Union Omaha’s midfielders Devin Boyce and Christian Molina both scored spectacular goals to lead Los Búhos past FC Tucson 2-1 in front of a sold-out Werner Park on Saturday, Aug. 29. The goals were the young midfielders’ first ever in professional soccer, and they couldn’t have come at a better time for the Owls. Boyce opened the scoring in the 16th minute when he picked up a headed ball from forward Elma Nfor and hit it past the FC Tucson keeper with the outside of his boot.
“I’m thrilled to have scored my first professional goal here in Omaha in front of the home fans,” said
Boyce. “I just saw the ball up in the air and as it was coming down I tried to guide to the back post and luckily it went in.”
Tucson evened the game up in the 33rd minute through Shak Adams who curled a shot into the
back of the Omaha net. From there, the match was a back and forth affair with both teams creating
chances. Finally, in the 78th minute after a huge save from Los Búhos’ goalkeeper Sam
Howard, Ethan Vanacore-Decker led a counter-attack down the field. He found substitute Christian
Molina, who made a darting sprint to his right. Molina then rifled it first-time across the goal and into the bottom corner to give Omaha the 2-1 win.
“Like Devin, very happy that I got my first professional goal here in Omaha,” said Molina. “The fans
were amazing tonight, the atmosphere was incredible. I saw Ethan get the ball,
and I put my head down and just started sprinting. Ethan played a great ball, and then I hit it first-time — good thing it went in.”
Los Búhos were without a doubt aided by a boisterous sold-out crowd.
“It was an amazing performance tonight – incredible,” Owls coach Jay Mims said. “The fans…thank
you, it was so loud tonight. I think it was the loudest game we’ve had so far so thank you to the fans
who showed up, another sold out crowd, so that was incredible energy, it really helped our guys.”
Next up, Union Omaha will host Orlando City B at Werner Park on Sept. 6th.
Key Moments
13’ Elma Nfor glides down the right hand side and whips a cross into the box that just misses the feet of Evan Conway.
16’ GOAL OMAHA: Devin Boyce scores his first goal for the club and it’s a dandy. The midfielder takes it one-touch with the outside of his boot to curl it past the FC Tucson keeper..
21’ Ethan Vanacore Decker flashes into the FC Tucson penalty area and fires a shot goal-bound, but the FC Tucson goalkeeper is there to make the save.
24’ A freekick from FC Tucson is headed toward Owls keeper Sam Howard, who is there to make the save.
33’ GOAL TUCSON: FC Tucson even things up against the run of play. Shak Adams makes a nifty turn and curls a shot past Howard to tie the game.
50’ Indirect free-kick for Union Omaha after Ethan Vanacore Decker took a challenge inside the FC
Tucson penalty area. Sebastian Contreras’ kick was blocked by a wall of FC Tucson defenders on the goal line.
52’ Union keep applying pressure and JP Searce rips a shot from distance, but the FC Tucson keeper makes the stop.
53’ FC Tucson are awarded a free-kick and Sam Howard comes off his line to punch away a dangerous inswinger.
66’ Christian Molina swings in a cross that finds the head of Elma Nfor, but the forward’s header goes over the bar.
69’ Huge tackle by Damia Vaider to deny a FC Tucson attacker who seemed to have loads of space to attack just outside the Union Omaha box.
78’ Massive close-range save by Sam Howard to deny what looked like a sure FC Tucson goal and keep the game 1-1.
78’ GOAL UNION OMAHA: Get in! Ethan Vanacore-Decker leads the break and finds a bolting
Christian Molina, who takes a touch and slots a beautiful low strike across the goal and into the net.
Game Notes
●Devin Boyce and Christian Molina both took home Man of the Match awards tonight with
their first-ever professional goals.
●Los Búhos keeper Sam Howard played a huge part in Omaha’s 2-1 win. In his first start of
the season, Howard made two critical saves to help secure all three points for Union.
●Another game, another electric Ethan Vanacore-Decker performance. The Owls attacker led
the team in shots and assisted Molina’s game-winning goal.
●A sold-out Werner Park crowd witnessed a good, old fashioned shoot-out with Union Omaha
and FC Tucson combining for 26 total shots.
●Union’s victory over FC Tucson moves the Owls up to 12 points on the season and helps the team keep pace with Greenville Triumph in first place (16 points) and Richmond Kickers in second place (13 points).
Next Game
Union Omaha will welcome Orlando City B to Werner Park on Sunday, September 6th. Kickoff is
scheduled for 7 pm C.T.
Union Omaha vs FC Tucson
August 29, 2020
Werner Park (Omaha, NE)
Goals by Half 1 2 F
Union Omaha 1 1 2
FC Tucson 1 0 0
Scoring Summary:
OMA: Devin Boyce (Elma Nfor) 16’
TUC: Shak Adams 33’
OMA: Christian Molina (Ethan Vanacore-Decker) 78’
Misconduct Summary:
OMA: Tyler David (Yellow Card) 28’
OMA: Damia Vaider (Yellow Card) 55’
OMA: Ferrety Sousa (Yellow Card) 73’
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial.