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…