Owls Stumble out of the Gate in Opener at Greenville
USL1 Union Omaha

Owls Stumble out of the Gate in Opener at Greenville

Published on March 13, 2025 under United Soccer League One (USL1)
Union Omaha News Release


Papillion, Nebr. - Defensive breakdowns led to a less than stellar beginning to Union Omaha's quest for a third star, as they fell 3-0 to rivals Greenville Triumph.

With former world superstar Ronaldinho in attendance after the Triumph's groundbreaking ceremony for their upcoming stadium, Greenville broke down the Owls with canny movement and a clinicality that the visitors severely lacked.

"I think it's a really disappointing result," said Head Coach Dominic Casciato post-match. "I think we did a lot of good things in the final third, but we lacked the focus and intensity needed in both boxes tonight."

Casciato noted Omaha's early control of the match, which included a shot by Kemy Amiche that was saved off the line by Brandon Fricke after a weak punch away from goalkeeper Rankenburg. After 25 minutes, the Owls seemed to have the field tilted towards Greenville's goal, with a 6-1 advantage in corner kicks and a 13-4 tally on crosses.

In the 36th minute, though, the collapse began.

"We gave away a really soft goal, and then gave another soft goal away off a set-piece where we just switched off again right before halftime."

Leo Castro began the scoring after latching onto a long ball beyond Blake Malone. He caught Russell Shealy in no-man's land and had the composure to lob him from deep to showcase his composure for Ronaldinho.

While poor marking again came back to haunt Omaha in the 45th minute, it also yielded a possible goal of the season contender. Off a deep free kick, Castro nodded the ball on to Ben Zakowski, blowing past Charlie Ostrem on a diagonal run. Zakowski unleashed a wicked shot off the volley that no goalie could hope to save, putting the Triumph up two at halftime.

It went from bad to worse right after the break. Leo Castro was at the double, escaping Brent Kallman to split the defense and head home a dagger in the 47th minute. An Owls team that started with five newcomers in the lineup looked disjointed and downtrodden.

They pushed throughout the second half, with 70% of the ball in the final 45, but only garnered three shots in that time. The Triumph were more than content to sit back and parry away the 35 crosses hoofed in by Union Omaha, as well as all other efforts.

"You can't give away goals like [we did] and expect to win games," said Coach Dom. "[It was] a big lesson for us tonight. I think we're going to get better from this and learn from this."

Union Omaha travels west to Colorado next, for a U.S. Open Cup showdown against USL League Two's Flatirons FC in the latter's Open Cup debut. That match will take place on Thursday, March 20th at 8 PM. After that, they travel back southeast to South Georgia Tormenta FC on March 29th for a 6 PM league face-off.

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United Soccer League One Stories from March 13, 2025


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