scoring in his second straight match:
“It’s like I said, it’s always good when you score because you help the team.  As a striker, you have to score more often than not.  I’m happy that I scored the last two games and I’m more happy that we won the last two games.”

On playing in front of the record midweek crowd:
“It’s good when we have our fans here and they go the whole 90 minutes.  It’s a good boost for us to keep fighting and to keep going.”

On the tough challenges he faced throughout the match:
“It’s part of the game.  I think, because I’m strong, they go harder on me and sometimes I don’t get the calls because they say, “Oh, you are six foot, whatever.”  At the end of the day, if it’s a foul on a big guy or a small guy, it doesn’t matter.  A foul is a foul.  I’m happy to do it for the team and at the end of the game, if we got the three points, it’s worth it.”

On what changed within the club that led to the recent successes:
“It’s like coach said, ‘One day our luck is going to turn.’  Some matches we didn’t win at the last second and it kind of frustrated us, but we knew at some point our luck would turn.  You have to fight for your luck and we are happy that now we are better than before.”

On Saturday’s match against One Knox:
“They are a difficult team.  We beat them on the road at the last second and we know how difficult they are.  We just have to be focused on us because they are another team fighting for the playoff spot.  I think we have to focus on us and do what we’ve been doing here at home.”

Rashid Nuhu (clean sheet)

Thoughts on the evening:
“It feels good.  We just have to keep it game after game.  I know this felt like a comeback against them because when we went over there, they beat us and we felt pretty bad about ourselves, so this game was kind of like a revenge game.  To go out there and beat them and keep a clean sheet, that was what we wanted.  That’s what we wanted to do to them and we did that and it feels great.”

On earning a clean sheet:
“It feels good for me.  More importantly, it’s just the team winning because if you win and you get your team happy, they’re willing to do whatever it is for you.  It’s all about a collective group.”

On winning his aerial battles within his own box:
“It’s just staying focused because I know I’m not the biggest goalie out there, so I know teams will put pressure on me so I just have to stay focused and do my best.  I did that today, so it feels good.”

On playing in front of the record midweek crowd:
“It feels amazing.  They were the ‘plus one’ for us tonight because we needed every bit of support.  It felt great and I hope we can get more than that on Saturday.”

On Saturday’s match against One Knox:
“Every game is going to be tough.  It’s not going to be easy.  No one’s going to come here and run around and let you bet them, so we have to be on our game.  We’re just trying to rest up and recover and be ready for them.”

Match Summary

Attendance: 3,524

Injury Report:
OMA: DF #3 Stefan Mueller (Out, Injury)
LEX: None

Goal Summary: 
24’: OMA – #10 Steevan Dos Santos (assisted by #22 Conor Doyle)
52’: OMA – #17 JP Scearce (assisted by #5 Marco Milanese)

Substitution Summary: 
70’: LEX – #77 Nico Brown replaces #11 Seo-in “Soso” Kim
70’: LEX – #8 Charlie Machell replaces #22 Phila Dlamini
71’: OMA – #7 Noe Meza replaces #9 Pedro Dolabella
71’: OMA – #20 Luis Gil replaces #11 Joe Gallardo
75’: LEX – #3 Owen Green replaces #26 Cesar Murillo Jr.
75’: LEX – #25 Pierre Mané replaces #10 Don Smart
83’: OMA – #26 Dion Acoff replaces #8 Joe Brito
83’: OMA – #44 Alex Steinwascher replaces #7 Noe Meza
83’: LEX – #18 Drew Patterson replaces #14 Khalid Balogun
87’: OMA – #6 Chavany Willis replaces #10 Steevan Dos Santos

Discipline Summary: 
8’: LEX – #17 Erick Ceja-Gonzalez (Yellow card)
36’: LEX – #32 Ates Diouf (Yellow card)
38’: OMA – #8 Joe Brito (Yellow card)
45’: LEX – #10 Don Smart (Yellow card)
73’: OMA – #17 JP Scearce (Yellow card)
90’+4: LEX – #2 Tate Robertson (Yellow card)

It looked as though the Owls were well on their way to yet another draw, but with mere seconds left in stoppage time, Union Omaha defender Dion Acoff scored a goal to gain the lead and ultimately secure victory on the road against One Knox.

