Nick Simmonds equalized the game at 2-2, but North Texas SC ultimately lost the shoot-out to LAFC2 at Texas Health Mansfield Stadium.
Los Toritos now sit at 10th in the Western Conference with 26 points through 18 games.
Lineups and Tactics
North Texas held a 4-3-3 formation, with Eryk Dymora receiving his 13th start of the season. The backline saw one change as Álvaro Augusto replaced Leandro Gonçalves at CB. Liam Vejrostek started at LB and Enzo Newman was opposite him at RB.
There was one change in the midfield as Marlon Luccin was inserted at CM in place of Timmy Ospina, for his 4th start of the season. Ian Charles remained at CDM, and Edu Nys started at CM.
Up top, two additional changes were made; Benjamin Flowers replaced Daniel Baran for his 1st start of the season, and Simmonds (ST) replaced Natty James. With Simmonds starting at ST, Ricky Louis slid over to RW.
Opposite North Texas, Los Angeles FC sported a 4-3-3 formation as well, with Ethan Scally getting his 10th start of the season. Scally would later be replaced by Benjamin Failla after Scalley exited in the 32nd minute with an injury.
Up top, Charlie Kosakoff started at ST, alongside Ernesto Rodriguez (LW) and Jacob Machuca (RW) out wide on the wings. DeCarlo Guerra (CM) captained LAFC2 in the midfield and earned his 15th start of the season.
Most notably absent from the starting XI for the away side was forward Tommy Mihalić, who leads the team in goals with 6. LAFC2 were also missing Matthew Evans in the midfield, who has accounted for 4 goals through 8 games this season.
The Game
Los Angeles opened up the scoring in the 19th minute after Liam Lambert’s corner found Christian Díaz cutting into the box. Díaz was able to lose his defender and head the ball past a diving Dymora for the 1-0 lead.
Minutes later, things went from bad to worse. In the 22nd minute, after a bit of buildup from the away side, Eddie Villeda had his shot deflected away by Dymora. Rodriguez picked up the ball at the edge of the box and fired a shot toward Kosakoff, who redirected it into the net to extend the lead to 2-0.
Despite controlling 64% of possession through the first 45 minutes of the game, NTSC found themselves down 2-0 at half.
The home side came out rejuvenated in the second half, as Nys scored his 8th goal of the season in the 53rd minute. Simmonds intercepted a misplaced pass from Failla and played it over to Nys, who tapped it home to cut the lead to 1.
In the dying minutes of the game, North Texas found the break they were looking for as Louis was taken down in the box by Érick Díaz for a penalty in the 93rd minute. Simmonds stepped up to the spot and buried the PK to secure the point and send the game to a shoot-out.
“I felt good about my performance,” Simmonds said. “In previous games with North Texas, I don’t think I’ve shown everything I’m capable of. I have more to offer this team, and tonight was a glimpse of that.”
After 90+ minutes of soccer, the game headed to a shootout. In which Failla was able to grab a save and get some help from the crossbar, in order to help LAFC2 secure two points from North Texas SC.
Penalty Kick Results:
LOS – 🟢🟢🟢🟢
NTX – 🟢🔴🔴 X
“We put ourselves in a difficult position by giving away two early goals,” Head Coach John Gall said. “Coming back from 2-0 against a good LAFC team to score twice says a lot about this group. Of course, we wanted the extra point in the shootout, but I’m happy with how the players responded.”
Despite the loss, Nick Simmonds scored a goal off the penalty to Louis and also assisted on the first goal by Nys in the second half. With 51 touches on the ball, 2 of the 4 shots on target, our Man of the Match left it all out there for Los Toritos against LAFC2.
Up next, North Texas SC travels to William Rolland Stadium to take on Ventura County FC on Friday, July 31st at 9:00 pm CT. Ventura County is currently 9-6-5 on the season, with 3 shoot-out wins.