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Union Omaha Through to Open Cup Round of 32 on Penalty Kicks

April 18, 2024 - United Soccer League One (USL1)
Union Omaha News Release


PAPILLION, Neb. - In the first Open Cup match at Werner Park, and the first of 2024 at home, Union Omaha emerged victorious after 120+ grueling minutes against El Paso Locomotive.

The match was always going to have intrigue, with Head Coach Dominic Casciato and two former El Paso players facing their old club. It had its moments too, on either end, with Rashid Nuhu alternating between long moments of inactivity and heart-in-throat stops to keep a clean sheet intact. What the match didn't have, however, was goals, as they went into penalty kicks still scoreless.

"We knew coming to the game that it was going to be a battle," said Rashid Nuhu post-game. "We just focused mostly on us, and not too much on our opponent. We had to respect them because they are a good team, but not give them too much respect."

Union Omaha wanted to press the USL Championship side into frustration from the start, and it gave them an early edge. 20 minutes in they were holding El Paso to 66% passing, with a 5-1 edge on shots mainly fashioned from ambitious long-range efforts that at least struck some fear into Locomotive goalkeeper Ramón Pasquel.

From there, the tide would turn again and again. Nuhu was called into action to slide across his goal and stop an incisive El Paso attack from putting the Locomotive out front. Then Union Omaha would retaliate with a series of corners in the 35th, mounting the pressure back on the visitors. The real action, however, would come minutes later.

After a giveaway in the Owls' own half, Marco Milanese ran down Javier Nevárez just above the penalty box. What ensued was a series of events that requires bullet points to put succinctly:

Extremely protracted discussions about the foul, to the point that the first half saw nine minutes of stoppage time

Aarón Gómez receiving a yellow card for his role in said discussions

Nortei Nortey conceding a penalty kick for a handball once the free kick was finally taken.

He too would get a yellow card, by the way, making it three Union Omaha players booked in this sequence.

El Paso's top scorer Amando Moreno proceeding to boot the penalty into the Missouri River.

Despite all the hullabaloo at the end of the half, the score was knotted at zeroes by halftime.

The break seemed to let all the steam out of the match. By the 77th minute, each team only had one shot in the second half. Despite El Paso having the lion's share of possession, they couldn't do anything to impose the game on the home team, who by this point had changed formation to try a different approach to breaking down the Locomotive.

The match did have one more big turn once the clock ticked over into stoppage time, though. Noah Dollenmayer, who had been a real threat on El Paso's set-pieces with his 6'6 frame, was initially given a yellow card after a late lunge on Marco Milanese, but it was soon changed to a red card. It wouldn't be enough to give Omaha the win in regulation, but it gave the Owls a lift going into extra time.

However, despite the man advantage, El Paso still managed to threaten here and there, while the Búhos could only ever get close to a winning goal despite turning over half the team with substitutions by the time 120 minutes had elapsed.

Given the Owls' fight against a Championship side and Nuhu's heroics throughout the evening, there was a level of confidence amidst the tension that always comes with penalty kicks. As the Omaha faithful flocked to the berm behind the goal where the shootout would occur, one by one players would step up to the spot to test their mettle.

On El Paso's third spot kick, Gonzalo Pelúa cracked. His shot slid to Nuhu's right with ample power but no placement, making for a comfortable save.

After a make for either side, up stepped 17 year-old Mark Bronnik with a chance to put the game to bed. His Open Cup debut against Western Mass saw him use his short cameo to assist Joe Gallardo's pursuit of hat-trick heroism. Would the clutch gene manifest again here?

You know the answer.

More importantly, so did Bronnik. "I knew once I stepped onto the field I was gonna impact the game and win it for us. The coach asked who wants to take one and I said I will, and I did. A huge moment and an unforgettable night. Onto the next!"

Union Omaha improves to 8-2 in their Open Cup history, while the Locomotive are still searching for their first Open Cup win, as well as their first win of 2024.

"The lads showed a lot of character and strength to come through. Sometimes when you miss so many chances in a game, you start to think maybe this is not going to be our night, but it really speaks to the mental strength of the group for us to come through and win on penalties," said Coach Casciato, who reserved special mention for Bronnik and Nuhu for their contributions to the victory.

It took a real team effort though, with 16 players involved for the Owls, and that wasn't lost on the captain Nuhu.

"We talked about fighting and staying in the game until the last whistle, and I'm proud we all stuck together and pushed each other across the finish line."

Hopefully, there's a long way to go until Union Omaha reaches the real finish line in yet another Open Cup journey.

The Owls have finally come home for real, but the fun doesn't stop here. The first regular season match at Werner Park falls on Saturday, April 20th as they look to avenge last year's playoff semifinal defeat to Charlotte Independence. Their homestand of sorts will continue from there with matches on May 1st and May 4th. The former will be their opening match of the new USL Jägermeister Cup.

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