The beginning of the match seemed to carry a tone of caution, with both clubs moving the ball carefully and testing out the opponent’s movements.  Whether it was the level of opposition or the fact that temperatures were in the mid-80s with a humidity level close to 70%, the evening proceeded with slow deliberations at first.  Once Union Omaha midfielder Joe Brito took his shot in the eighth minute, it would only take a few minutes before the scoreboard operator sprung into action.

In the tenth minute, after a Union Omaha foul gifted a set piece to One Knox in a dangerous position, the hosts would take the early lead.  The Owls were able to clear the initial threat from One Knox’s Callum Johnson, but Sean O’Hearn was able to force the ball back into the penalty area, where Dani Fernández was able to put it away for the early lead.  The home side’s celebrations were short lived, as Union Omaha would soon score the equalizer.

.@dani21fdez cleans up the rebound to put @OneKnoxSC ahead 🧹

Fernández just bagged his first pro goal on this ricochet score!#KNXvOMA // #TOOK pic.twitter.com/wMc0VPKzo4

— USL League One (@USLLeagueOne) July 18, 2023

Just five minutes later, the Owls were also gifted a direct kick inside the attacking third.  Peter Swinkels, One Knox goalkeeper filling in for an injured Sean Lewis, had every right to believe that Union Omaha’s Noe Meza would take the free kick.  Little did he know the threat possessed in the foot of the other man lined up for the shot – defender Junior Palacios.  As both men stepped up to take the kick, Palacios followed through with his attempt and what resulted was an absolute rocket hurtling directly at Swinkels.  The goalkeeper had little to no time to react before the ball was already creating shockwaves in the net directly behind him.  The teams would finish the first half on equal terms, but the second half still had plenty of drama left to unravel.

15' – 𝗢𝗪𝗟𝗦 𝗚𝗢𝗔𝗟! | 1-1

BÚFALO BOMB! 🐃💣

Someone might want to check to see if the @USLLeagueOne logo is still on that ball – @juniorpala18 booted the free kick hard enough to level the score!#OneMeansAll | #KNXvOMA pic.twitter.com/ZybNoksAXp

— Union Omaha (@Union_Omaha) July 19, 2023

The first half stats were fairly even in some respects.  The two sides split possession down the middle, both had an overall passing accuracy of 70%, and even the foul count was split evenly, with both clubs conceding eight.  The biggest difference in the first half was One Knox’s offensive production.  The home side had a total of seven shots in the first half, with four being on target.  Five of the seven shots were inside Union Omaha’s penalty area.  Meanwhile, Union Omaha had only collected three total shots, with one being on target.  As Union Omaha fans have come to expect, Head Coach Dominic Casciato and his technical staff were able to make some adjustments at the break and the second half would tell a completely different story.

While the first half had Union Omaha playing more defensively, the second half turned out to be a true battle in the middle third of the field.  Union Omaha’s central defensive midfielders, Conor Doyle and team captain JP Scearce, shone as they thwarted oncoming traffic and quickly turned attacks the other direction.  Doyle was perfect on night with his duels, going 9/9 when combining his ground and aerial duels.  Scearce won 14 duels, while also winning 7 of his 10 aerial duels.  Despite facing the huge responsibility of minding the middle of the field, the duo combined to only give up three fouls in the entire match.  As the second half progressed, it wasn’t without its contraversies, though.

The first point of contention came in the 76th minute, when midfielder Joe Brito received a pass as he was entering One Knox’s penalty area.  As he took more strides inside the box, it looked as though there was a legitimate case for a penalty, as Brito looked to be shoved to the ground from a One Knox defender.  Despite Brito’s pleas for a penalty, the play resulted in a goal kick for the home side.

