Forward Madison Top First-Place Union Omaha At Home, 2-0
Goals by Chaney and Prentice keep the ‘Mingos unbeaten in USL League One regular season play.
Lineup Notes
MAD: #1 Schipmann, #2 Chilaka, #4 Osmond, #9 Chaney, #10 Mesias (79’ Murphy Jr.), #16 Crull, #17 Gebhard (86’ Dieye), #19 Galindrez (69’ Boyce), #21 Villalobos, #22 Payne, #26 Sousa (79’ Prentice)
Subs not used: Sanchez., Davila, Mehl
OMA: #24 Nuhu, #2 Jerome, #3 Malone, #4 Mastrantonio, #5 Milanese, #6 PC, # 9 Dolabella, #7 Gallardo (45’ Kunga), #26 Acoff, #99 Rodriguez (79’ Lewis), #21 Gomez (45’ Dos Santos)
Subs not used: Bawa, Knapp, Lapsley, Lewis, Nortey
Match Action
The storms passed on a beautiful night in Madison, just in time for the first matchup of the season between Union Omaha and Forward Madison. Both sides started physical, looking to make a quick start.
Forward had their first real chance on goal in the 16th minute, when Derek Gebhard found a wide open Christian Chaney running into the box. Chaney took a one-touch shot, and hit it wide of the frames, keeping the game scoreless.
The battle continued for both teams in the first half, but Forward’s defense remained unfaltered as they have the whole season. In the 36th minute, Union Omaha had a chance off of a corner kick when Luca Mastrantonio went up for a header and it ricocheted off the crossbar to keep Forward in the game.
Shortly after, Forward was awarded a penalty kick after the referee called a handball in the box. Chaney stepped up for the ‘Mingos and buried it into bottom right corner to give his squad the lead against the first-ranked team. The score would be 1-0 headed into halftime.
In the second half, Union Omaha made two offensive substitutions to try to flip momentum in their favor. The Forward defense stayed compact and tough, but Omaha continued to press in the final third. In the 62nd minute, FMFC goalkeeper, Bernd Schipmann, made an incredible on-the-line save off of a Steevan Dos Santos header to keep the ‘Mingos in the lead.
A few substitutions came in for both sides, and the home squad saw a surge of urgency brought on by Devin Boyce and Wolfgang Prentice. In the fifth minute of stoppage time, Prentice picked up a loose ball in the box and fired a shot past the Omaha goalkeeper to double the lead, 2-0 before the final whistle.
Forward remains the only unbeaten team in the League, and in the last six games, Forward has only conceded one goal.
Goal Summary
1-0 MAD – Chaney (39’)
2-0 MAD – Prentice (90+5’)
Disciplinary Summary
Yellow, OMA – Mastranotonio (23’)
Yellow, OMA – PC (39’)
Yellow, OMA – Malone (82’)
Yellow, MAD – Murphy Jr. (84’)
Yellow, MAD – Prentice (90+4’)
Post Match Reaction
“It’s nice to get a win against a good opponent and to win at home,” said Head Coach Matt Glaeser. “We have a long way to go, so we aren’t content by any means, but I think we can be pleased with the short turnaround and getting the performance that we got. For me, the mentality was the most important thing, and our reactions were great. We defended well, our goalkeeper made saves, and we finished our chances more or less.”
“We knew it was a big game, we’re not naive to think that Omaha isn’t a top team,” said captain Mitch Osmond. “We knew going in that it was a massive test to see where we’re really at. I think in both the quality that we showed and the desire to get result, you can’t ask for much more than that.”
Next Match
Next up, FMFC plays an international friendly against C.D. Tapatío on Tuesday, June 25th. Single-game tickets are still available for fans to purchase and watch the ‘Mingos take on a team from Liga de Expansión MX. The match is set to kick off at 7pm CT at Breese Stevens Field.
