A North Texas SC playoff primer

Since FC Dallas didn’t make the playoffs a few of you may have taken an interest in North Texas SC for the first time during their playoff run. For those of you who want to learn a bit about the side, here’s a quick primer on how they play and which players you will likely see.

1st overall in MLS Next Pro North Texas SC (62 points, 16-4-8-6) hosts 4th in the West Tacoma Defiance (46 points, 13-10-6-3) at 7:30 pm from Chactaw Stadium in Arlington. MLS Next Pro uses post-game “kicks from the spot” for one club to earn an extra point in the case of a tie in Regulation, hence the 4th number in each team’s record, shot-out wins.

North Texas SC went undefeated at home during the regular season with a 9-0-5 record.

Tactics

Under Interim Coach Michel Garbini, North Texas SC has continued mostly as they were before under John Gall (who moved up to the first team to be Peter Luccin’s first assistant) with a few tweaks and changes in rotations.

Under Garbini, Los Toritos are often drawn up as playing a 4-3-3 but when out of possession they play a flex shape with the holding mid (6) dropping between the center backs and turning the whole thing in a 5-4-1 at times. It’s very fluid.

Here’s the XI I believe is most likely to start the game.

I could easily see an adaptation like Carl Sainte at CB for Mads Westergran, Nolan Norris at 6, and Tomas Pondeca at the 8/10. Or perhaps Tarik Scott at left wing.

Starters

Here are a few thoughts on each potential starter in my XI prediction.

No.	Name	Thoughts
23	Logan Farrington	Yes, the FCD player. They made him sit on the NTX bench enough times to be eligible to play in the MLS Next Pro postseason. 22 yo.
99	Enes Sali	FCD’s U-22 Initiative signing. He played 2 minutes in a Leagues Cup game for FCD. For NTX he’s sorta like Alan Velasco. Regular season: 8 Goals, 5 assists. 18 yo.
10	Pedrinho	NTX’s scoring catalyst. He can run hot and cold. 10 goals, 5 assists on the season. 21 yo. Had a few injuries this season or the stats would be bigger.
50	Diego Garcia	Box-to-box game controlling mid, think Paxton Pomykal. For me, NTX’s best all-around player. 7 goals and 3 assists as an 8 is amazing. 18 yo.
32	Nolan Norris	Played as an 8 last game. He also gets deployed as a 6 or CB. Made 12 starts in the regular season. FC Dallas Homegrown. 19 yo. He collects yellow cards as a hobby.
18	Carl Sainte	The FC Dallas player. Can play as a CB or 6. Only 8 starts with NTX this year as he was with FCD a lot more with all their injuries. Haitian international. 22 yo. 6 games for FCD.
12	Tyshawn Rose	Signed as a free agent out of college. Missed the bulk of 2024 with an ACL injury. 8 games, 6 starts since his return. Has a vertical wingback-style game. He’s 25 yo.
6	Mads Westergren	A CB that can play as a 6. Late round draft pick out of SMU. A smart, complete player, but I think he’s a step too slow to make it to MLS. 22 yo.
5	Nico Gordon	NTX’s captain. Center back with power and pace. He can right back in a pinch. Signed from Birmingham City and is 22 yo.
27	Herbert Endeley	FCD signed right back, drafted out of Indiana. Wide MF/wing converting to right back. He’s played 12 games for FC Dallas. When he’s happy to be playing for NTX he can be a game changer. 23 yo.
30	Michael Collodi	FCD Academy product who played 5 seasons at Columbia. Great leader and shot-stopper. MLS Next Pro Keeper of the Year. 23 yo.

The quick answer to the question, “Why is NTXSC so good?” can be seen above. Lots FCD signed players and homegrowns, some a bit older than usual at this level.

Key Bench

This is not the entire roster, it’s just the guys I think you might see. A lot of the players in this section saw a lot of time this season with bunches of starts.

No.	Name	Thoughts
7	Abdoul Zanne	An on-loan player who can play wide on both sides and as a winger. Lots of athleticism/pace not a lot of soccer tactics. 21 yo from Ivory Coast.
8	Nick Mendonca	Linking 8 or 10. Brazilian-American, played for Minnesota 2 last year. Lost PT as the season went on. 22 games, 6 starts.
51	Anthony Ramirez	Academy winger/8/10 our sources say is on a hybrid contract. Made FCD debut this year as an emergency signing. 4 goals, 4 assists. 18 yo.
41	Tarik Scott	9/W. 10 goals and 3 assists on the season. He’s usually NTX’s starting 9 but with Farrington down, Scott is on the bench. I would start him over Sali, but I’m not the coach. 19 yo.
35	Tomas Pondeca	FCD signed 10/W/8. Best as the underneath 10. 4 goals plus the game-winner in the playoff opener. Just 13 starts with 3 sub appearances at NTX. 3 games and 2 starts with FCD.
36	Malik Henry-Scott	9/W. The older bother of Tarik Scott. Drafted out of Tulsa, FCD college Homegrown. 11 starts, 21 games, 4 goals, 1 assist spending all of 2024 with NTX. 22 yo.
4	Turner Humphrey	The higher of FCD’s 2024 CB draft picks, sign straight to North Texas SC. He has a lot of upside but isn’t ahead of Westergran in “win now” play. 23 yo but still might be “one for the future.” 26 games, 18 starts.
14	Daniel Baran	North Texas’ newest signing right out of the Academy. A direct winger with pace, power, and will. Relishes going at defenders. 18, Poland YNTer. 14 games, 3 starts, 1 assist. Had a fantastic Dallas Cup for the FCD U19s back in the spring.
13	Antonio Carrera	FCD’s homegrown keeper. 20 yo. This is Collodi’s team but playoffs matter so Carrera is in contention to start and will be on the bench if not. 4 Starts for NTX this season.
34	Ale Urzua	An FCD homegrown who has struggled with some injuries and consistent PT. 8/6. This season: 10 games, 5 starts.
24	Amet Korca	FCD signed CB who has struggled with injuries. 0 minutes for FCD in 2024, 19 starts, 17 games for NTX.
2	Malachi Molina	Hybrid signed right back Academy product. 18 yo, Jamaican U17. 12 games, 8 starts but much less PT since Endeley came down full time.

That’s not the entire North Texas SC roster but those are the ones I think most likely to see action. That’s already more than the 9 allowed on the bench for the game.

Going to the Game?

There’s an event at AT&T Stadium tonight, so if you’re heading to the North Texas SC game plan accordingly.