Another point of contention took place in the 82nd minute, when Union Omaha defender Luca Mastrantonio went in late for a sliding challenge against Jimmie Villalobos, sending the home side’s midfielder into a series of rolls.  Without hesitation, the center ref reached for his back pocket and issued the red card.  This was the third straight match, featuring Union Omaha, where one of the sides was awarded a red card.  In this instance, it was Union Omaha’s third red card in three matches and fourth of the season.  For the eight remaining minutes, plus stoppage time, Union Omaha would be forced to play a man down.

After 90 minutes, the two sides were awarded 4 minutes of stoppage time and all signs seemed to point to yet another draw for Union Omaha fans.  In the last minute of stoppage time, with seconds to spare before the final whistle, defender Dion Acoff received a pass from Luis Gil and dribbled into One Knox’s penalty area.  It was like straight out of a Hollywood production: the thumping heartbeat, the time slowing down, and Acoff winding up the final shot of the match.  The ball traveled across the goal area and tucked itself into the far netting, resulting in pure jubilation from the visitors.  Even goalkeeper Ian McGrane trekked across the entire length of the field to take part in the celebrations.  Soon after the ensuing kickoff, the clouds opened up, the rain began to pour and the center ref blew the final whistle.

90' + 4' – 𝗢𝗪𝗟𝗦 𝗚𝗢𝗔𝗟! | 1-2

A BUZZER-BEATER IN THE RAINNNN! 💥

Tidy interplay from @ChavanyW to @Luisitogil_10 to Acoff, who puts it away with AUTHORITY to give us the W! 🤩
#OneMeansAll | #KNXvOMA pic.twitter.com/ufYUVLWi8l

— Union Omaha (@Union_Omaha) July 19, 2023

The win gives Union Omaha a valuable three points and lifts them above Richmond Kickers to assume sixth place in the updated league standings.  The Owls stay on the road as they travel to Lexington, Kentucky to face off against Lexington Sporting Club for the first time ever.  Kickoff is scheduled for Saturday at 6 PM CT and will be broadcast on ESPN+.

Keep up-to-date with the latest Union Omaha news by subscribing to Who Gives A Hoot Media.  We’ll give you plenty of articles, such as player backgrounds, data dumps, match previews, fan environment articles, match recaps, and plenty more.  When you want to give your eyes a rest, head over to the podcast and listen to the latest episode featuring your favorite voices discussing all-things Union Omaha related.

Random stats

• This was the second goal scored by Junior Palacios.  His last goal came in Week 7, when he delivered an identical direct kick to help Union Omaha defeat Northern Colorado at Werner Park with a final score of 3-2.
• This was the fourth assist from Luis Gil, which ties him with Joe Brito for club leader in assists for the 2023 Regular Season.

• This was Dion Acoff’s first goal of the 2023 season.  His last goal came in Week 23 of the 2022 Regular Season, where he scored the game-winning goal against Chattanooga Red Wolves in the 90’+1 minute.
• Tonight’s goal from Acoff, in the 90’+4 minute, ties a club record for the latest goal scored by an Owl.  The last time someone scored that late in a regular season match was JP Scearce, when Union Omaha defeated Central Valley Fuego at Werner Park in Week 4 of the 2022 Regular Season.
• In tonight’s match, One Knox held the lead for only 5 minutes, the shortest lead any club has held over Union Omaha this season.  The previous shortest lead occurred during Week 11, when Forward Madison led Union Omaha for only 7 minutes before the Owls were able to find an equalizer.

• This is the first time Union Omaha has risen above the playoff threshold since Week 8 of the 2023 Regular Season.
• There have only been five matches this season, including tonight’s match, in which the opponent scored first.  Tonight was the first time that Union Omaha was able to secure a victory after the full time whistle.  On the flip side, Union Omaha is undefeated when scoring first this season.
• This is the first time in club history where Union Omaha won, yet no midfielder or forward scored a single goal.  *This excludes own-goals as a contributor to the victory.

