Lagos Kunga records first club goal and assist in first start
STATESBORO, Ga. (October 7, 2023) – Omaha cruised into South Georgia and grabbed all three points, defeating the defending league champions 4-1 Saturday to take one step closer to securing the League One Players’ Shield.
Having jumped into first place after a solid 4-1 against Charlotte to close out their home campaign Wednesday, the Owls would take the road to close out the season against two playoff contenders. Both Omaha and South Georgia found themselves in the midst of late season pushes, with Tormenta sitting just outside the playoff bubble but heating up at the right time, and Omaha still riding a 12-match unbeaten streak dating back to July.
The explosive Owls’ offense got to work early. Captain JP Scearce ripped a shot from deep outside the box that Tormenta’s Pablo Jara was able to bat away, but Steevan Dos Santos, staying hot after his three-goal performance Wednesday, was in the right place at the right time to tap in the rebound in the 12th minute.
The Owls went up a man in the 39th minute, as Tormenta’s Daltyn Knutson was sent off with a red card after stopping an open Dos Santos run at goal.
Omaha came out of the halftime break looking for extra insurance with the 1-0 lead. Their advantage would come in the 60th minute, as Lagos Kunga recorded his first assist for the club, finding Noe Meza for the score. The goal was Meza’s 12th of the season, a career-best, and ties Dos Santos’ team-leading total this season.
“Yeah, I knew Lagos [Kunga] – he’s good at dribbling, so right when I saw him getting to the end line, I knew if I could be good in front of my defender, I was gonna get a good chance on goal and that’s what I did,” Meza said. “I just tried, however I could, to put in an on target because it was coming in fast.”
Kunga’s offensive production didn’t stop there, as the forward put himself on the scoresheet just after, splitting a group of defenders and slotting home the strike off his outside foot for his first goal in the black and lightning in the 62nd minute.
“He’s someone that obviously came in late, but we know the quality that he brings and we know that if we were bringing him off the bench or if he was starting games for us, he can have an impact like he did tonight,” Union Omaha Head Coach Dominic Casciato said. “I think there’s a lot more to come from him tonight and in the rest of the season.”
Kunga nearly earned himself a brace in the 71st minute, as Dos Santos found him in the middle of the box for another quality look that was scooped up by Jara.
Joe Brito delivered the final punch in the 81st minute, shrugging off a South Georgia defender and dropping another with a filthy fake-out shot to slide the finish in and put the Owls up 4-0, their second-straight four-goal performance in as many matches.
Rashid Nuhu and the defense wrapped up its 7th clean sheet of the season and first since August, while the offense now leads the league with 60 goals on the year.
“It was good,” Nuhu said. “I’m just happy for the collective group, just grinding. It was a tough game today. We had to put in tackles. We had to stay focused for the whole game to get that clean sheet and that win. We did that tonight and I’m very happy for the whole group.”
“I think anytime you play a team like Tormenta that are fighting for their lives, you’ve got to match that intensity,” Casciato said. “You’ve got to exceed that intensity because we’re fighting to get into the playoffs … We had a plan. I think our identity and our style now is super, super clear. It’s just really pleasing for the guys to one, match the intensity, bring our own level of intensity and two, play the way that we did with or without a ball. I thought we were excellent.”
The race for the Players’ Shield will come down to the final day of the season, and the Owls will control their own destiny in what is sure to be a fiery rivalry match against Forward Madison Saturday, October 14. A win would clinch the 2023 Players’ Shield, as well as secure a first-round playoff bye for the Owls, while the Flamingoes need a win to clinch their playoff berth.
The Owls will return to Werner Park for their first USL League One playoff match, which will be a quarter-final match on October 20-22 or a semi-final on October 27-29, depending on where the team finishes. Tickets for the match can be purchased here.
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 Dominic Casciato on the field.
