It’s been another long week inching us ever closer to the opening of the USL League One season. It may seem pretty agonizing as we start to see teams holding preseason friendlies and posting training pictures, but at least we don’t have to worry about our season being derailed by a CBA! (That doesn’t mean USL 1’s time isn’t coming, though). We are seeing rosters fall into place and, in some instances, seeing pieces fall out of place. Teams are posting their kit reveals as well, getting excitement ready for the upcoming season. Supporters can’t wait to start the chanting, drumming, and take in every kick of their team’s campaign.
Unfortunately, we’re not quite there yet. But we will be soon.
Mark Bronnik’s Pacific Northwest Adventure
Last week I discussed some possible tactical arrangements built around the assumption that the Coach Vinnie’s roster was pretty well set, especially in the realm of striker. Not 24 hours after my post, February came back to remind me that we’re not quite ready to kick a ball on the season yet, and this one was definitely more bittersweet than the dark chocolate strawberry your valentine didn’t get around to eating.
Mark Bronnik, our ever-smiling and rising star, was transferred to the Seattle Sounders organization and will be trying to work his way up from the Tacoma Defiance of MLS Next Pro. As is typical with this league, there was no fee listed, only that the Sounders triggered Mark’s release clause. I can only hope that was a significant amount for Union Omaha, because Seattle is getting a very good prospect and asset.
If you listened to the Fallen Leaves podcast this past week, you’d have heard me talk about Lagos Kunga’s departure and how he was one of the best ballhandlers/dribblers in Union Omaha’s history. In fact, he was THE best ever, as later confirmed using data from American Soccer Analysis (ASA) by Cameron Troshynski (An Omaha Parliament board member). Why do I bring this up?
Because Cameron confirmed (using ASA data) that Mark was the second best in our history.
So while we all knew Mark was destined for greater things and wish him all manner of success with the Defiance/Sounders, that means this offseason has seen two extremely talented and dangerous penetrating strikers leave the team. You can start to understand why Búho Nation would be concerned.
It makes it even worse when you think about how energetic Mark is, both on and off the pitch. There were games last year when Union Omaha began their run where I remember thinking that the team finally looked like they were having fun. Mark was probably the first one you would notice with that demeanor, and I’m convinced that had a knock-on effect that helped the team through some darkness to almost grab a home playoff game from nothing.
So the question now is how are we going to replace not only USL League One’s Young Player of the Year, but his presence and developing leadership abilities?
If we’re going by position, I think it may require two players to replace Mark’s contribution – one for his intangibles and one for his tangibles.
The obvious place to start is Sergio Ors Navarro. He’s going to be a goal scorer and a focal point for this offense. He has a nose for goal, and is really exciting to watch. Thing is, he’s not a replacement, per se. Union Omaha was already counting on his contributions on attack, and that’s not new. He logged over 700 minutes more than Mark did last year.
But I do think he can bring the energy and attitude to the front line. By no means am I ready to hand him the Captain’s armband on the days Shido rests, but I think we can watch him play with the right mix of joy, passion, and competitiveness that Mark brought to the team.
To make up the tangibles, I think that’s going to have to be on Dylan Borczak. He’s going to have an opportunity to play more with Mark off the depth chart and get back to some of the skills that he displayed in Memphis and Orange County. He’s got good quickness, both up and down the pitch and with his feet in tight space. He shows the ability to take on defenders, make good passes, or just get into the right areas to force a defense to collapse on him. He seems to be effective on the press and is physical enough to handle attempts to body him off the ball. He could be exciting to watch, if he gets his chance.
I also don’t think at this point in the preseason we’ll find someone that’s a perfect fit if they’re not on the roster. We’ve had guys come in and make instant impacts in mid-season, but to truly do what Mark did requires chemistry and a well-placed portion of confidence. That takes time.
Whoever steps up to fill Mark’s boots, we’re still going to miss the young man that we hope never stops smiling.
Closed Preseason Friendly Against UNO
Note: Most of this is opinion/subdued rant.