Match Summary

Attendance: *Not reported

Injury Report: 
ONE: GK – Sean Lewis (Injury)
ONE: DF – James Thomas (Injury)
OMA: DF – Eddie Gordon (Injury)
OMA: DF – Stefan Mueller (Injury)

Goal Summary:
10’: ONE – #13 Dani Fernández (assisted by #40 Sean O’Hearn)
15’: OMA – #18 Junior Palacios
90’+4: OMA – #26 Dion Acoff (assisted by #20 Luis Gil)

Substitution Summary:
45’: ONE – #11 Frank Ross replaces #12 Callum Johnson
45’: ONE – #14 Jimmie Villalobos replaces #40 Sean O’Hearn
45’: OMA – #20 Luis Gil replaces #9 Pedro Dolabella
45’: OMA – #26 Dion Acoff replaces #18 Junior Palacios
64’: OMA – #11 Joe Gallardo replaces #10 Steevan Dos Santos
64’: ONE – #3 Kyle McDowell replaces #18 Derek Waldeck
64’: ONE – #91 Gio Calixtro replaces #10 Ilija Ilić
90’+1: OMA – #6 Chavany Willis replaces #7 Noe Meza
90’+1: ONE – #30 Jan Erik Leinhos replaces #8 Angelo Kelly-Rosales

Discipline Summary:
9’: OMA – #18 Junior Palacios (Yellow card)
37’: ONE – #5 Jalen Crisler (Yellow card)
45’+1: ONE – #4 Jordan Skelton (Yellow card)
69’: ONE – #91 Gio Calixtro (Yellow card)
82’: OMA – #4 Luca Mastrantonio (Red card)
89’: ONE – #13 Dani Fernández (Yellow card)

Union Omaha, down a man for the entire second half, flipped the script on Richmond and scored three unanswered goals to secure a 4-1 victory at home on Saturday night.  En route to the historic victory, Noe Meza became the club’s all-time leading scorer and Steevan Dos Santos earned his first brace with the club.

As fans filtered into Werner Park in season-high attendance on Saturday night, most of the excitement seemed to be drawn towards the Star Wars costumes, music, and other attractions throughout the stadium.  Once the match kicked off, it didn’t take long for the action on the field to steal the attention.

In the 5th minute of play, Richmond forward Emiliano Terzaghi took a shot from midfield, trying to catch Union Omaha goalkeeper Rashid Nuhu off his line, but there was little cause for concern in the end.  That lone shot would be Richmond’s only shot for nearly ten minutes.  In that same time frame, Union Omaha pepper Richmond’s goal with six shots, four of which were inside the box.  As the Owls continued to knock on the door, fans would soon be pulled to their feet for the first of many goals on the evening.

In the 24th minute, Union Omaha midfielder Conor Doyle delivered a corner kick that was lofted just high enough to clear the heads of most of the players, yet dipped just in time for club captain JP Scearce to head the ball into the back of the net for the early lead.  The goal was the second straight home match featuring a connection between Doyle and Scearce on a corner kick.  This was Scearce’s third goal of the season and Doyle’s third assist of the season.

24' – One thing about @jpscearce97? Man gets 🆙

He rises above the rest on the corner kick, heading home his third of the season and our first of the night!

#OneMeansAll | 1-0 | #OMAvRIC pic.twitter.com/H2xXTNGmPz

— Union Omaha (@Union_Omaha) July 9, 2023

In the 39th minute, Richmond’s Terzaghi was able to draw a foul in Union Omaha’s penalty area and converted the following penalty, as well.  The League MVP and Golden Boot Winner scored his second all-time goal against the Owls, the fewest of any League One clubs present from 2020 to 2023.

Soon after the penalty kick, Terzaghi was involved in another crucial moment of the match: drawing the ire from Union Omaha’s Joe Gallardo and baiting him into a straight red card.  After a play along the goal line, words were exchanged between the two and then the players went face to face, touching foreheads.  With a thrust of Gallardo’s head against Terzaghi, his fate was sealed and the marching orders were given.  For the same interaction, Terzaghi was given a yellow card, one of five awarded to the Kickers by the end of the night.

