2021 Union Omaha season

Union Omaha
2021 season
Head coach	Jay Mims
USL League One	1st (first regular season title)
USL1 Playoffs	Winners (first championship)
Top goalscorer	League: ; All: Greg Hurst (14 goals)
Highest home attendance	5,221 vs. GVL (11/20)
Lowest home attendance	2,722 vs. TOR (9/11)
Average home league attendance	3,496
Biggest win	OMA 6-1 TUC (11/13)
Biggest defeat	-1 goal (5 times)
Home colors	Away colors
	← 2020 2022 →

The 2021 Union Omaha season was the second season in the soccer team's history, and their second season in the third division of American soccer, USL League One. Union Omaha played the majority of their home games at Werner Park, located in Papillion, Nebraska, United States, with one game played at Creighton University's Morrison Stadium.

Union Omaha finished the regular season in first place, finishing with the league's best goal difference, earning home field advantage and a first-round bye in the USL League One Playoffs.^[1] Union Omaha finished the season winning their first ever championship, beating defending champion Greenville Triumph SC 3–0 in the final.^[2]

Roster

Following the completion of Union Omaha's inaugural season, head coach Jay Mims announced 14 players would return for the 2021 season.^[3] The team's first new signings were announced on January 22, as Conor Doyle and Greg Hurst were signed as free agents from the Chattanooga Red Wolves.^[4] Goalkeeper Kevin Piedrahita and defender Blake Malone joined the team as a free agent and on loan, respectively, before the start of training camp.^[5]^[6]

As of August 11, 2021^{[citation needed]}

No.	Position	Player	Nation
2	MF	Emir Alihodžić	Bosnia and Herzegovina
3	DF	Damià Viader	Spain
4	DF	Jaime Ponce	United States
5	MF	Tobias Otieno	Kenya
7	FW	Ethan Vanacore-Decker	United States
8	MF	John Murphy	United States
9	FW	Greg Hurst	Scotland
10	MF	Nicolas Firmino	Brazil
11	FW	Evan Conway	United States
12	MF	Austin Panchot	United States
13	DF	Daltyn Knutson	United States
14	MF	Christian Molina	El Salvador
15	FW	Elma N'For	Cameroon
16	DF	Jake Crull	Austria
17	MF	JP Scearce	United States
18	DF	Blake Malone (on loan from Orange County SC)	United States
19	FW	Ricardo Rivera	Puerto Rico
20	MF	Devin Boyce	United States
22	MF	Conor Doyle	United States
24	GK	Rashid Nuhu	Ghana
25	DF	Ferrety Sousa	DR Congo
28	DF	Illal Osumanu	Ghana
30	MF	Yoskar Galván-Mercado	United States
33	GK	Kevin Piedrahita	United States

Competitions

Exhibitions

March 19, 2021 (2021-03-19) Preseason 1	Minnesota United FC	1–1	Union Omaha	Blaine, Minnesota
				Stadium: National Sports Center

March 24, 2021 (2021-03-24) Preseason 2	Phoenix Rising FC	1–2	Union Omaha	Chandler, Arizona
12:00 PM MST	Dadashov 33'	PHX Report	Scearce 41' Hurst 53'	Stadium: Wild Horse Pass Stadium

March 27, 2021 (2021-03-27) Preseason 3	Phoenix Rising FC	1–2	Union Omaha	Chandler, Arizona
11:00 AM MST	Rodríguez 42'	PHX Report	Vanacore-Decker 69' N'For 90+'	Stadium: Wild Horse Pass Stadium

April 17, 2021 (2021-04-17) Preseason 4	Union Omaha	2–1	Sporting Kansas City II	Papillion, Nebraska
2:00 PM CST	Scearce 25', 63'	SKC II Report	Rešetar 34'	Stadium: Werner Park

August 4, 2021 (2021-08-04) Midseason 1	Union Omaha	v	Bellevue University	Papillion, Nebraska
6:00 PM CDT				Stadium: Werner Park

USL League One

Standings

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Union Omaha (C, X)	28	14	9	5	44	22	+22	51	Qualification for the semi-finals
2	Greenville Triumph SC	28	12	9	7	36	29	+7	45	Qualification for the semi-finals
3	Chattanooga Red Wolves SC	28	11	11	6	37	29	+8	44	Qualification for the play-offs
4	FC Tucson	28	11	7	10	44	42	+2	40
5	Richmond Kickers	28	11	7	10	35	36	−1	40

Source: USL League One
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) total wins; 3) total goal differential; 4) total goals scored; 5) points earned against top four Conference finishers; 6) disciplinary points; 7) drawing of lots.
(C) Champions; (X) Regular Season Champion

