Match Day Information
Location: Fresno State Soccer Stadium, Fresno, CA
Reported attendance: 570
Weather: partly cloudy, 68F
Match Notes – Fuego FC
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Absent from the roster: Ofek Antman (injury), José-Carrera García (visa), Abdul Cromwell (injury), Cherif Dieye (injury), François Dulysse (injury), David Ramon (scratch)
Othoniel Arce got the start at striker, playing the first 57 minutes with three shots, one on target.
Notable on the bench:
- Sam Strong made his season debut in the 78th minute, subbing for Alexis Cerritos.
- Villyan Bijev returned to the roster after missing the mid-week US Open Cup match, subbing for David Diaz.
- Andrew Forth, Harold Hanson, and Zahir Vasquez were once again second-half substitutes.
- Adrian Vera did not appear.
Fuego FC led the match with 13 shots but struggled with accuracy at only 7.7%.
Yellow cards: Partida (37′), Chavez (60′)
Fuego FC Substitutions
IN: FW Zahir Vasquez 57′
OUT: FW Othoniel Arce
IN: FW Villyan Bijev 57′
OUT: FW David Diaz
IN: DF Andrew Forth 69′
OUT: DF Omar Lemus
IN: DF Harold Hanson 77′
OUT: MF Diego Castillas
IN: DF Sam Strong 78′
OUT: MF Alexis Cerritos
Match Notes – Union Omaha
Formation: 4-1-3-2
Absent from the roster: Dion Acoff, Yoskar Galván-Mercado, Eddie Gordon.
Coach Dominic Casiato switched to a 4-1-3-2 formation, dropping Stefan Mueller to left-back, Junior Palacios and Alexis Souahy to center-back, and starting Shaft Brewer at right-back.
Notable on the bench:
- After starting and playing most of the mid-week US Open Cup match, forward Steevan Dos Santos subbed in the 61st minute for Joe Brito.
- Defender Luca Mastrantonio made his regular-season debut at the start of the second half, replacing Shaft Brewer.
- Defender Marco Milanese made his regular-season debut in the 89th minute, replacing Luis Gil
- Alex Steinwascher and Pedro Dolabella subbed in the second half for Noe Meza and Joe Gallardo respectively.
- Joe Willis did not appear.
Noe Meza scored the first goal near the end of the first half on a long pass from defender Shaft Brewer. The defender caught Jesus Partida on a bad giveaway and took advantage of the Fuego side in a forward attack position. Meza remained onside, catching defenders Mouhammed Dabo and Omar Lemus off guard to send the shot past goalkeeper Mitchell North.
Steevan Dos Santos scored the late match insurance goal on an assist from Alex Steinwascher.
Yellow cards: Brito (18′), Brewer (41′), Doyle (55′), Dolabella (75′) Nuhu (90′) Souahy (90+3′)
Union Omaha Substitutions
IN: DF Luca Mastrantonio 45′
OUT: DF Shaft Brewer
IN: FW Steevan Dos Santos 61′
OUT: FW Joe Brito
IN: MF Pedro Dolabella 72′
OUT: MF Joe Gallardo
IN: FW Alex Steinwascher 73′
OUT: FW Noe Meza
IN: DF Marco Milanese 89′
OUT: MF Luis Gil