Despite being outplayed for the first 45 minutes of the game, North Texas SC found a late goal and secured the 1-0 victory against San Jose Earthquakes II at Cardinale Stadium on Saturday night.
NTSC now has 4 wins in their last 8 games.
Lineups and Tactics
North Texas decided to stick with the formation they’ve been using as of late, the 4-3-3 formation with Ian Charles as their 6. Alongside him in the midfield, Timmy Ospina (CM) and Edu Nys (CM) earned their 13th and 17th starts, respectively.
In goal, Eryk Dymora received his 12th start of the season, as he continues to see the lion’s share of starts for Los Toritos. Only one change on the backline from their previous game as Enzo Newman replaced Jonah Gibson at RB.
Two additional changes were made up top as Daniel Baran (LW) replaced Jaidyn Contreras (who is out with the US U20s), and swapped sides with Natty James, who started at RW. Ricky Louis replaced Da’vian Kimbrough at striker, earning his 8th start of the season.
The opponents also held a 4-3-3 formation, with the exception that their midfield trio of Kaedren Spivey, Edwyn Mendoza, and Rohan Rajagopal all played as 8s. In goal, Connor Lambe earned his 8th start of the season.
Up top, Tomo Allen (ST) was paired with Shane De Flores (LW) and Zachary Bohane (RW) out wide on the wings. The backline consisted of Martin Kwende Jr. (LB), Niklas Dossmann (CB), Alejandro Cano (CB), and Jacob Heisner (RB).
Most notably absent from the starting XI was Julian Donnery, who had started 11 games prior to this match. Coming into this game, Donnery was tied with Bohane for most goals on the team with 6.
The Game
With both teams deadlocked at 0-0 after 45 minutes, San Jose had the upper hand for most of the first half. They dominated possession, 56% vs 44%, had 3 shots on target to NTSC’s 0, and accumulated 15 touches in the opposition’s box. Thankfully for Los Toritos, Dymora was playing quite well.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game,” Head Coach John Gall said. “San Jose has a lot of talented players and has scored nearly 40 goals this season. One of our biggest points of emphasis all week was keeping a clean sheet, and that had to come first.”
North Texas broke the scoring drought in the 71st minute. After Nys’ corner was punched away, Captain Slade Starnes headed the ball back towards goal. Charles got his foot on the ball and had his shot deflected off the crossbar. As Newman was fading away from the goal, he turned, shot, and found the back of the net for the game’s opening goal.
Despite being outpossessed and outshot, North Texas hunkered down defensively and walked away with their 3rd shutout of the season (Dymora’s 2nd), securing the 1-0 win. North Texas made the most of their lone shot on goal for the entire game.
“This win came from the hard work the team put in throughout the week,” Newman said. “We responded after a tough result last week, and we don’t get this win without every single one of our teammates. Everyone prepared the right way, and it showed the mentality of this group and our determination to turn the season around.”
After securing his second shutout on the season and registering 6 saves on the night against the Western Conference’s 2nd highest scoring team, Eryk Dymora was my Man of the Match. 5 of those 6 saves came from shots inside the box, none of which came easy for him.
Up next, North Texas SC return home to Texas Health Mansfield Stadium to take on LAFC II on Saturday, July 25th at 7:45 pm CT. LAFC II are currently 7-5-6 on the season, with 2 shoot-out wins.