Results summary


Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
28	14	9	5	44	22	+22	51	7	4	3	23	12	+11	7	5	2	21	10	+11

Source: USL League One^[7]

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28
Stadium	H	A	A	A	A	A	A	H	A	H	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	H	H	H	A
Result	W	W	W	D	L	D	W	W	D	W	D	D	W	D	W	L	D	W	W	D	L	W	W	L	W	L	W	D
Position	3	2	2	2	2	3	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	1	1	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1

Source: USL League One^[8]
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Match results

April 24, 2021 (2021-04-24) 1	Union Omaha	2–0	South Georgia Tormenta FC	Papillion, NE
6:00 PM CDT	Conway 22' Boyce 53' Nuhu 69' Hurst 83', 88' Scearce 85'	Report	Eckenrode 49' Phelps 57' Liadi 69' Billhardt 81'	Stadium: Werner Park Attendance: 2,786 Referee: Mark Allatin

May 7, 2021 (2021-05-07) 2	Fort Lauderdale CF	0–2	Union Omaha	Fort Lauderdale, FL
6:30 PM CDT	Saavedra 66'	Report	Conway 31' Alihodžić 47' Viader 71'	Stadium: DRV PNK Stadium Referee: Gabriele Giusti

May 12, 2021 (2021-05-12) 3	New England Revolution II	0–1	Union Omaha	Foxborough, MA
4:00 PM CDT	J. Buck 26' Presley 27' Dulysse 38'	Report	Scearce 52' Hurst 84', 90+1'	Stadium: Gillette Stadium Attendance: 150 Referee: Adam Kilpatrick

May 16, 2021 (2021-05-16) 4	Greenville Triumph SC	1–1	Union Omaha	Greenville, SC
3:00 PM CDT	Lomis 35' Pilato 37'	Report	Firmino 59', 84' Scearce 77'	Stadium: Legacy Early College Field Attendance: 2,058 Referee: Elton Garcia

May 26, 2021 (2021-05-26) 5	Forward Madison FC	1–0	Union Omaha	Madison, WI
7:00 PM CDT	Sukow 58' Fuson 90'	Report	Knutson 16' Sousa 69'	Stadium: Breese Stevens Field Attendance: 1,919 Referee: Nabil Bensalah

June 2, 2021 (2021-06-02) 6	Toronto FC II	1–1	Union Omaha	Casa Grande, AZ
9:00 PM CDT	Thompson 49' Franklin 67'	Report	Firmino 37' Sousa 52' Knutson 73'	Stadium: Grande Sports World Referee: Jervis Atagana

June 6, 2021 (2021-06-06) 7	Forward Madison	1–2	Union Omaha	Madison, WI
5:00 PM CDT	Keegan 35' Molloy 66' Fernandes 90+1'	Report	Allen 7' (o.g.) Hurst 30' Alihodžić 51' Alihodžić 59'	Stadium: Breese Stevens Field Attendance: 2,195 Referee: Laura Chambers

June 12, 2021 (2021-06-12) 8	Union Omaha	4–2	New England Revolution II	Papillion, NE
7:00 PM CDT	Sousa 5' Hurst 21', 45+1', 47' Boyce 77' Panchot 84'	Report	Knighton 10' Presley 23' Tsicoulias 63'	Stadium: Werner Park Attendance: 3,677 Referee: Velimir Stefanovic

June 19, 2021 (2021-06-19) 9	Richmond Kickers	1–1	Union Omaha	Richmond, VA
5:30 PM CDT	Terzaghi 57' Otieno 76' (o.g.) Anderson 80'	Report	Sousa 31', 75' Vanacore-Decker 64' Otieno 73'	Stadium: City Stadium Attendance: 2,009 Referee: John Matto

June 26, 2021 (2021-06-26) 10	Union Omaha	1–0	FC Tucson	Papillion, NE
7:00 PM CDT	Hurst 6' Otieno 42' Knutson 78' Firmino 90+3'	Report	Ferriol 45+2' Corfe 61' Fox 90+7'	Stadium: Werner Park Attendance: 3,315 Referee: Melvin Rivas

July 3, 2021 (2021-07-03) 11	Union Omaha	1–1	Chattanooga Red Wolves SC	Papillion, NE
8:00 PM CDT	Hurst 36' Doyle 45+1' Scearce 54', 55'	Report	España 24' Ruiz 31' García 81' Hernández 90+1'	Stadium: Werner Park Attendance: 3,880 Referee: Samantha Martinez