With the scoreline even, Union Omaha had to make some adjustments in the locker room.  When the team appeared on the field, the mentality didn’t seem to be one of preservation, but one of perseverance.  Richmond started the second half with the kickoff and Union Omaha, surprisingly enough, pressed more often than they had in the first half.  The adjustments made put Richmond on their heels, interrupted the flow of their offense, and allowed Union Omaha to gain more possession, despite the disadvantage.

All night long, Richmond left Union Omaha defender Dion Acoff wide open along the flank.  Time and time again, the Owls would spot him wide open, pick him out with long crosses, and utilize him masterfully into developing quality offensive opportunities.  One of those came in the 49th minute, when a ball was served to Acoff and he was able to beat his defender with a couple of moves, opening up a window to serve a cross into the box.  On the other end of that service was none other than Noe Meza, who finished the cross with a header past the keeper.  The goal was Meza’s ninth of the season, keeping him in second place of the Golden Boot race.  More importantly, the goal earned him sole possession as the club’s all-time leading scorer.

The finish that did it? A classy flicked header. 👌#OneMeansAll | #OMAvRIC pic.twitter.com/JoW36zLlcj

— Union Omaha (@Union_Omaha) July 9, 2023

Up a goal and not letting off the gas, Union Omaha would double the goal difference in the 68th minute, when second-half substitute Steevan Dos Santos scored his first goal of the night.  After Noe Meza’s attempt was thwarted by the Richmond defense, the ball was served on a platter for Dos Santos to finish, but he had to react first in order to get there.  With his long leg outstretched, he was able to send the ball into the goal for his first goal since Week 4.  His celebration had all of the elements of a man exulted in his escape from the scoring dry spell.

68’ – 𝗢𝗪𝗟𝗦 𝗚𝗢𝗔𝗟! | 3-1

BIG STEEV MAKES IT THREE! @SantosSteevan

It was a poacher’s finish to clean up in the penalty area!
#OneMeansAll | #OMAvRIC pic.twitter.com/T9Id8R0AGH

— Union Omaha (@Union_Omaha) July 9, 2023

The nail in the coffin came in the 79th minute, when Union Omaha’s Joe Brito sent a beautifully low driven ball from the goal line toward the top of the goal area.  As the ball was tightly threaded between two defenders and the goalkeeper, all Dos Santos had to do was lose his man, which he successfully did and positioned himself for the easy tap-in.  The goal was his third of the season and Brito’s fourth assist of the season, making him the club’s assist leader this season.

79' – 𝗢𝗪𝗟𝗦 𝗚𝗢𝗔𝗟! | 4-1

ANOTHER close-range finish executed to perfection by @SantosSteevan to add to our lead!
#OneMeansAll | #OMAvRIC pic.twitter.com/nrhajWWrVM

— Union Omaha (@Union_Omaha) July 9, 2023

The victory and three points lifted Union Omaha into seventh place in the league table and placing them well inside the playoff hunt.  The victory over Richmond was the second all-time and first since the 2021 season.  This was the first time the Owls scored four goals in a single match since August 20, 2022, when they defeated NC 4-1 at home.  That same match was also the last time Union Omaha had a greater winning goal differential than two goals.  Saturday’s victory was the third straight victory and only the second time the club has ever tied together three consecutive victories in a row.  The only other time was the first three matches of the 2021 season.  The victory also strung together five straight matches without a single loss, the second time the club has accomplished this achievement this season.

The club made history in their own accomplishments, but also put themselves into Richmond’s history book.  The Owls are the only club to score four goals on Richmond this season, something no club has done since October 30, 2021, when FC Tucson defeated Richmond 4-2 at home.  Saturday’s goal differential was the greatest of Richmond’s season, as well.  The last time Richmond had a loss involving a greater goal differential was on July 21, 2021, when they lost 0-4 at North Carolina.  Another big stat came as a result of Terzaghi scoring his goal.  Leading up to Saturday night’s match, no other club has been able to defeat Richmond when Terzaghi had scored at least one goal.  Saturday was the first time this season when an opponent was able to defeat Richmond in a match involving a Terzaghi goal.  In fact, the last time an opponent defeated Richmond after a Terzaghi goal was May 28, 2022, when North Carolina FC defeated Richmond 2-1.

