Dominating Performance Puts Omaha in USL League One Final

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Union Omaha

Dominating Performance Puts Omaha in USL League One Final

November 12, 2024 - United Soccer League One (USL1)
Union Omaha News Release


Papillion, Nebr. - Union Omaha put their old foes Greenville Triumph to the sword to reach their third USL League One Final. The Owls came away with a 2-1 comeback win in which the scoreline doesn't reflect the sheer level of superiority by the home side.

"I thought we were pretty dominant," said Head Coach Dominic Casciato after the match. "We started a little bit slowly, a little bit casual, and a little bit loose with the ball. But once we fixed that and started to find our rhythm with the ball, we were really difficult to stop. I'm proud of the guys for the way they responded, because they showed great character to come back from 1-0 down."

The home side went behind early, too. Greenville's Pascal Corvino did well to find Lincoln native Tyler Polak streaking down the left flank, and Polak's first-time cross slipped through to Evan Lee in a pocket of space. All the league's all-time appearance leader had to do was coolly sidefoot it past another ever-present in Rashid Nuhu to tuck in the opener. Barely eight minutes had ticked away in the match.

From there, though, Omaha slowly began to put a vicegrip on the match. They would hold around 60% possession for the first half, with a deluge of shots and corners peppering a Greenville side that struggled to even journey outside their own half. It felt as though the Owls were playing with 12 or 13 men with how they won every second ball.

It felt like there were even more than that in the box in the 27th minute, when the entire stadium thought Union would break through. On one of the few early instances when they truly drove up the flanks with abandon, Joe Gallardo fired in a cross that journeyed all the way to the far post and the boot of Charlie Ostrem. His shot at a practically open net cannoned off the crossbar from close range. Zeiko Lewis was there for the rebound, but his own shot pelted Gunther Rankenburg in net. You could practically hear sound effects as the ball pinballed around from there, before finally trickling out for a goal kick.

Still, Omaha pushed and pushed, keeping a dangerous Greenville team on the back foot despite all the quality they had on the pitch.

"I think you've got to credit the players for taking on the information and being so dogged and so determined to shut them down," said Coach Dom. "Joe Gallardo and Charlie Ostrem are outstanding on the outside." He'd go on to, essentially, credit the whole team by name for their performances, from the center backs to the midfield that was able to pick up scraps off Leo Castro when the Triumph attempted to play into their forward. The frontline's press was crucial, too, to prevent Greenville from any easy services, especially into Omaha's box.

Still, it seemed for all the world that their huffing and puffing couldn't quite blow the house down. And just as it began to feel like Coach Dom's halftime chat would be a harsh one, magic happened.

Gallardo played it forward to Lagos Kunga out on the right wing, and the tricky attacker did well to shrug off Daniel Wu and cut inside. With Greenville spread thin, Kunga displayed some vision to slide in Aarón Gómez on the diagonal run. Next came an almost casual shot across Gómez's body that floated into the far corner, with Rankenburg only able to flail at it from his spot in no man's land.

At halftime, the imbalance was astonishing: 17-2 in shots, with 13-2 inside the box and 7-1 on target. 58%-42% possession. 81%-73% passing. 6-0 corners.

And, naturally, 1-1 on the most important stat.

Greenville gained somewhat more of a foothold in the second half... until the winning goal.

In a scrappy fight for the ball in midfield, Gómez gets a clean shot at a header, prompting Zeiko Lewis to dart straight through Greenville's backline before Gómez even gets his head to the ball. When he does, it's a perfect looping header over everyone, on which Lewis takes a phenomenal touch to bring it down and set himself up against Rankenburg. The Bermudan international made no mistake to blast it past the keeper for the lead. After celebrating with teammates, Lewis made his way over to the bench to hold aloft Mechack Jérôme's #2 jersey.

With a half hour left in regulation, the focus for the Owls suddenly shifted into seeing the match out. As the minutes ticked into the 80s, Greenville began to impose upon the match, eventually even turning the possession marks for the match to their favor.

Except, by the edge of stoppage time, the Triumph only had two shots on the half. The most they could manage was a straight-on shot that hit Nuhu right in the gut for an easy save. The league's second-highest scorers hardly scrounged up a proper credible threat, and their Golden Boot winner on the wings in Lyam MacKinnon was limited to a single touch in Omaha's box.

Coach Dom made sure to point out how tough it was. "Castro, MacKinnon, Lee, these guys are dangerous players. Velasquez I worked with in El Paso, and this guy can find space in a telephone box. So I was really impressed with the guys for the way we marshaled that.

"Credit to the guys and credit to the staff, because they do a lot of work behind the scenes, making sure we know what Greenville's threats are going to be. I thought we did a really good job of shutting them down this week and understanding what those threats are and how to shut them down, so credit to Ladule, Vinny, Beto, Mykel, Toby, these guys have done an incredible job this year."

After weeks of close-run matches against teams in the lower reaches of the table, season finale notwithstanding, it was a statement for the Owls to come out and impose their will upon their old rivals from the east. Now, they stand just one more result like this from a far larger statement.

Said Coach Dom, "We've been dealing with a lot of emotion over the last week, but today was about a controlled performance. That's what I asked the guys for and that's what they delivered. But obviously, our thoughts and prayers are still with Mechack and Sandra and Wadner, and the rest of the family. We're wishing those guys a speedy recovery."

Only one match remains between Union Omaha and the ultimate prize. The Owls will play host to expansion side Spokane Velocity FC on Sunday, November 17th at 2pm at Werner Park, with the giant-killing Velocity as the 7-seed to Omaha's top seed. A win for Omaha would give them a record second USL League One title. The match will also be available to watch on CBS Sports Golazo.

Tickets can be purchased here, and any questions can be directed to the box office at tickets@unionomaha.com or 402-738-5100.

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