With back-to-back home matches this week, Union Omaha can already make this a huge week in their playoff chase by keeping up their 24-match league unbeaten streak at home. Extending that USL League One record could pay major dividends for another reason: both of their opponents this week are in the race for home playoff matches. Picking up a win here against Spokane Velocity would go a long way towards helping the Owls clinch a top four spot and a coveted home playoff match in their first season at downtown Morrison Stadium.
An underrated potential factor at play: this is a noon match. On a Wednesday. That might throw a spanner in any team’s routine, but it could be especially tricky for a West Coast team like Spokane to adjust to what’s essentially a 10:00 AM kickoff time for them.
Keep reading for three more key points to know going into a match with real playoff implications:
- Spokane Velocity are stiff competition, and they never make it easy on Union Omaha (other than the 3-0 result in the 2024 USL League One Final). However, they’ve never won in Omaha, with the Owls holding a 3-0-2 record against Spokane here in Nebraska. After two draws at Werner Park in 2025, Union will surely want to put another notch in the win column.
- With his game-winning goal against Corpus Christi FC last weekend, Sergio Ors Navarro notched his 12th goal in all competitions. That surpasses his total from his 2025 rookie campaign with six games ahead for the Spaniard to keep piling on.
- Both Ors Navarro and Spokane’s top scorer, Shavon John-Brown, are attacking threats through their ability to move into dangerous positions. They’re ranked third and fourth in USL League One in Goals Added via receptions, with Ors Navarro’s 2.31 goals added nipping John-Brown’s 1.91.
Union Omaha vs. Spokane Velocity FC kicks off at 12:00pm central on Saturday, September 12th. Tickets are still available here if you’d like to attend the match. You can also watch the match on ESPN+, or locally on the Golden Spike Network.
ABOUT UNION OMAHA
Union Omaha, the 2021 and 2024 USL League One Champions, is the premier 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 the newly announced top-tier USL Premier, launching in 2028. Union Omaha will play its 2026 USL League One home matches at Morrison Stadium in downtown Omaha. The team is led by Chief Operating Officer Alexis Boulos in the front office and by Head Coach Vincenzo Candela on the pitch.