After the match, the Unified Series match between Union Omaha and the Colorado Switchbacks stepped into the spotlight.  The Owls remained undefeated this season and all-time, finishing with a 4-0 victory.  Next up, the Unified Series team takes to the road, as they travel to Colorado Springs next month to take on the Switchbacks.

The League One Union Omaha squad will also travel to Colorado, as they take on Northern Colorado Hailstorm this coming Saturday night at 8PM CT.

Keep an eye out for a soon-to-be-posted article from Bryan, as he details all of the festivities from Union Omaha’s victory and Star Wars celebrations.  Don’t forget to like, follow, and subscribe to Who Gives A Hoot for all of the latest Union Omaha content, like new episodes of the podcast.

Postmatch Quotes

Union Omaha Head Coach Dominic Casciato

Thoughts on the evening:
“Yeah, obviously, things went a little bit askew in the first half.  We knew that Terzaghi was going to throw himself to the ground and we wanted to avoid unnecessary contact with him in the box.  Unfortunately, we didn’t do that. Then, obviously, Terzaghi feels the need to run 40 yards and get in our guy’s face, which, again, he gets away with.  I don’t know why the referee is letting him get away with that, but we’ve got to be smarter in those moments. This team’s got a lot of character and we’ve spoken about being together as a group and fighting through difficult moments, knowing that things are never going to be perfect, and I think the second half response was just outstanding from the guys and I’m super proud of the fight and the togetherness that they showed.”

On the second-half impact from substitute Steevan Dos Santos:

“Yeah, big Steevan. That’s why we signed him, right?  He’s a goalscorer. He’s a physical presence and he’s got a lot of quality as well for a man of his size.  His first touch and his hold-up plays.  He’s outstanding, so that’s why he’s here and hopefully he has plenty more goals to come from him.”

On Noe Meza becoming Union Omaha’s all-time leader in goals:

“Yeah, great for Noe.  He’s been putting them away this year and long made that continue.”

On Northern Colorado Hailstorm:

“Yeah, obviously we go to Colorado.  They’re doing well, but we’re five unbeaten now and won three on the spin, so we’re confident.  I think us as a staff, as a group, have really come together over the last few weeks and we go there with total confidence and going there to win the game.”

Team captain JP Scearce (1 goal):

Thoughts on the evening:

“Yeah, it was a great win for us.  A great performance, obviously.  We faced a little adversity in the first half with the penalty and then the sending off, but the guys responded pretty well to it coming into the second half we obviously could have felt sorry for ourselves and had our heads down, but we had a positive mentality going into the second half and we knew we had to get the win so it was a good, good response from the guys.”

On his goal:

“Yeah, it’s just like last time we played at home.  Conor and I have that connection and I was lucky to get on the end of it.”

On the big home crowd attendance:

“Yeah, obviously you could hear the atmosphere, feel the atmosphere and hear the crowd out there.  Obviously they had a big part to play as well in the second half, just pushing us on and thankful to have good support out there on the field.”

On Northern Colorado Hailstorm:

“They’ve been doing well in the season, but we’ve been doing well the past few games and we’re going in with confidence.  We already got a result against them and hopefully we’ll get another one this next weekend.”

Forward Steevan Dos Santos (2 goals):

Thoughts on the evening:

“It was a very difficult game, but after the first half, we spoke about it and we said that we are the home team.  Even though we were a man down, we had to fight to try to get the three points here.”

On his brace:

“It’s always good when you score, but I think the more important thing is how the team wins.  If the team wins and I score, I’m happy with that.  Today I scored two, but the more important thing was the three points here on a very difficult game.”

On Northern Colorado Hailstorm:

“Yes, they have been doing good, but I think the last couple of games, we are playing better.  We are in a good moment now, as well.  I think we have to focus on ourselves.  We play them there and we know it’s a difficult game, but we have to focus on ourselves and try to get three points away.”

