Twenty-four hours later than planned, Union Omaha advanced to the Second Round of the 2025 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup with a workman-like win over amateur side Flatirons Rush.
Aarón Gómez and Joe Gallardo scored goals to put the USL League One champions through to face Des Moines Menace on April 2. Flatiron’s Shjon Andrews cut Omaha’s deficit to one in the 84th minute before Omaha, winless in the young USL League One season, fended off the amateur’s late surge for the win.
“They gave us a great game, they played really well. You can see why they did so well last year,” said Union Omaha coach, Domenico Casciato. “We came in with a lot of respect for them.”
Initially scheduled for Thursday, the game was pushed back 24 hours after winter weather caused travel delays for the visiting Union Omaha.
“The delay made things a little more challenging for us tonight,” Casciato said. “But we had a job to do and we came out and did it.”
The game could have been very different if Union Omaha’s Mehdi Ouamri had connected on a looping cross from the right flank five minutes into the match, putting the ball awkwardly wide from inside the six yard box.
After the miss, Flatirons worked diligently to get ahold of the match. Going into halftime, the amateurs out possessed the professional side with 53 percent of the possession, though they were lacking in the final third of the field.
Even with the majority of possession, Union Omaha broke the stalemate in the 28th minute when Gómez blasted a rebound past Flatirons goalkeeper Matteo Conci from close range.
Gallardo doubled Omaha’s lead in the 73rd minute from the penalty spot, smashing the ball into the upper left corner after referee Jozefecki Lukasz awarded a penalty kick after a severely spinning ball grazed Flatirons’ defender, Jackson Vander Ven’s hand.
Eleven minutes later, Andrews pulled Flatiron a goal back, heading home an Oluwatobi Osifodunrin cross at the back post, making the final few minutes of the match frantic as Omaha struggled to see out the game.
With the win, Union Omaha travels to face USL-2 side, Des Moines Menace, which will most likely feature a collection of former MLS and USMNT players.
“We know they are going to have quality. They may not have the legs they once did, but they know how to play the game,” Casciato said.