Omaha. Nebr. (Oct. 16, 2026) – Sergio Ors Navarro truly understands lower league soccer.
“I had always gone to the games, even when there were no people at the stadium,” said Ors Navarro of his hometown club, CD Castellón. When he was just nine years old, the Spanish club was relegated to the fourth division not for sporting reasons, but because their players weren’t being paid. This was a club with 11 seasons in La Liga, a club who had finished runners-up in the Copa Del Rey once before. Now, twenty years after facing Barcelona and Real Madrid, they were competing with Borriol and Villarreal C amidst fan boycotts and fears that the club would fold outright.
That didn’t matter to young Ors Navarro, who grew up just five minutes from the stadium.
“I love soccer at any level,” he said. “I watched my hometown team play at every level. Fourth division, third division, second division… I love just watching soccer and enjoying it.”
While the rest of his family were soccer-agnostic, Ors Navarro had a ball at his feet from the time he could walk. From CD Castellón matches to summer camps with his friends, soccer was his lifeblood. It’s no surprise, then, that he reached a turning point at just age ten. Fundación Marcet, an academy located three hours up the Mediterranean coast in Barcelona, was building a residency program, and they wanted Ors Navarro to be part of it.
He laughed, recounting the early days at Marcet. “My parents told me that I was calling them every night, telling them that I wanted them to pick me up in the morning. They would say, ‘Okay, we’ll be there in the morning,’ but then I’d call them that morning when soccer started like, ‘No, no, it’s okay. I’ll stay for the day and let you know how I am tonight.’”
While it was difficult for him and his parents, being so far away at a young age, it was also formative, and an experience that would eventually enable him to adjust to even further-flung locales. Not only did he develop as a player, but as he put it, “I had to make my bed at ten years old. I had to be more of an adult than I would have had to be when I was ten years old. I’m very grateful to my parents for letting me experience that life.”
Ors Navarro spent five years at Fundación Marcet before returning to Castellón, where he competed for his hometown team in the second division of the Spanish U-18s league. By the time he was 17, another offer took him away from home. This time it was UCAM Murcia, again three hours away. The university club not only allowed him to compete in the top flight of U-18 soccer in Spain, but to begin working towards a college degree.
It was his father who brought forth the idea of continuing down a similar path in America, in being able to play the sport Ors Navarro loved while keeping up with his studies. Much like that initial venture forth at age 10, he was trepidatious given the distance and language barrier, as much as he wanted to continue on in soccer.
However, a local showcase yielded offers from college coaches, and it was all academic once he was able to visit the University of West Virginia.
“I fell in love with the environment that they have,” said Ors Navarro of the decision. “It’s a state where they don’t have a NFL team, so everyone goes to the college football games, and it’s lovely how everyone’s so committed to the university and everything.”
It was still quite the adjustment, though, coming directly from Spain to the States. “I love the culture here in the States, but it was a bit of a shock when I first got here. Obviously, with the language, it was a bit of a barrier. I could not express myself. The first couple weeks, I was just trying to understand what everyone was saying, rather than talking with people and interacting with other people. But everyone was so welcoming with me in West Virginia, which made it way easier for me to adapt.”
It also helped that the weather, in his view, was similar to back home. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic stunting his first season, it didn’t take too long for him to bed into his new country and begin raining goals down upon Morgantown. By the end of his college career, the accolades were numerous: Sun Belt Player of the Year, first-team All American, MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist… and National Scholar Athlete of the Year. For all the time he had spent away from home pursuing his dream, the schooling he received both in Spain and America never lost its spot atop the priority list.
Of course, finding his way after college was an entirely different challenge.
“I knew it was going to be tough for me to get a contract,” said Ors Navarro. “The team did so well the year before, having won both trophies. So I had to step in and try to be myself and try to show the coach that I wanted it more than the guys that were also on trial here, to prove that I deserve the contract here.”
Did he ever. In all, he found the back of the net six times in five matches, even against the likes of MLS opposition. A hat trick against Minnesota United’s reserves was what convinced then-coach Dominic Casciato to sign him. A goal and assist in his debut saw him repay that faith from the very start.
“It wasn’t very hard for me [to adjust to professional soccer] because I felt very comfortable with the environment here in Omaha. I loved the guys, and they made me feel welcome. Then after that match, I felt like the pressure was off a little bit, and I could just be myself. It showed me that I was able to do what I was doing in college at this level too,” said Ors Navarro.
While the team struggled through the first half of 2025, their uptick in form in the second half coincided with Ors Navarro’s rise. He would go on to win Player of the Month in September with six goal contributions across 229 minutes. More remarkably, he had back-to-back braces in only 17 regular time minutes, with a pair of late goals to secure a draw against Spokane Velocity followed just days later by another two to begin their match against One Knoxville.
Now, Ors Navarro sits on the precipice of an even greater milestone. With 25 goals in all competitions, the next time he finds the back of the net will crown him as Union Omaha’s all-time leading goalscorer.
“I didn’t know about becoming the top scorer in club history until right after the Greenville game, when they told me, but it means a lot. Being able to provide for the team, being able to be successful here at the pro level too, it just shows that the dream that I once had as a kid is possible. I’m just very happy that I’m able to make it happen.”
It’s been a big year for Ors Navarro, to be certain. In the midst of his goalscoring tear, he watched his country win the World Cup over the summer. (“It was a celebration around the day, and then go back to bed because you have to go practice the next day.”) Ors Navarro often went downtown to catch matches, with the local support for Mexico in particular standing out to him. With almost two full seasons in Omaha under his belt, he’s come to appreciate all the local support for soccer in Omaha.
“I love how people are committed to soccer. I love soccer as a sport, and then when you see people that are so passionate about the sport that you love too, it’s great. I love that time of the year, and I think it brought a lot to the states where soccer has become a more important sport after hosting the World Cup, so that’s how I experienced it.”
With the playoffs looming and Union Omaha with a chance to host all through the bracket, Ors Navarro knows that passion could make all the difference. With a team and a fanbase that’s boosted him from his very first steps into professional soccer, he’ll assuredly keep running all through playoffs, with maybe a goal or two or three along the way.
“It doesn’t matter where we play, the fans always show up for us, even at away matches,” said Ors Navarro, who points to their recent derby day at Greenville as an example. “It just gives you that extra boost of energy when you maybe don’t have the legs to keep running. They give you the heart you need to make that extra play and make that extra run to win. Our results at home aren’t a coincidence. It’s because of the fanbase we have and all the support we get from Omaha.”
ABOUT UNION OMAHA
Union Omaha, the 2021 and 2024 USL League One Champions, is the premier professional soccer team in the state of Nebraska. USL League One is a United States Soccer Federation-sanctioned professional men’s soccer league that occupies the third tier of the American soccer landscape, below USL Championship (tier two) and the newly announced top-tier USL Premier, launching in 2028. Union Omaha will play its 2026 USL League One home matches at Morrison Stadium in downtown Omaha. The team is led by Chief Operating Officer Alexis Boulos in the front office and by Head Coach Vincenzo Candela on the pitch.