Forward Noe Meza (1 goal):

Thoughts on the evening:

“Got a little chippy out there, for sure.  Yeah, so it was a lot of back and forth.  I thought the ref made a couple bad calls in the beginning and then, unfortunately, we went down to 10 men, but at halftime, we kind of came together.  We knew we were going to get chances.  We just had to stick to the game plan and have the same belief that we were going to win the game and then we were able to carry out the game.”

On becoming the club’s all-time leading goal scorer:

“It’s just an awesome feeling.  Yeah, this year and last year, I just want to give thanks to the organization.  [Former Union Omaha Head Coach] Jay [Mims], for initially giving me the opportunity to come here and then this year, Dom [Casciato], with his playing style, I think it’s been really good for me individually, but then also the team and I think we’re seeing it now with the results that we’re getting.  Yeah, it feels great.”

On playing in front of a season-high crowd:

“Well, it felt great.  I mean, to get a win like this in front of everyone, I think it’s just great for the club.  It really helps with the fans being here.  It helps us.  They give us energy to keep going and so it feels great to get a result in front of that many fans.”

On the differences seen in the team over the last three matches:

“I think we’ve been playing well.  We’ve been giving good performances.  I think throughout the year, we’ve been tying a lot.  I think defensively, we’ve improved these past couple of weeks.  We’ve been really focusing on that and then we’ve been able to see it in our games a little bit better.”

On how it feels to be a part of such a dominant win:

“Yeah, I think it’s really good.  I think we’re on a good run.  We’re really clicking together, so getting a win like this tonight, scoring a lot of goals, and not really giving much up.  Except for that questionable PK, it’s a really good sign.  Now we have a little stretch of away games, but I think we’ll be in a good spot to get what we want.”

On Northern Colorado Hailstorm:

“Yeah, last year we were there.  I’m not sure if it’s the same place.  I think it’s a different place this time.  They’re a really good team.  We played them here at home.  I thought we had a really good performance against them as well, but we know they’ve been doing really well and we’re up for it and we’re ready for that game as well.”

On the keys to success moving forward:

“Yeah, I think [the key is] just sticking to what we’ve been doing, sticking to our game.  We’ll be looking at Colorado, seeing what type of system they’re playing, and then sticking to our game plan, which never really changes.  Our identity is always working hard, staying together.  And then, yeah, we’ll be ready for that next game.”

Match Summary

Attendance: 3,524

Injury Report: 

OMA: #12 – Eddie Gordon (Questionable)

OMA: #3 – Stefan Mueller (Questionable)

RIC: #7 – Ethan Vanacore-Decker

Goal Summary: 

25’: OMA – #17 JP Scearce (assisted by Conor Doyle)

39’: RIC – #32 Emiliano Terzaghi converts the PK

49’: OMA – #7 Noe Meza (assisted by Dion Acoff)

68’: OMA – #10 Steevan Dos Santos

79’: OMA – #10 Steevan Dos Santos (assisted by #8 Joe Brito)

Substitution Summary: 

45’: RIC – #3 Chris Cole replaces #16 Jake Mecham

61’: OMA – #10 Steevan Dos Santos replaces #20 Luis Gil

69’: RIC – #9 Matthew Bentley replaces #32 Emiliano Terzaghi

70’: RIC – #27 Chandler O’Dwyer replaces #10 Nil Vinyals

70’: RIC – #99 Khartlon Belmar replaces #17 Ryan Sierakowski

75’: OMA – #44 Alex Steinwascher replaces #7 Noe Meza

75’: OMA – #18 -Junior Palacios replaces #26 Dion Acoff

78’: RIC – #33 Gabe Cox replaces #8 João Gomiero

Discipline Summary: 

26’: RIC – #10 Nil Vinyals (Yellow card)

31’: OMA – #7 Noe Meza (Yellow card)

41’: OMA – #11 Joe Gallardo (Red card)

41’: RIC – #32 Emiliano Terzaghi (Yellow card)

