STATESBORO, Ga. – Oct. 19, 2024 – South Georgia Tormenta FC fell short to Union Omaha at Tormenta Stadium with a 2-3 score in the final home match of the season on Saturday, October 19.
In the mere second moment of the match, Aaron Walker, a Tormenta FC midfielder, sent a banger of a shot barreling to the top right of the goal. Omaha’s keeper Rashid Nuhu made a valiant attempt but was no match for Walker’s shot, giving Tormenta the early lead.
With Tormenta playing for a playoff spot and Omaha playing for the coveted USL League One Player’s Shield, the match was rife with aggressive duels. Before the 25th minute, four yellow cards were already shown to players including Jackson Khoury, Jake Dengler, Daniel Steedman, for Tormenta and Missael Rodríguez for Union Omaha.
In the 36th minute of play, Luca Mastrantonio scored an own goal, doubling Tormenta’s lead.
The excitement of the first half was far from complete. In the 40th minute of play, Daniel Steedman was shown a second yellow card for a foul, resulting in his ejection from the match. This red card left Tormenta forced to play a man down.
Omaha was quick to prey on Tormenta being down a player in the second half. Tormenta scored an own goal to open the scoring for Union Omaha in the 63rd minute. Moments later, Union Omaha’s Zeiko Lewis scored the equalizing goal.
Even as the odds were stacked against Tormenta, the Ibises showed resiliency and continued to find opportunities to break down Omaha’s backline. The Ibises felt the pressure and attempted to continue to make aggressive maneuvers to attempt to push the ball into Omaha’s half to spur scoring opportunities.
In the 87th minute of play, Sebastián Vivas received his second yellow card of the night, meaning he was also ejected from the match. Vivas was substituted onto the pitch in the 74th minute of play.
During added time, Union Omaha found its final goal of the match, securing a victory, as it was the final goal scored of the evening. Just after this goal, Jake Dengler was shown his second yellow card of the match, equaling a red card and ejecting him from the match.
Tormenta FC will play its final regular season match on October 26 in Greenville, South Carolina. Fans can tune in to the match via ESPN+.
Founded in 2015, Tormenta FC is a professional soccer club based in Statesboro, Georgia. Tormenta FC competes in the professional USL League One and the pre-professional USL W League, under the United Soccer League (USL), and has also established a thriving academy system throughout South Georgia and the Lowcountry of South Carolina.
