Owls Shutout Flamingos with Third Straight Home Win
September 1, 2022 – United Soccer League One (USL1) – Union Omaha News Release
PAPILLION, Neb. – Wednesday night provided a much-needed bounce back for Union Omaha as the Owls prevailed after being down a man to take all three points against Forward Madison FC.
Omaha welcomed its nearest league rival in the final Midwest match-up of the year, drawing the previous two meetings. The first was a 2-2 affair in Madison to open the Owls’ season, while each team took a clean sheet and point away from the last showdown in July. For Omaha, it was a chance to rebound from its 3-0 loss at Richmond last week and make another push towards the top spot on the table, whilst Madison was aiming to keep its name in the playoff conversation.
Goalkeeper Rashid Nuhu looked ready to get an assist in the 13th minute, sending a blast down to Corey Hertzog for a volley attempt that soared over the net with too much juice.
Noe Meza aimed to get back on the scoresheet once more, this time receiving a corner kick from Joe Brito and diving towards goal to try and head it in, but ‘Mingo goalkeeper Raiko Arozarena had no issues taking it in. The Omaha offense would have the challenge of making it past the Tampa Bay Rowdies loanee, who has only allowed five goals in eight matches since joining the Pink and Blue in July
Another Omaha attack came to fruition in the 35th minute, when Hertzog came up from behind a Madison defender and forced an interception before passing it off to Brito. The latter worked in space to find Luis Gil who nearly netted his first club goal with a hot shot from outside the box that just struck the crossbar.
The first card of the night came in the final minutes of stoppage time, given to Abdou Mbacke Thiam. Both sides had chances in the first half but would need to be able to bring home the finisher in the second half.
The Owls started the second half with a bang, with JP Scearce attempting a bicycle kick from outside the box that just missed over the top of goal.
It wasn’t long after play resumed when Omaha received its first major test of the match, when Emir Alihodžić was issued a straight red card in the 50th minute and sent back to the locker room, leaving the Owls down a man for almost the entirety of the second half.
Despite being the man down, the Owls still looked like a team that refused to draw, and the offensive resiliency continued near the hour mark when Conor Doyle lifted it over a line of pink jerseys for Hertzog, who tried to pinch in a chip shot over Arozarena’s head but couldn’t get it down.
The tides changed in the 77th minute when the Owls were rewarded a corner kick. The set piece opportunity was taken by Doyle, headed into danger by JP Scearce and flicked on by Daltyn Knutson to Hertzog, who slammed it home for the home side. It was the second score in a volt uniform for the second-leading scorer in USL Championship history, who has already started to make waves in League One. Up a goal and down a man, the Owls were now just over 20 defensive minutes from another 3 points.
And if there’s one thing the Omaha defense does, it’s rise up to a challenge, starting with Nuhu in goal. Two key saves midway through the half, one smother and another sliding stop, helped preserve the Owls’ tight lead heading into the final minutes of the match.
Rojay Smith was given the ‘Mingos second caution in the 89th minute, which Omaha matched a minute later with a booking on Doyle.
The whistles sounded minutes later, giving the Owls their third straight win at home and first against Forward Madison since June 2021. It was a statement win and massive 3 points for Omaha, the side that sits still in 3rd on the table but is in the driver’s seat to control its playoff bid, just one point off first place still with a game in-hand on the top two teams in the league.
“When you come home after a loss, you want to respond, and you want to see a response in the guys and attitude and mentality because we weren’t our best on the weekend,” Union Omaha Head Coach Jay Mims said. “And for our guys to come out and get the result, it was great.”
“It showed a lot from the team about fighting and staying in the game,” Hertzog said. “[The goal] was a set piece we worked on, so it felt good to get that and then to hold it down for 15 minutes down a man is huge.”
The team will get its first chance at the top of the table on Saturday, welcoming fourth-place Chattanooga Red Wolves SC to Werner Park for Cancer Awareness Night presented by XCancer.
ADDITIONAL QUOTES
“Obviously the red card changes everything early in the second half, and for our guys to still get a result after that, [I’m] very, very proud.” -Mims
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