66’: RIC – #19 Justin Sukow (Yellow card)

71’: OMA – #6 Chavany Willis (Red card)

73’: RIC – #6 Zaca Morán (Yellow card)

86’: RIC – #24 Nathan Aune (Yellow card)

Union Omaha took a first-half lead and preserved the lead until the final whistle to capture a very valuable three points on the road against Central Valley Fuego.  Noe Meza scored in the 32nd minute after crashing Central Valley’s goal area and tapping in a low driven cross from the corner.  The goal was his eighth of the season and elevated him into a tie for the Golden Boot race.  Not only did it distinguish him within the league ranks, but it was also an important goal within Union Omaha’s club history.  Noe Meza is now tied with Evan Conway for all-time goals while playing for Union Omaha.

Before the match even took place, the Owls had to battle the extreme heat of Fresno, California.  The midday conditions were such that it was the hottest day in Fresno since last summer.  At the time of kickoff, the area had cooled down to a meager 102’F, humidity was at 15%, and wind gusts were up to 10 mph.  If that wasn’t bad enough, USL League One had an announcement right before kickoff that incited plenty of anger across the fanbase.

With minutes to spare before the match started, USL League One announced on Twitter that there would be no broadcast, due to “unforeseen technical difficulties.”  Luckily for fans, a solution was found and a local Fresno station’s feed was streamed on ESPN+ so the second half could still be seen.

The win kept Union Omaha in eighth place, but kept the Owls on pace to take advantage of their match in hand and sneak above the playoff threshold.  The win was also the first time that Union Omaha had won back-to-back matches this season.  It was also the first time Union Omaha has won a match this season while only scoring one goal. The clean sheet was Rashid Nuhu’s fifth of the season, only two back from the Golden Glove leaders. In three visits all time to Fresno, Union Omaha has never lost, nor conceded a goal. Week 17 has the Owls hosting third-placed Richmond Kickers on Saturday, July 8th at Werner Park.  Kickoff is slated for 7PM and the promotional night is Cancer Awareness Night, presented by XCancer.

Random OMA 2023 Records (W-D-L)

On the Road: 2-4-1

In Matches Decided by One Goal: 2-0-2

Scoring First: 4-5-0

Leading at Half: 4-3-0

Scoring One Goal: 1-3-2

Match Report

Attendance: Not reported

Injury Report:

CV: GK #1 – Ofek Antman (Out – injury)

CV: MF #7 – Mouhamed Dabo (Out – injury)

CV: FW #20 – Villyan Bijev (Out – injury)

CV: FW #24 – Cherif Dieye (Out – injury)

OMA: FW #10 – Steevan Dos Santos (Suspension)

OMA: DF #12 – Eddie Gordon (Out – injury)

OMA: DF #3 – Stefan Mueller (Out – injury)

Goal Summary: 

32’: OMA – #7 Noe Meza

Substitution Summary: 

58’: OMA – #28 Shaft Brewer Jr. replaces #11 Joe Gallardo

58’: OMA – #44 Alex Steinwascher replaces #20 Luis Gil

58’: OMA – #18 Junior Palacios replaces #26 Dion Acoff

76’: CV – #59 Maximus Ekk replaces #77 Billy Forbes

76’: CV – #15 Sergio Chavez replaces #17 Omar Lemus

77’: CV – #14 Zahir Vasquez replaces #5 Andrew Forth

83’: OMA – #6 Chavany Willis replaces #7 Noe Meza

85’: CV – #34 Angel Ruelas replaces #8 Victor Falck

85’: CV – #19 Adrián Vera replaces #3 Jesus Partida

90’+2: OMA – #13 Anderson Holt replaces #8 Joe Brito

Discipline Summary: 

24’: CV – #8 Victor Falck

42’: CV – #3 Jesus Partida

56’: CV – #4 Razak Cromwell

56’: OMA – #11 Joe Gallardo

69’: CV – #13 Francois Dulysse

87’: CV – #11 Alexis Cerritos

90’+4: OMA – #5 Marco Milanese