Location: Caniglia Field, Omaha, NE
Attendance: 1,913
Weather: 34F, partly cloudy
Midwestern USL League One rivals Union Omaha and Forward Madison faced off in a cold season-opening matchup for both clubs at Caniglia Field in Omaha. The hosts enlisted the help of groundskeepers and fans alike to clear the overnight snowfall from the pitch in time for kickoff at 2:00 pm Central.
Union Omaha finished 2022 fifth in the table and fell to Chattanooga Red Wolves SC in the opening round of the playoffs. In the off-season, The Owls beefed up their already strong defense and brought in several players to improve the low-scoring offense, including Steevan Dos Santos, Joe Gallardo, and Alex Steinwascher.
Forward Madison missed the playoffs for the third year in a row and built a new roster around only four returnees. Christian Chaney, Aiden Mesias, Stephen Payne, Timmy Mehl, and Jacob Crull headlined their off-season batch of free-agent signees.
Omaha struck first, on a Luis Gil corner kick headed past Forward Madison goalkeeper Bernd Schipmann by veteran midfielder JP Scearce.
Christian Chaney equalized in the second half spinning in a Derek Gebhard cross into the Omaha box. The striker had ten goals for Fuego FC in 2022 and was signed by Madison specifically to add some goal-scoring prowess.
Immediately following the Chaney goal, coach Casciato subbed in Dos Santos for Steinwascher. The 33-year-old forward brought some energy back to The Owls and took a break-away stopping foul in the 83rd minute, which saw Forward Madison captain Mitch Osmond shown a yellow. The free kick sailed over the goal.
Less than a minute later, Jayden Onen provided a would-be assist for Chaney that went just high of the goal. Chaney also saw a pair of chances in stoppage time, both stopped by Omaha keeper Nuhu.
The clubs walked away with a point a piece, but both saw plenty of chances, with four shots on target for Omaha and five for Forward Madison.
Union Omaha Match Notes
Making their club debuts in the starting 11: Joe Gallardo, Stefan Muller, Junior Palacios, Alexis Souahy, Alex Steinwascher
Alex Steinwascher got the start up front alongside Noe Meza and Joe Gallardo over USL Championship veteran Steevan Dos Santos. The 22-year-old forward demonstrated the reasons for this decision on multiple chances, meshing well with Meza in particular. Steinwascher made his USL1 debut in the start, having previously only signed professionally with arena side Milwaukee Wave.
Making club debuts off the bench: Pedro Dolabella, Steevan Dos Santos
Dos Santos started on the bench, but entered in the 56th minute for Steinwascher, immediately following Forward Madison’s equalizing goal.
Junior Palacios brought a physical presence to the mid and backfields, experiencing several moments of conflict with Forward Madison striker Christian Chaney. The right-back received a yellow card in the 63rd minute.
Veteran Conor Doyle resumed the captaincy for the Owls.
Yellow cards: Acoff (40′), Palacios (63′), Brewer (89′)
Union Omaha Substitutions
OUT: FW Steinwascher 56′
IN: FW Dos Santos
OUT: FW Meza 72′
IN: MF Dolabella
OUT: DF Acoff 85′
IN: DF Brewer
Next match: at One Knoxville SC, April 1
Forward Madison Match Notes
Making their club debuts in the starting 11: Christian Chaney, Jacob Crull, Isidro Martinez, Timmy Mehl, Aiden Mesias, Jayden Onen, Stephen Payne, Bernd Schippmann
Making their club debuts off the bench: Mauro Cichero
Off-season acquisition Christian Chaney stood out for the Mingos, bringing a chippy, physical presence to the front, and adding the equalizer in the second half, along with several additional shots on target. Fellow newcomer Jayden Onen worked well with Chaney up front, providing several shots-on-target assists.
Veteran Mitch Osmond had the captain’s armband for Forward Madison.
Yellow cards: Wheeler-Omiunu (77′), Osmond (82′)
Forward Madison Substitutions
IN: MF Wheeler-Omiunu 72′
OUT: MF Mesias
IN: FW Cichiro 73′
OUT: FW Bartman
Next match: at Lexington SC, April 8