July 16, 2021 (2021-07-16) 12	Union Omaha	1–1	Forward Madison FC	Papillion, NE
7:00 PM CDT	Boyce 11' N'For 31'	Report	Barriga Toyama 32' Gebhard 60' Tobin 67' Fernandes 74'	Stadium: Werner Park Attendance: 3,304 Referee: Kevin Fikar

July 24, 2021 (2021-07-24) 13	FC Tucson	1–2	Union Omaha	Tucson, AZ
9:00 PM CDT	Bedoya 49' Dennis 67' Doyle 74' (o.g.) Fox 90+4'	Report	Sousa 23' Viader 44' Hurst 51' Murphy 84'	Stadium: Kino North Stadium Attendance: 715 Referee: Gerald Flores

July 31, 2021 (2021-07-31) 14	Union Omaha	1–1	North Texas SC	Papillion, NE
7:00 PM CDT	Hurst 20' Crull 65' Boyce 79'	Report	Kamungo 49' Waldeck 51' Almaguer 63' Kazu 66'	Stadium: Werner Park Attendance: 3,722 Referee: Chris Ruska

August 7, 2021 (2021-08-07) 15	Union Omaha	P–P	Forward Madison FC	Papillion, NE
7:00 PM CDT				Stadium: Werner Park
Note: Match postponed due to severe weather^[9]

August 14, 2021 (2021-08-14) 15	FC Tucson	0–1	Union Omaha	Tucson, AZ
9:00 PM CDT	Knox 58'	Report	Kone 19' (o.g.) Otieno 59' Viader 75' Doyle 80'	Stadium: Kino North Stadium Attendance: 859 Referee: Ricardo Fierro

August 21, 2021 (2021-08-21) 16	Chattanooga Red Wolves SC	1–0	Union Omaha	Chattanooga, TN
6:00 PM CDT	Capozucchi 28' Ricketts 33' Navarro 67' Carrera 75' Ruiz 79'	Report	Doyle 36' Viader 76'	Stadium: CHI Memorial Stadium Attendance: 2,149 Referee: Joshua Belk

August 28, 2021 (2021-08-28) 17	Union Omaha	0–0	North Texas SC	Papillion, NE
7:00 PM CDT	Otieno 50' Malone 90+2'	Report	Maldonado 23' Smith 26' Gomes 31' Ferri 68'	Stadium: Werner Park Attendance: 3,311 Referee: Karen Callado

September 4, 2021 (2021-09-04) 18	North Carolina FC	0–3	Union Omaha	Cary, NC
6:00 CDT	Martinez 24' Flick 39' McGuire 52' Jackson 70'	Report	Viader 7', 53' (pen.) Alihodžić 68' Rivera 85'	Stadium: WakeMed Soccer Park Referee: William Steffen

September 11, 2021 (2021-09-11) 19	Union Omaha	2–1	Toronto FC II	Papillion, NE
7:00 PM CDT	Boyce 6' Scearce 21', 71' Hurst 45+4'	Report	Carlini 39' Singh 53' Petrasso 59' Altobelli 88'	Stadium: Werner Park Attendance: 2,722 Referee: Adorae Monroy

September 19, 2021 (2021-09-19) 20	North Texas SC	2–2	Union Omaha	Arlington, TX
6:00 PM CDT	ElMedkhar 18' Ferri 30' Vargas 53', 90'	Report	Viader 11', 76' Hurst 58' Conway 81'	Stadium: Globe Life Park Attendance: 603 Referee: Benjamin Meyer

September 25, 2021 (2021-09-25) 21	Union Omaha	0–1	FC Tucson	Omaha, NE
7:00 PM CDT	Doyle 11' Alihodžić 32'	Report	Dennis 7' (pen.) Mastrantonio 51' Adams 56' Calixtro 76' Kone 81' Schenfeld 87'	Stadium: Morrison Stadium Attendance: 3,741 Referee: Jervis Atagana

October 1, 2021 (2021-10-01) 22	South Georgia Tormenta FC	0–4	Union Omaha	Statesboro, GA
7:00 PM CDT	Micaletto 2' Nus 51' Jackson 57' Candela 76'	Report	Conway 5', 40', 71' Viader 66' Osumanu 77'	Stadium: Eagle Field Attendance: 2,045 Referee: Izlen Peksenar

October 6, 2021 (2021-10-06) 23	Union Omaha	4–1	Fort Lauderdale CF	Papillion, NE
7:00 PM CDT	Conway 35' Hurst 43', 58' Boyce 49' Doyle 70'	Report		Stadium: Werner Park Attendance: 3,126 Referee: Melvin Rivas

