Looking Back and Looking Forward

Photo Credit: Tormenta FC
Tavio D'Almeida and Tormenta face off against
Charleston on Wednesday night.

So, ummmm...yeah. I guess the good news is that's the only time Tormenta has to travel to Omaha this season (at least until a potential playoff matchup, but that's way, way down the road.)

Union Omaha scored two early goals and despite the stats looking fairly equal, Tormenta wasn't able to make the scoreboard equal as they fell 4-2. It was the first time Tormenta surrendered four goals* in a game since.... last October when they fell 4-0 to Omaha in the second to last game of the regular season. 

Nortei Nortey opened the scoring with a blast from 40 yards out that found its way through the defense and took a bounce in the box that seemed to take goalkeeper Ford Parker by surprise as it bounced past him for the game's opening score.

Four minutes later, Omaha would strike again. This time off a corner kick, they had a shot riccochet off the crossbar and eventually come to the feet of Pedro Dolabella who touched it in to double to Omaha lead.

If you're a "pics or it didn't happen" type of person, then all I can tell you is that Sebastian Vivas allegedly scored a goal near the end of the first half to cut the lead to 2-1 off a corner kick. The stream of the game cut out as Conor Doyle's cross came in and when it came back, Tormenta was celebrating and Vivas was credited with the goal.

Omaha would add two goals in the second half and even though Tormenta would draw a penalty in the box late that Pedro Fonseca converted, it wasn't enough as South Georgia fell 4-2.

Tormenta outshot Omaha 21-18, had more shots on target (8-6), won more corners (11-8), had more time of possession (52%-48%), were essentially equal in crosses (22-21), and even had more expected goals (2.25-1.90) which are all nice, but it comes down to goals and in the most important category, Tormenta fell 4-2.

Tormenta is now roughly one-third of the way through their regular season schedule, having played seven games of the 22 game season. Currently they sit in seventh place with seven points, but they (along with first place Greenville) are the only teams to have played seven regular season games so far. 

Even with the playoffs expanded to eight teams this year, I'm not sure a 1.0 points per game average is going to be enough over 22 games to qualify for the playoffs. Tormenta's next regular season match will be on May 18th when they host Chattanooga.

Before that, their stretch of facing some of the top teams across USL continues. 

Now focus turns back to the Open Cup, where Tormenta is one of four third-division teams (and three USL1 teams) remaining as they take on one of, if not the top USL Championship team of 2024 in the Charleston Battery. Charleston won again on Saturday, their fifth straight win and seventh in their last eight games. They're currently undefeated at 7-0-3 (W-L-D) and in first place in the USLC Eastern Conference and are a perfect 4-0 at home this year.

"They're smashing everybody in the Championship, but I'll be shocked if they smash us," Tormenta Manager Ian Cameron said last week. "I'm not saying they're incapable of beating us, but I'd be very surprised if we didn't go there and the game wasn't a very, very competitive mach."

"We will go there and make a really good challenge. I have no doubt about that," Cameron said. 

Tormenta is 4-0 in their professional history against USLC teams in the Open Cup, including a victory of Charleston in 2022. 

John Morrissey of @USLTactics had an excellent breakdown of Charleston and what makes them so good about a week ago. I would highly encourage you to read that if you want an in depth look at what the Battery are doing this year that has made them so successful. 

After you read that (and you should), here's the preview I wrote for the Statesboro Herald last week about Wednesday's matchup. (It wasn't paywalled when I looked this morning)

I'd hoped to be able to make the trip for the game, but alas, my wife is out of town and I'm not sure taking my five-year old to the game and getting home around midnight on a school night is going to win me any parenting of the year awards I'll (hopefully) be watching online. For Tormenta's Open Cup games this year, I've 1.) Missed the first one due to my oldest having a high school game; 2.) Missed one due to my oldest being in the ER; and 3.) Missed the first half due to my oldest having a game. 

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m., which is conveniently the start of my youngest's bedtime routine, but if I can maybe watch 60 minutes of the match, I'm going to call that a win. Either way, we'll have a recap/preview of this weekend's Greenville here sometime Thursday. 

*Since 2022, Tormenta has given up four or more goals five times. In those five, they've lost three, but tied two of them (4-4 against Charlotte in 2023 and 5-5 against Greenville in 2022 and a 4-0 loss to Central Valley in 2022).