Knapp, Gallardo Power Owls to Big Win over Richmond
August 26, 2024 - United Soccer League One (USL1)
Union Omaha News Release
Papillion, Nebr. - The Owls came screeching back from their miniature summer break with a well-fought victory over Richmond Kickers.
Astonishingly, this is the first time this year in league play Union Omaha has scored three goals on the dot, after putting up more than that on six occasions in 2024.
Head Coach Dominic Casciato first gave a shout-out to the fans for their part in blitzing Richmond and hanging on from there. "Really pleased to get a win in front of our crowd. Great to see so many fans out there tonight; it really gives the lads a boost. I thought in the first half especially, we played some really good stuff, and could have been one or two more goals ahead."
It was only the first minute when Richmond was first put to the sword. A misplayed back-pass by goalkeeper Ryan Shellow ceded a corner kick that saw Steevan Dos Santos thump a free header on goal. Shellow managed to tip it over the bar, but the genesis of that chance was foreshadowing in its most immediate form.
In the 4th minute, Richmond were attempting again to play out of the back. Brandon Knapp, who was shading midfielder Justin Sukow, was already charging forward to pressure Shellow. His energy paid off in spades, as he was right there to stab home his first professional goal when the goalkeeper slipped as he backpedaled to receive another back-pass.
Talking about the aggression off the ball that led to the opener, Knapp said, "I feel a big part of my game is just having a lot of energy, being able to work well with the guys up front in the press, and just running around a lot putting pressure on guys. I felt that was a great opportunity to step up when the ball was played to the goalie, and that's what I did."
A starting lineup that saw Charlie Ostrem and Zeiko Lewis as a brand-new left wing pairing kept that energy up, though it was a spark from the other flank that doubled their advantage. Dion Acoff cut inside in the 17th minute with plenty of space to pick out Joe Gallardo jolting forward in a run on goal. Sukow made an executive decision to drag him down from behind, earning a yellow and giving up a spot kick that Gallardo duly converted.
Richmond did their best to claw their way back into the match from here, but Omaha held firm even as they began to see less of the ball. Paradoxically for a team that tends to want to play on the front foot, the Owls are now 7-1-0 when they possess the ball less than their opponent.
Before the half was even up, it could have been three or four goals up for the home side. A long ball from Lewis to Gallardo saw the latter set up Dos Santos for a phenomenal opportunity, but Shellow excellently scrambled across goal to deny the shot. Minutes later, Dos Santos arguably had a shout for a penalty when he was dragged down in the box on the second phase of a free kick.
Still, a 2-0 lead at the half is never too worthy of complaint, even if the club came out of the break a little flat.
Rashid Nuhu would be tested a lot more heavily beginning in the 54th minute, when he had to get low to his left to parry a free kick away from star midfielder Nils Vinyals. He took a knock from League One legend Emiliano Terzaghi a moment later when collecting a long throw-in, but remained in the game. He'd take a beating in this half, but it was all worth it to collect a clean sheet.
The Kickers kept pressing, though, and the plague of poor back-passes afflicted the Owls to keep them penned in through the next few cycles of play.
"In the second half we took our foot off the gas a little, but got a really good impact from the bench," said Coach Dom. "We talk on this team about everybody being responsible for the team's success and about everybody sacrificing for their teammates and the club. I think Mark, Isaac, Ryan, and Aaron came on and gave us a lift when we needed it, when our foot was off the gas in the second half."
After weathering that storm, though, the match evened out until Gallardo put it away for good, his free kick fizzing through the wall and wrong-footing the goalkeeper as it bounded into the far corner. It was all academic from there, boosting Union Omaha to second in the table in the tightly-packed top half of USL League One.
For them to come out of a potentially tricky fixture with a handy win, especially after some troubles of late amidst their constant midfield shuffles, it felt more than well-earned.
Said Brandon Knapp afterwards, "I feel like what I focus on doing is just trying to be always ready and just execute my role every time I step on the field. Today was one of those days; came out right away, got a goal, and then we just put it on them the rest of the game."
There's little time for rest now that the Owls are back. Union Omaha will head north to take on Forward Madison on Thursday, August 29th with hopes of finally getting a win across the line against them in 2024. This will be their final USL Jägermeister Cup match of the group stage, with the club in pole position for the wild card spot based on their goals scored tally. From there, they'll venture west for a September 4th matchup against Spokane Velocity, then head right home for their September 7th square-off with Greenville Triumph on Hometown Heroes Night, presented by WoodmenLife.
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United Soccer League One Stories from August 26, 2024
- Match Preview: Forward Madison FC vs Union Omaha - Forward Madison FC
- Knapp, Gallardo Power Owls to Big Win over Richmond - Union Omaha
- Nearly 3,000 FC Naples Fans Are Expected to Select Their Season-Ticket Seats this September - FC Naples
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