October 9, 2021 (2021-10-09) 24	Union Omaha	0–1	Greenville Triumph SC	Papillion, NE
6:00 PM CDT	Doyle 72' Otieno 78'	Report	Lomis 12' Booth 69' Hemmings 88'	Stadium: Werner Park Attendance: 3,884 Referee: Greg Dopka

October 16, 2021 (2021-10-16) 25	Union Omaha	4–1	North Carolina FC	Papillion, NE
6:00 PM CDT	Conway 2', 18', 57' Alihodžić 25'	Report	Mbaye 15' Blanco 45+3' Frame 68'	Stadium: Werner Park Attendance: 3,197 Referee: Nabil Bensalah

October 20, 2021 (2021-10-20) 26	Union Omaha	1–2	Forward Madison FC	Papillion, NE
7:00 PM CDT	Conway 32' Hurst 89' (pen.)	Report	Allen 32' Trimmingham 53', 58', 58' Rad 76'	Stadium: Werner Park Attendance: 2,405 Referee: Abdou Ndiaye
Note: Match was originally scheduled for August 7

October 23, 2021 (2021-10-23) 27	Union Omaha	2–0	Richmond Kickers	Papillion, NE
6:00 PM CDT	Hurst 34', 88' Otieno 85', 90+4' Sousa 90'	Report	Bolduc 30' Bolanos 77' Morán 84'	Stadium: Werner Park Attendance: 2,943 Referee: Luis Arroyo

October 30, 2021 (2021-10-30) 28	North Texas SC	1–1	Union Omaha	Arlington, TX
7:30 PM CDT	Kamungo 35' Avayevu 83'	Report	Firmino 90+1'	Stadium: Globe Life Park Attendance: 821 Referee: Eric Tattersall

USL League One Playoffs

November 13, 2021 (2021-11-13) Semifinal	Union Omaha	6–1	FC Tucson	Papillion, NE
4:00 PM CST	Conway 3', 31' Boyce 32', 54' Crull 34' Viader 49' Panchot 70' Alihodžić 83'	Report	Schenfeld 30', 32' Dennis 44', 63' Ferriol 66'	Stadium: Werner Park Attendance: 3,607 Referee: Michael Radchuk

November 20, 2021 (2021-11-20) Final	Union Omaha	3–0	Greenville Triumph	Papillion, NE
4:00 PM CST	Conway 7', 11' 77' Hurst 43' Sousa 62' Viader 63' Otieno 90+2'	Report	Hemmings 65' Lee 72'	Stadium: Werner Park Attendance: 5,221 Referee: Kevin Broadley

Statistics

Appearances and goals

Numbers after plus–sign (+) denote appearances as a substitute.

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		USL-1
No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
2	MF	BIH	Emir Alihodžić	29	3	14+15	3
3	DF	ESP	Damià Viader	30	7	29+1	7
4	DF	USA	Jaime Ponce	1	0	1+0	0
5	MF	KEN	Tobias Otieno	25	2	16+9	2
7	FW	USA	Ethan Vanacore-Decker	11	0	7+4	0
8	MF	USA	John Murphy	8	0	0+8	0
9	FW	SCO	Greg Hurst	30	14	27+3	14
10	MF	BRA	Nicolas Firmino	25	2	9+16	2
11	FW	USA	Evan Conway	18	13	15+3	13
12	MF	USA	Austin Panchot	16	1	3+13	1
13	DF	USA	Daltyn Knutson	23	1	22+1	1
14	MF	SLV	Christian Molina	9	0	1+8	0
15	FW	CMR	Elma N'For	15	0	5+10	0
16	DF	AUT	Jake Crull	23	0	19+4	0
17	MF	USA	JP Scearce	29	1	27+2	1
18	DF	USA	Blake Malone	13	0	7+6	0
19	FW	PUR	Ricardo Rivera	7	1	1+6	1
20	MF	USA	Devin Boyce	29	5	27+2	5
22	MF	USA	Conor Doyle	30	0	28+2	0
24	GK	GHA	Rashid Nuhu	26	0	26+0	0
25	DF	COD	Ferrety Sousa	29	1	27+2	1
28	DF	GHA	Illal Osumanu	17	0	15+2	0
30	MF	USA	Yoskar Galvan-Mercado	2	0	0+2	0
33	GK	USA	Kevin Piedrahita	4	0	4+0	0

