Meza and Willis find scores to propel Owls to 3 points
PAPILLION, Neb. (August 17, 2022) – With another home win Wednesday night, Union Omaha is back in the mix right where it wants to be.
The Owls came into the midweek match-up looking for a statement win against 4th place side Charlotte Independence, aiming to level the clubs’ series in its season finale. The first meeting saw the Independence steal a win in the final minutes of the match, after the Owls had been up a goal for most of the second half. The second affair was much tamer, a 0-0 draw at Werner Park last month. Coming off a slightly disappointing draw at home Saturday against Northern Colorado, the Owls would present a solid case for a playoff spot if they could get back to the win column.
The league’s best defense faced some early pressure from the league’s third best offense in the 7th minute, as Rashid Nuhu was able to grab a beautiful save off of three Independence shots in rapid succession.
The first booking of the match came in the 29th minute to Charlotte’s Miguel Ibarra. The card gave the Owls a promising free kick look, taken by Daltyn Knutson. The shot found space in between the four-person Charlotte wall but was slid on and scooped up by Adrian Zendejas in goal.
It was a series of yellow cards issued to the teams, starting with Chavany Willis in the 33rd minute. Charlotte’s Omar Ciss claimed a yellow card in the 42nd minute after bringing down Dion Acoff. Alex Bruce was booked soon after for Omaha’s second yellow at the end of the half, and the next whistle sent the teams in the locker room deadlocked at 0.
It was a tough break for the Owls in the 49th minute, with Gabriel Claudio being booked with a yellow for some extra contact in the box. The foul set up the Independence with a prime chance to take the lead, and Khori Bennett converted on the penalty to put the visitors up 1-0.
The Owls wouldn’t stay down long, though. It was just before the hour mark that the Omaha offense was finally ignited. Emir Alihodžić sent a cross in the box, finding the foot of Alex Bruce who took another solid shot and was batted away before Noe Meza found the loose ball and slammed it into the back of the net. It was a team-leading 6th goal for the first-year pro, who has now scored in back-to-back contests.
“I’d been feeling in pretty good form recently, so when I saw the ball bouncing in the box, as soon as it got close to me, I knew where the goal was at already, so I was just looking to shoot it hard and on-target,” Meza said.
“Putting those guys under a lot more pressure, that’s our identity and that’s who we are,” Union Omaha Head Coach Jay Mims said. “I thought we got back to doing what we’re good at, and Noe’s a big piece of that.”
It wouldn’t take much longer for the Owls to pull ahead. Chavany Willis, off a perfect turn-and-shoot delivery from Conor Doyle, struck from way downtown and into the low post to bring the Owls up 2-1. It was the second time Willis has sent the home crowd into a frenzy this season, and it could not have come at a more opportune time.
“We wanted hungry guys out there,” Mims said. “Guys that were hungry and wanted to fight for the team, and Chavany is one of those guys that’s been doing well.”
A Jackson Barber yellow card in the 79th minute set up another enticing set-piece opportunity, this time for Noe Meza. It was a familiar look for the young striker, who had scored the game winner in a similar position back in June, but this one was skied just above the net and out of play.
The Owls almost found some extra insurance a minute later, with Hugo Kametani sending a cross in for Jiba at the back post that the latter just couldn’t angle into the net, missing slightly left.
The long night wasn’t over for Zendejas, who got another Omaha challenge in the closing minutes. The Owls, very familiar with scoring in stoppage time at home, were set up with a corner kick taken by Acoff. Ricky Rivera sent the first shot in, trying to tuck a low strike into the corner of goal, but Zendajas pushed it out. Kametani was on the rebound, but Zendajas was able to stretch from the ground to knock into the post and out.
Final whistles sounded minutes later, pushing the Owls’ unbeaten streak to double digits and the team into third place on the table.
“Today was an important game for us because it’s a game in-hand, so we needed three points,” Willis said. “We fought hard, we pushed ourselves, and we got the three points, and we’re grateful for it.”
“To have some guys come in the second half and respond the way we did after being down a goal, it was awesome,” Mims said.
With some midweek momentum accumulated, Union Omaha will have another chance a trio of points Saturday, closing out its homestand with North Carolina FC at 7 p.m. for Around the World Night.
ADDITIONAL QUOTES
“It looked like the space was definitely on to attack, we just needed a bit more energy and communication, and those are the two things I tried bringing onto the field once I got subbed on at halftime.” -Meza
“Well deserved three points for our guys. Just proud of them, because we’ve had some adversity with some guys being down and obviously when you’re trying to manage three games in a week, it’s tough.” -Mims
ABOUT UNION OMAHA
Union Omaha, the 2021 USL League One Champion, is the only 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 Major League Soccer (tier one). Union Omaha plays its home matches at Werner Park in Sarpy County, also home to the Omaha Storm Chasers of Minor League Baseball. The team is led by General Manager Peter Marlette in the front office and by Head Coach Jay Mims on the field.