PAPILLION, Neb. – There’s something special about Saturday night soccer at Werner Park – Union Omaha’s supporters had missed out on the pageantry for six weeks too long.
The record crowd of 3,677 fans made up for lost time and then some as they cheered Union Omaha to a 4-2 triumph over New England Revolution II.
Though team performances haven’t dipped, Evan Conway’s recent injury absence has left a goalscoring void in the Owls attack.
Greg Hurst, last season’s second-top goalscorer in USL League One, stepped up in resounding fashion with three of the team’s four goals. Midfielder Devin Boyce was deployed as a forward and tipped his cap to Head Coach Jay Mims’ decision by scoring the remaining goal and providing an assist.
The win was an important one, keeping the energy and momentum that was built up during a successful string of away matches.
Los Buhos’ fifth win in eight thus far kept them atop USL League One for the second week running.
“Proud of our guys, proud of our team to be on the road that long and come back here… I was worried that we wouldn’t have the physical ability and the energy to get up for it,” said Coach Mims. “But thank you, fans, for being here and getting us going because it was an awesome performance.”
Mims also spoke about asking forward Greg Hurst to play as an out-and-out striker, something he hadn’t done much last season with Chattanooga Red Wolves SC.
“You can’t put a price on the confidence you get from scoring goals,” said Hurst. “My confidence is getting better and better, along with the team’s confidence. We’ll hopefully just keep improving from here.”
Hurst’s first goal was a heads-up play that took some strength to execute. After a hard tackle to win the ball off of the Revolution II goalkeeper, the forward got to his feet, collected himself and poked a shot into the net from an acute angle.
His second was a classic case of right place, right time – after all, you’ve got to be there to score the goal. Hurst was in a prime position after defender Damia Viader’s shot rebounded back from the keeper’s outstretched hands and fell to him for an easy tap-in.
The hat-trick clincher came after a stunning bit of build-up play with fellow forward Devin Boyce. After Boyce won the ball in the opposing half, the pair played a pinpoint one-two between them to set Hurst up for a shot. The Owls’ number nine passed the ball around the diving New England goalkeeper to make it 3-1.
Throughout the match, Revolution II refused to die easily. Midfielder Connor Presley volleyed home an immediate reply to Union Omaha’s opening goal in the first half. The team’s second goal came in the 63rd minute as Michael Tsicoulias struck one past Owls goalkeeper Rashid Nuhu.
New England’s effort wasn’t quite enough as they fell to 2-4-1 on the season, suffering their first loss in two matchweeks.
Saturday night marked the first time Union Omaha scored more than two goals during the 2021 campaign. The feat didn’t go unnoticed by Coach Mims:
“We were on the front foot from the first whistle – us scoring four goals in front of the fans was awesome. Just awesome.”
Up next for the Owls is a trip to Virginia and a date with Richmond Kickers, currently sixth in USL League One. The match – next Saturday, June 19 at 5:30 p.m. CT – will be another important stepping stone toward the Omaha squad’s lofty ambitions this season.
Union Omaha (5-1-2) 2 2 – 4
New England Revolution II (2-4-1) 1 1 – 2
Goals: OMA, Greg Hurst – 21’, 45’, 47’ (Devin Boyce), Devin Boyce – 77’; NE, Connor Presley – 23’, Michael Tsicoulias – 63’ (Justin Rennicks). Shots: OMA 20, NE 13. Shots on goal: OMA 11, NE 6. Saves: OMA, Rashid Nuhu – 4; NE, Brad Knighton 7. Fouls: OMA 13, NE 8. Corner Kicks: OMA 8, NE 7. A: 3,677.
Lineups
OMA: GK, Nuhu; D, Viader (Malone 90’); D, Knutson; D, Crull; D, Sousa; M, Otieno (Alihodžić 63’); M, Scearce; M, Vanacore-Decker (Panchot 78’); M, Doyle (Firmino 78’); F, Hurst (Nfor 90’) ; F, Boyce.
NE: GK, Knighton; D, O’Hearn; D, Cayet; D, Dulysse (Tsicoulias 55’); M, Spaulding; M, Presley; M, Rozhansky; M, Michel; M, Rivera; F, Rennicks (Fujiwara, 86’) ; F, Sierakowski (N. Buck 55’).
Misconduct Summary
OMA: Sousa 4’ (Yellow Card), Panchot 84’ (Yellow Card). NE: Knighton 9’ (Yellow Card).
All game stats are unofficial.