Marshall teammates Schneider and Dolabella put the match to rest early with set piece goals in front of record attendance
Papillion, Nebr. (November 17, 2024) – Union Omaha became the first club in USL League One to add a second star to their crest with a win over Spokane Velocity FC. In what shaped up to be a knock-down drag-out tussle, all it took was 150 seconds for that to be thrown out the window in favor of a pure rout by the Owls.
Los Búhos took down the 2024 USL League One Final by a 3-0 scoreline over the expansion Velocity, and they did it in front of a raucous record crowd numbering over 5,800, a Finals record.
“Great feeling today,” said Head Coach Dominic Casciato. “I think we were dominant from the first whistle to the last whistle, and that’s what we aim to do. We aim to come out and dominate every team we play against whether we’re home or away, cup final or league game, Jägermeister Cup… so to do it in the way we did today was great.”
2024’s Coach of the Year couldn’t have asked for a better start than the one he received. On their first corner kick of the match, Joe Gallardo whipped an outswinging cross towards the near corner of the six-yard box. The towering Max Schneider, who’s often been the one delivering these set pieces, stepped up to find himself in enough space to parallel park an 18-wheeler. He thumped the ball to the near post, where Brooks Thompson could only push it into his own top corner. Not three minutes into the match, Omaha were over the moon, Spokane were stunned, and the berm was bathed in smoke.
The Owls’ aggressiveness continued from there. Zeiko Lewis, a slow starter this year after having missed the preseason, looked as assertive as we’d ever seen him in finding his shot to go with his playmaking chops. Schneider, off the back of his first professional goal, was seemingly sliding for a loose ball every minute. And Joe Gallardo was straight-up having fun on the right flank, toying with defenders and even putting one or two in the spin cycle.
Said Lewis, a Bermuda international, “Coach has been giving me confidence all throughout the season. When I started to hit my form around the end of the season, he told me to just keep doing what you’ve been doing. Get on the ball, create for us, and you’ve got the opportunity to take a shot and make a difference. That’s what I was trying to do, just helping the team any way I can make a difference, any way I can.
“Without my teammates and everybody else encouraging me and pushing me each day in practice and into games, it could have been a different season for me, but these guys have always had my back no matter what I was going through. It’s been a great experience, and I’m just happy it all worked out in the end.”
Gallardo would create the second goal in the 19th minute with another spot-on delivery from a corner kick. This time, after it was nodded down by Marco Milanese, a Spokane defender stabbed it into the path of Pedro Dolabella, who made no mistake in blasting it home from point-blank. It marked his 15th goal in all competitions this season, and the 16th set piece goal by the Owls. Dolabella also made it two goals for the 2020 Marshall University team that won the Division I soccer championship, as he and Schneider were teammates on that squad.
Suddenly, what felt like a tight fixture going in was busted wide open amidst a party atmosphere at Werner Park.
Spokane managed to get somewhat of a foothold in the match not long after this, beginning to tilt the possession total towards Velocity (and ultimately to a 59%-41% advantage to the visitors). However, they were always staved off from using it to enter any dangerous territory. By the time the halftime whistle blew, they were down 10-1 in shots, with their only attempt being blocked.
After the break was more of the same. Captain Rashid Nuhu never had to make a save, and any time the ball came into the box from out wide he was downright imperious, sometimes leaping above two or three bodies to claim a cross. When that is all you have to do in a match, that’s a successful outing.
With Dion Acoff’s return to the pitch for one last cameo on the season, Joe Gallardo was moved from his right wingback spot up to left wing. That proved fruitful ten minutes later, when Gallardo nicked the ball off Javier Martín Gil and drove a long ways forward. Even with two Spokane players closing him down, he made space to fire a cross that was headed back to Lagos Kunga beyond everyone. The dynamic Kunga chested it down and opened his body, drawing Derek Waldeck in as though he was going to try and curl it to the far post with his left foot.
Instead, Kunga created separation with a drive to the byline, then stuck an audacious toe-poke across his body into the side netting for the dagger. It would also be the third goal of the day that Gallardo had created with his delivery, even though he would only tally one assist. Add it to the number of highlight-reel goals this year that the Búhos faithful would love to trap in amber.
From there, it was elementary. Spokane committed numbers forward, Omaha had the more threatening chances on the counterattack, and Steevan Dos Santos made one more appearance to cap off a legendary career and see his team through to the final whistle. With a 19-3 shot advantage, it was a supremely confident affair he helped bring to a close.
Said Coach Dom afterwards, “I’m really, really proud of these players. They’ve given absolutely everything this season, and I can’t ask any more from them than what they’ve done and what they give week in and week out. So I think this is a fitting reward for the players, and now our thoughts turn to getting some rest and supporting Mechack through his recovery period.
“I just want to say a big thank you to all the fans for all the support. It means the world to us, and today they gave us an extra boost. They’re exceptional.”
With a record-setting crowd in attendance to see the club through, there’s no doubt about that boost. And there’s no doubt about who the kings of USL League One are after the Owls completed the double in style.
2025 season ticket memberships are available now on Union Omaha’s website, or by calling the ticket office at 402-738-5100.
ABOUT UNION OMAHA
Union Omaha, the 2021 USL League One Champion and three-time USL League One Players’ Shield Winner, 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 American soccer, 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 of Business Operations Alexis Boulos in the front office and Head Coach Dominic Casciato on the field.
