Missael Rodríguez’s 12-minute brace blows away Charlotte in the rain
CHARLOTTE, Nc. (May 17, 2024) – Those expecting yet another scoreless draw between Omaha and Charlotte were pleasantly disappointed by an outbreak of goals that saw the visitors leave with an emphatic victory.
A brace by League One’s hottest player, Missael Rodríguez, was book-ended by goals from fellow in-form players Pedro Dolabella and Lagos Kunga to make for a second 4-1 win for Omaha in their last four meetings. Incredibly, this came after going into the halftime break down 1-0.
Charlotte had most of the better chances in the first half, despite 50-50 possession and a relatively even shot total. Rashid Nuhu had to come off his line aggressively in the 8th minute to deny Rayan Djedje cutting inside from the right wing. Later, Luis Alvarez, who had fed Djedje for that early chance, busted free on a counterattack off an Omaha corner kick. However, Dion Acoff busted a lung to make up for the misplaced pass that began the break, bought enough time to allow other Owls to recover as well, and then blocked Alvarez’s shot to snuff out the danger.
The Independence’s run of play soon came to a head as the heavens came pouring down, though. Alvarez made a great dummy on a diagonal ball to the top of the box, and Charlotte’s leading scorer Juan Carlos Obregón turned, put the ball on his left foot, and got off a shot that squirted through both Nuhu and Blake Malone for the lead.
Head Coach Dominic Casciato chalked the first half deficit up to an identity crisis of sorts. “I think first half we didn’t really recognize who we were, with or without the ball. We were giving away too much space, and obviously gave away a sloppy goal.”
While the first few minutes of the second half were innocuous enough, though, from then on the Owls found themselves.
Pedro Dolabella kicked things off with a goal in his third straight match. As part of the Búhos’ high pressing, Joe Gallardo bull-rushed Djedje and muscled him off the ball. It fell to Aarón Gómez, who had Charlotte goalkeeper Austin Pack committed to closing him down. The winger coolly slid it across goal to Dolabella, who had a wide open net to tap in the equalizer.
By the 62nd minute, the match had been turned right on its head. Not long after a wonderful line-splitting pass out of the back from Mechack Jérôme and a blocked Rodríguez shot, Lagos Kunga juked Anton Sorenson out of his shoes and skated past Bachir Ndiaye en route to the byline. He finished his incredible assist by nutmegging Hugh Roberts to find fox in the box Rodríguez for the lead.
Though the goal against Northern Colorado Hailstorm didn’t go down as an assist, Kunga has now been provider on three of Rodríguez’s six goals this season. He could have had another minutes later too when he scythed through the defense with more dribbling mastery, sliding Rodríguez in for a penalty shout that went uncalled.
Oh, spoiler alert: the Chicago Fire loanee scored another in the 76th. A misplaced pass was picked off in the center circle, then whipped out to Missael in the left half-space. He turned on the jets to blow by Ndiaye, weaved inside Hugh Roberts, held his nerve for half a beat, and then rooted Pack to the spot as he fired his second goal home.
The second half was just all Omaha. Their selectively manic press unsettled Charlotte when they sprang it, and in general they controlled the tempo far more effectively. The home team still drove forward with purpose as they did earlier, but the Owls flocked back far better to defend and deflect any advances.
Kunga would be the closer in stoppage time. After a scramble for possession in midfield, Brandon Knapp knocked it over to Kunga. With two defenders ahead of him and Zeiko Lewis streaking forward to his left, the Angolan attacker went it alone, effortlessly rounding both Independence players before dinking it over a sliding Pack for his first goal in 2024 league play.
“I am feeling super confident at the moment and playing some of my best football,” said Kunga post-match. “I’m very happy because I lost a lot of confidence after my injury in preseason, but I want to thank the coaching staff for always believing in me and giving me time to regain that confidence I had when I first came into preseason. Now it’s just about building off this game and keep pushing for more.”
His confidence on the ball was key to this offensive explosion, against a traditionally stalwart opponent: Charlotte had conceded four goals on the season before this match. Now, they had conceded a 4-1 loss for the second time in four head-to-head matches.
“It’s a great win tonight, “ said Coach Dom, reserving particular praise for Kunga and Rodríguez, as well as their double pivot in the midfield of Dolabella and Nortei Nortey. “Really proud of the guys for the second half performance, it’s a great three points on the road here.”
Finally, Union gets to breathe. The six-day gap before this match, not even a full week’s rest, was their longest since April. Now, they get twelve days in the metaphorical ice bath before they play again. The Owls’ next home match will be a USL Jägermeister Cup bout and another rematch, this time against Central Valley Fuego on May 29th. That will also be our One Means All Community Night, presented by Bellevue University. It’s a quick turnaround from there to a skirmish against Northern Colorado Hailstorm in the league on June 1st.
ABOUT UNION OMAHA
Union Omaha, the 2021 USL League One Champion and 2023 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.
