Nestled between the nation’s coastal population and cultural centers, America’s heartland is often forgotten among the ranks of the country’s best attributes. Likewise, professional soccer has struggled to grasp as strong a foothold there as in the east, west and south. Depending on whether or not you consider Ohio part of the midwest, only three MLS teams (the Chicago Fire, Minnesota United and Sporting Kansas City) represent the region in the league. The USL doesn’t have much of a presence there, either, with only Saint Louis FC and SKC2 in the Championship, and League One launching in 2019 with Forward Madison and already defunct Lansing Ignite among its central contingency. The NWSL has just one team there: Chicago Red Stars.



But the third-division league will gain another midwestern combatant in 2020: independently operated Union Omaha. With their expansion made official last May, chairman Gary Green set out to get the new club up and running in...