PAPILLION, Nebr. (April 16, 2025) – Once again, Union Omaha has stormed through with a “cupset” in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
It was exactly who you’d expect to come in clutch as well, with Dion Acoff’s first half goal making the difference in a match where scrappy doesn’t quite cover the vibes at Caniglia Field.
Not that Head Coach Dominic Casciato felt at all perturbed postmatch.
“That’s a really good win tonight,” said Casciato. “I think we were pretty comfortable throughout the game. In the first half we were really good with the ball and threatening them in behind [their defense]. We maybe could have been more than one goal up. Then in the second half we defended really well. To be honest I don’t really remember them having one big chance in the game, so credit to the guys for coming together. I’m really proud of them.”
To Coach Dom’s point, San Antonio had an expected goals (xG) tally of just 0.31 on the night, according to Opta Sports. Even in the second half, when the Owls were content to bunker down with only 30% of possession, San Antonio could only muster a single shot on target.
The game began with a level of physicality that suggested two things: the visitors were frustrated at their recent losses and looking to stamp their authority on this match, and the home side were absolutely going to take whatever was thrown at them in stride. Aarón Gómez, one of the most consistent sparks in attack for Omaha, would get battered all night long by SAFC, yet still keep chugging along to the final whistle. It was not the kind of match that felt as though the first card would come in the 50th minute.
With much of Omaha’s attacking impetus running down the right wing in recent matches, it was refreshing to see the major chances early on being fashioned on the left. Charlie Ostrem and Anderson Holt were expertly chipping passes over the top to runners, putting Prosper Kasim and Ostrem in on goal with just the keeper to beat. While neither could both beat the keeper and put a shot on target, San Antonio was put on alert from the very beginning that the Owls could create an attacking chance at any point.
Maybe San Antonio’s best chance came in the 15th minute of a dangerously whipped free kick by leading chance creator Jorge Hernandez. His inswinger immediately caused mayhem in the box, with the ball ending up caroming off the near post and being hoofed away.
Omaha’s breakthrough arrived in the 36th. Prosper Kasim, formerly a USL Championship stalwart with Birmingham Legion, dropped deep to receive a pass and did well to turn and hold off a pair of SAFC defenders. Isidro Martinez picked up the loose ball from there and played a beautiful pass over the defense to Dion Acoff driving forward, a terrifying sight for any backline. Sure enough, with the defense retreating, he took a touch to collect himself before stopping on a dime, steadying himself, and firing a left-footed shot that dribbled past Richard Sanchez at the near post.
Both teams dug in after that. San Antonio’s frustration rose as Omaha kept up their pressing with perfectly selective intensity, always willing to step in and nick the ball off a player and push forward to create a chance in transition. A steady stream of substitutions by the Owls kept their legs fresh as the foul counts and foul temperaments rose in equal time.
It was the MLS veteran Brent Kallman who really got into the thick of it as stoppage time arrived, holding down Jorge Hernandez and eliciting both sides to get involved with each other. A couple shoves and a lot of words exchanged were the only real end result, though, beyond a booking for Kallman.
By the end of the match, Union Omaha’s staunch defensive efforts had visibly taken their toll on that frustrated San Antonio team, with extra time sending the match into triple digits as a result of the scuffling, time-wasting, and all manner of extracurricular activities.
“It was a great performance from the team. We knew how important the game was, and we went into the game knowing the pressure was going to be on them. Also, playing at home gave us the extra confidence with our fans behind us. Our gameplan worked perfectly from the start to the end,” said attacker Prosper Kasim, one of the top performers in the first half with his impact in fashioning chances for himself and others. It was his workrate that lent the chance for Chelo Martinez to provide the assist for Acoff, after all.
Union Omaha remains undefeated against USL Championship opposition in the U.S. Open Cup, with two wins and last year’s memorable shootout victory over El Paso. All of them are wins against Texan teams as well, so if the Owls happen to draw the Dynamo in the next round, there may need to be a true upset alert put out across Houston for its MLS team.
We’ll know who the Round of 32 opponents will be tomorrow morning, with the draw occurring on CBS Sports Golazo at 8:15am central. Should Omaha play host, tickets will go on sale days later for a match on either May 6th or 7th. For now, the team can look forward to a different kind of cup matchup, with the squad traveling down to Albuquerque for a USL Jägermeister Cup fixture against another new foe in New Mexico United. That will take place on Saturday, April 29th at 6:00pm. Union Omaha’s home opener lies just around the corner from then, on Saturday May 10th against Portland Hearts of Pine.
ABOUT UNION OMAHA
Union Omaha, the 2021 and 2024 USL League One Champions 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.