Last updated: November 21, 2021
Source: USL League One

Disciplinary record

No.	Pos.	Player
No.	Pos.	Player	USL1			Total
2	MF	Emir Alihodžić	4	0	0	4	0	0
3	DF	Damià Viader	4	0	0	4	0	0
4	DF	Jaime Ponce	0	0	0	0	0	0
5	MF	Tobias Otieno	6	0	0	6	0	0
7	FW	Ethan Vanacore-Decker	1	0	0	1	0	0
8	MF	John Murphy	1	0	0	1	0	0
9	FW	Greg Hurst	6	0	0	6	0	0
10	MF	Nicolas Firmino	3	0	0	3	0	0
11	FW	Evan Conway	1	1	0	1	1	0
12	MF	Austin Panchot	1	0	0	1	0	0
13	DF	Daltyn Knutson	2	0	0	2	0	0
14	MF	Christian Molina	0	0	0	0	0	0
15	FW	Elma N'For	1	0	0	1	0	0
16	DF	Jake Crull	2	0	0	2	0	0
17	MF	JP Scearce	5	0	1	5	0	1
18	DF	Blake Malone	1	0	0	1	0	0
19	FW	Ricardo Rivera	0	0	0	0	0	0
20	MF	Devin Boyce	3	0	0	3	0	0
22	MF	Conor Doyle	6	0	0	6	0	0
24	GK	Rashid Nuhu	1	0	0	1	0	0
25	DF	Ferrety Sousa	7	0	0	7	0	0
28	DF	Illal Osumanu	1	0	0	1	0	0
30	MF	Yoskar Galvan-Mercado	0	0	0	0	0	0
33	GK	Kevin Piedrahita	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total			56	1	1	56	1	1

Last updated: November 21, 2021
Source: USL League One

References

^ "2021 Standings". uslleagueone.com.
^ "Union Omaha wins first USL League One title in Owls' second season". Omaha World Herald. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
^ "Union Omaha names 14 players to be retained for next season's roster". Omaha World Herald. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
^ "Union Omaha Signs Conor Doyle, Greg Hurst for 2021". USL League One. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
^ "UNION OMAHA ADDS GOALKEEPER TO 2021 ROSTER". Union Omaha. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
^ "Orange County SC loan Blake Malone to Union Omaha for 2021 season". Angels on Parade. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
^ "2021 USL League One Standings". USL League One.
^ "Union Omaha Schedule". USL League One.
^ "Omaha vs. Madison Contest Abandoned". wwww.uslleagueone.com. August 8, 2020. Retrieved August 9, 2020.

[1] "2021 Standings". uslleagueone.com.

[Final-2] "Union Omaha wins first USL League One title in Owls' second season". Omaha World Herald. Retrieved November 23, 2021.

[Returnees-3] "Union Omaha names 14 players to be retained for next season's roster". Omaha World Herald. Retrieved December 3, 2020.

[New_Signees-4] "Union Omaha Signs Conor Doyle, Greg Hurst for 2021". USL League One. Retrieved January 22, 2021.

[Piedrahita-5] "UNION OMAHA ADDS GOALKEEPER TO 2021 ROSTER". Union Omaha. Retrieved March 4, 2021.

[6] "Orange County SC loan Blake Malone to Union Omaha for 2021 season". Angels on Parade. Retrieved March 13, 2021.

[7] "2021 USL League One Standings". USL League One.

[8] "Union Omaha Schedule". USL League One.

[9] "Omaha vs. Madison Contest Abandoned". wwww.uslleagueone.com. August 8, 2020. Retrieved August 9, 2020.

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v t e Union Omaha
Information	Club Players Stadium
Seasons (3)	2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Key personnel	Head coach/technical director: Dominic Casciato Chairman: Gary Green GM: Peter Marlette Jr.
Category

v t e USL League One
Teams	AV Alta FC Charlotte Independence Chattanooga Red Wolves SC Forward Madison FC Greenville Triumph SC One Knoxville SC FC Naples Union Omaha Portland Hearts of Pine Richmond Kickers Spokane Velocity Texoma FC Tormenta FC Westchester SC
Future teams	Corpus Christi, Texas (2026) USL Eugene (2026) Boise Pro Soccer (TBA)
Former teams	Central Valley Fuego FC Fort Lauderdale CF Lansing Ignite FC Lexington SC New England Revolution II North Carolina FC North Texas SC Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC Orlando City B Toronto FC II FC Tucson
Seasons	2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
USL Cup	2024
Miscellaneous	United Soccer League USL Championship USL League Two

v t e 2021 USL League One season by team
Playoffs Final
Clubs	Chattanooga Red Wolves SC Fort Lauderdale CF Forward Madison FC Greenville Triumph SC New England Revolution II North Carolina FC North Texas SC Union Omaha Richmond Kickers Tormenta FC Toronto FC II FC Tucson