PAPILLION, Neb. (January 7, 2025) – Union Omaha announced today a second group of players returning to the club for the 2025 season. This group consists of Aarón Gómez, Marco Milanese, Max Schneider, and Rashid Nuhu. This mix of established veterans and 2024 newcomers solidifies the Owls’ core with championship-winning talent as they attempt to make it back-to-back titles.
Head Coach Dominic Casciato said this on the re-signings: “Aarón, Marco, Max and Rashid were all a huge part of our success in 2024, so we’re delighted to be bringing them back to Omaha as we look to strengthen the squad going into 2025. The best signings you can make are keeping your best players, so I think our ability to bring these guys back speaks volumes for our ambition for this season and what our group will be capable of.”
Club legend Rashid Nuhu is back for his sixth season in Omaha after becoming one of two players to win a pair of USL League One championships with Union Omaha (the other being previously announced returnee Blake Malone). The Ghanaian goalkeeper has guarded the Owls’ goal since the first season, and ranks in the top 10 all time in minutes played in USL League One. Last season, he tallied nine clean sheets in 24 league matches while also donning the captain’s armband.
The other veteran Owl in this crop returning to Werner Park is Marco Milanese, back for his third season with the club. The Italian-born, left-footed center back has been a stalwart presence in the Owls’ backline in his time with Union Omaha, and in 19 league appearances in 2024 came up with 27 interceptions and 11 blocks. Milanese has made 57 total appearances for the club, and joins Charlie Ostrem in locking down the left side of the pitch for the club this season.
Aarón Gómez will be back for a second year with the club after signing from head coach Dominic Casciato’s old stomping grounds in El Paso. Gómez notched six goals and four assists in USL League One in 2024, including one of each in the 2-1 semifinal victory over Greenville Triumph. In total, he made 36 appearances in all competitions, providing a spark not just through his attacking prowess and veteran mentality, but through his aggression off the ball in leading Omaha’s pressing.
Midseason loanee Max Schneider has signed on for a full contract with Union Omaha in 2025. The former Indy Eleven player initially joined the club on loan in mid-July, and after a temporary recall to his parent club, returned for the remainder of the season in September. Schneider stepped straight into the #6 role as the Owls’ defensive midfielder, establishing himself as a presence on and off the ball. His threat on set-pieces, whether on the receiving end or delivering them, was on full display late in the year, and he ranked near the top of the team in interceptions and duels won.
These players join the previously announced group of returnees in forming the established core of Union Omaha’s title defense for the 2025 season. The current roster of returning players looks as follows:
- Dion Acoff
- Mark Bronnik
- Aarón Gómez
- Anderson Holt
- Ryen Jiba
- Brandon Knapp
- Blake Malone
- Marco Milanese
- Rashid Nuhu
- Charlie Ostrem
- Max Schneider
Union Omaha’s 2025 USL League One season kicks off at Greenville on Wednesday, March 12th, with their first home match falling on Saturday, May 10th against Portland Hearts of Pine. Season tickets and other ticket packages can be purchased here, or by calling the box office at 402-738-5100.
ABOUT UNION OMAHA
Union Omaha, the 2021 and 2024 USL League One Champions, 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. The team is led by General Manager Alexis Boulos in the front office and by Head Coach Dominic Casciato on the field.
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