North Texas Soccer Club traveled out west to face the San Jose Earthquakes II for the fourth game of the season. In spite of the back and forth affair, North Texas SC secured the three points from a late solo goal down San Jose 1-0.
The Game
Only one change was made to the starting eleven as Nolan Norris made his debut for Isaiah Parker as the left-back.
Jose Mulato entered for Blaine Ferri at halftime.
Luis Cardoso and Andre Costa replaced Nolan Norris and Santiago Ferreira respectively in the 74th minute.
Hope Avayevu made way for Tomas Lacerda in the 79th minute.
North Texas found a late goal from Bernard Kamungo in the 80th minute and was assisted by Lacerda.
Bernard Kamungo was substituted for Will Baker in the 87th minute.
North Texas defeated San Jose 1-0.
Thoughts & Takeaways
First Half
The first half was the least “North Texas” like half of the season but not necessarily in a bad way.
San Jose outshot their opponent 8 to 2 while forcing 1 save from Antonio Carerra. Additionally, the Earthquakes had more possession (59.2%) and outpassed North Texas 303 to 211.
“There was a slight of problems in the first half but we shifted and adjusted in the second half,” Kah explained. I think we were a little hesitant in the first half. We needed to make adjustments to win the second half. I think that we didn’t keep the ball too well.”
San Jose did well to start the game occupying space between North Texas players and moving up the field quickly. As the half progressed, especially the last few minutes, North Texas began to find their tempo and began progressing up the field quickly.
Momentum Management
Pa-Modou Kah has explained time after time that football is a game about managing momentum. Needless to say, there were plenty of momentum changes throughout the game.
While the start of the first half was not how North Texas would’ve wanted, their response towards the end of the first half highlighted managing the momentum of the game.
“It’s about communication,” Kamungo said of controlling the momentum. “We are all young players and trying to play together as young guys, we need to communicate more. In the second half, it got better and we responded.”
North Texas continues to carry the into the second half and worked to keep momentum in their favor while limiting San Jose’s ability to get forward.
Pa’s Picks
It’s only been four games but as much growth that North Texas has done in this time, credit must be also given to Pa-Modou Kah.
While the team concepts have been instilled during team training, Coach Pa’s substitutions have proven to be impactful in games.
“The important thing is that we have people that can come off the bench,” Kah said of his substitutes. “We have a great group of players that can make a difference. They all have a growth mindset and it helps during the games.”
The changes can be tactical in nature or as simple as getting a fresh pair of legs in the games but they add to the overall success of the game plan during matches.
North Texas SC returns home to host the Houston Dynamo 2 in the first Texas Derby at the MLS Next Pro level on Saturday, April 23rd, at 5 PM Central.