Valentine’s Day saw Union Omaha head across town to have a preseason friendly against the University of Nebraska Omaha Mavericks at Caniglia Field, in a match that ended up being just for the happy couple (of teams). Closed friendlies are one of the most frustrating parts of the preseason for supporters (I’ll get to that in a minute), but despite not being open to the public, we still got a few reports from the ground a source who managed to get a view of the action. (Note: I didn’t send said source to the match. This was all given freely by someone that really wanted to get to see some soccer—I’ll get to this in a minute as well).
What we do know is that the main match ended in a 3-1 victory for the Owls with Pato Botello Faz, Cameron Lawrence, and Sergio Ors getting on the scoresheet. We also know there were some trialists there (as expected), but as there is no information on their performances we’ll have to wait and see if any academy/professional deals might come from the aspirants. And without reading too much into a friendly, its good to see the offense can score goals and seems to be incorporating the new signings well.
All that said, there was a little bit of drama outside this match. The thought, for a while, was that the match might be open only for it to end up as a closed match. While closed preseason friendlies have long frustrated the supporters, its understandable if the hope of finally getting to see the team we love play exacerbated the disappointment of having to miss out more than in previous years. Especially since we’ve heard that Coach Vinnie and Sporting Director Jamie Henderson are open to considering allowing supporters at some preseason events.
That said…
There are several things that go into the decision to open a friendly, not the least of which is security around the tactics, procedures, and performances. You also may not want people to know who your trialists were in case they go and try out elsewhere. Add to that the logistics, personnel, security, and other outside requirements for open friendlies, and the decision becomes less clear cut than just “let people watch”.
But something that often gets missed is that there are two parties to the decision to make friendlies open, and the party that’s hosting often has a bit more weight in that decision (especially when looking at the logistics piece). And I’m not saying that in this case it definitively was UNO who closed the friendly. But at the same time, it wasn’t necessarily Union Omaha who made the call either.
The good news is that this is a good problem for Union Omaha to have. The supporters want their content. They want to be there to cheer, support, and be proud of everyone who wears the crest. They need to keep that energy and fan engagement going, and having some open friendlies would help that happen.
For the supporters though, patience must be a virtue. Am I frustrated that we don’t get a chance to see and support the lads every time they go kick a ball against an opponent? Absolutely. Does this add to my annoyance that there isn’t more transparency (applicable to the whole league)? 100 percent. Do I understand the reasons that these things happen this way? Yeah. I understand them, even if I don’t always agree with them.
At the end of it all, that’s what we’ll have to rely on: understanding and patience.
The season can’t come soon enough.
Kits After Dark Event – March 5
Coming off that paragraph, I have to highlight areas where there will be a chance to interact with the team before the season starts. The annual Season Ticket Member event has been set for Thursday, March 5 at the Centris Federal Credit Union (13120 Pierce Street, Omaha – near 132nd Street and Pacific) from 6-8 pm. This event has traditionally included food, a chance to pick up the STM scarf, some limited merchandise, in addition to a chance to meet and interact with the team and front office staff ahead of the season.
Oh, and of course the kit reveal. Season ticket members at the event will get an advance look at the kits for the season.
Previous events have been very well attended because, as previously stated, Búho Nation is excited for everything they can get while we wait for the new season to start. This year, I expect it to be even more crowded due to an increase in STM sales from last year.
There are no official numbers out, but indications have held steady that the move downtown has had a positive effect on ticket sales, and means there are likely to be many new faces joining the supporters at both this pre-event and the season to come. This is very good news, and also makes this kickoff event very important to start the year off right, since STMs probably won’t get another chance to see the team in person before the home opener 17 days later.
Of course, here is the obligatory “If you want to be part of this exciting event, you can still purchase season tickets at unionomaha.com” plug.
With any luck, I’ll see you all there. Or at the very least, when we march into Morrison on March 22.
Until then, Búhos.
Ranting Blue Penguin Media 