In a rematch of their April 10th meeting at home, North Texas SC rewrote the story as they picked up a 5-1 win against Sporting KC II at Choctaw Stadium. Natty James scored 3 of the 5 NTSC goals in the game for his first hat-trick of the season.
Lineups and Tactics
Returning home to Choctaw Stadium for the second-to-last time this season, Los Toritos kept the 4-4-2 formation. One that was very similar to the first team’s formation that FC Dallas has opted to use recently this season.
A couple of changes were made from their previous game, with Brooks Thompson earning his first start in goal for North Texas. Liam Vejrostek was inserted in for Joshua Torquato at LB. Vejrostek, the 16-year-old, earned his 1st career start alongside a backline that consisted of Leandro Gonçalves (CB), Álvaro Augusto (CB), and Enzo Newman (RB).
In the midfield, Marlon Luccin (CM) made his 3rd start of the season, alongside Ian Charles (CM), who started his 2nd straight game. Up top, Nick Simmonds made his 4th start of the season at ST.
Sporting KC II came out in a 4-3-3 formation, with Jack Kortkamp getting his 4th straight start of the season for the away side. Luca Antongirolami made his 2nd start for SKCII at CB, along with an experienced backline of Zane Wantland (LB), Pierre Lurot (CB), and Jack Francka (RB).
Johann Ortiz made his return to the starting lineup at CM, for his 7th start of the season. Up top, the team’s trio of leading goal scorers, Shane Donovan (LW), Kashan Hines (ST), and Missael Rodríguez (RW), all started.
Most notably absent from the roster tonight was defender Carter Derksen who had started 6 games prior to the game. Derksen has not played a match for SKCII since April and was responsible for 2 assists and 10 key passes prior to his absence.
The Game
North Texas bounced into a little bit of luck to start the game. In the 12th minute, James crossed the ball back towards Ricky Louis, who found Edu Nys in a pocket of space. Nys turned, shot, and had his ball deflected off Lurot and in for the game’s first goal. 1-0, NTSC.
SKCII bounced right back, however, getting on the scoresheet in the 22nd minute. The away side worked the ball from left to right. Rodríguez played a cross into the box, where Hines got his foot onto the end of the pass and pushed it past Thompson for the 1-1 equalizer.
In the 44th minute, James played the corner short to Nys, who laid it back off to James, who made the overlapping run. James made a couple of dribbles in the box, and had his shot deflected off of Antongirolami and in, for James’ 5th goal of the season, to make it 2-1.
“I am really happy we’ve been able to carry the momentum from last week,” head coach John Gall said. “That result in Minnesota was important for us to snap a four-game winless run. We went there, put in a strong performance, and the focus this week was to build on that, which we did tonight.”
James found his second goal just minutes into the second half. In the 50th minute, Ian Charles crossed the ball into the box, where Simmonds headed it back to James. Off the volley, James scored his 2nd goal of the game for the 3-1 lead.
He wouldn’t be done there yet, as he added to his night in the 69th minute. On the break, Nys charged forward and played it out wide to James. The NTSC forward hesitated right, pulled it back onto his left, and buried his third goal of the game. 4-1, North Texas SC.
Newly subbed on Daniel Baran put the exclamation point on the match in the 80th minute, as he secured the 5-1 victory for the home side. Off the break, Baran made his run down the right side of the field. As he approached the box, the forward stepped over the ball and clinically put the game away for his first goal of the season.
“Overall, I’m pleased with the performance,” coach Gall said. “I am a bit disappointed with the goal we conceded. It’s something we’ve talked about in terms of box defending when the ball goes wide, and we were in the wrong spots. We responded well, though, and I’m really happy for Natty to get his first NTSC hat trick.”
With the way North Texas played tonight, there are a number of players who are deserving of being Man of the Match. Including my choice, Natty James. The 21-year-old from Trinidad and Tobago scored 3 goals en route to a 5-1 win.
Interestingly enough, all 7 of James’ goals this season have come against SKCII, as he has two braces and a hat-trick to his score totals.
Up next, North Texas SC welcomes San Jose Earthquakes II to Choctaw Stadium on Saturday, May 23rd at 7:30 pm CT. The Earthquakes II are currently 5-2-2 on the season.
