North Texas SC picks up its first win of the season after dominating Colorado Rapids 2 by a score of 3-1, at Choctaw Stadium. Edu Nys continues to find his form early in the season, as the team controlled the game from just about start to finish.
Lineups and Tactics
Kicking off their first home game of the season, North Texas made a couple of notable changes. The first being Aiden Jordan getting his first start of the season, replacing Eryk Dymora, who started last weekend in goal.
In their signature 3-5-2 formation, Captain Slade Starnes started at CB, with Jonah Biggar and Jonah Gibson on either side of him. In the midfield, Caleb Swann replaced Diego Garcia at CM and played alongside Timothy Ospina, who got his second straight start.
The away side was quite fluid with their formation tonight, rotating between a loose 4-2-3-1 and 4-4-2. Midfielder Chris Aquino played the 10 for most of the night, but also occasionally dropped to be more of an 8 at times.
In goal, Kendall Starks earned his first start of the season. Defender Jaden Chan Tack also earned his first start of the season, replacing Andre Erickson at LB. Most notably absent from the starting XI tonight was Mamdou Diop, who led the team in goals last season.
The Game
Nys would get the scoring started tonight. In the 24th minute, after a great bit of build-up from Los Toritos, Jaidyn Contreras played Nys through past his defender and left him essentially 1-on-1 with the goalie. Nys slotted it home and gave NTSC an early 1-0 lead.
In the 42nd minute, Nys doubled his goals on the night and NTSC’s lead. Natty James was able to come down with the long ball from Swann. He then played Nys through, and once again, won the battle with his defender to give him another opportunity, all alone with the keeper. Nys buried it to make it 2-0.
Right before the half-time break, Rapids 2 pulled one back. In the 47th minute, Aquino curled in a shot off a set piece, with a bit of pace behind it. The ball rose up over the wall and past a diving Jordan to cut the lead to 2-1.
However, Nys wasn’t quite done yet. In the 66th minute, Nys bagged his hattrick. After Swann battled the ball away from his defender, Contreras found Nys all alone at the top of the box, where he buried his 4th goal of the season. A low shot in the bottom left corner ultimately secured the 3-1 victory for NTSC.
“We scored three goals, and when you score three goals, it’s hard to lose,” Head Coach John Gall said after the game. “One thing I like about this group is that they’re hungry. They want to go forward and score goals. They’re exciting. I’ve said since day one that this team is going to be exciting.”
As much as I wanted to give another player the Man of the Match honors tonight, it couldn’t be anyone aside from Edu Nys. Three goals in 66 minutes is a pretty incredible feat for a guy who’s making his second professional start.
His talent continues to get fans excited to see what he’ll bring to the team in 2026. It’s also another (potentially) shining example of just how good FC Dallas is at finding gems in the SuperDraft. Bravo, AZ!
“Edu is a special player and a special kid,” coach Gall said. “In the offseason, I had a chance to speak with him about the project here at North Texas… we talked about what it would mean for him to play here and how we could help him continue to grow as a young professional. He believed in me, and he believed in the project, and I certainly believe in him. Tonight was a great example of that.”
Up next, North Texas SC travels to Parmer Field to take on Austin FC II on Sunday, March 15th at 7:30 pm CT. The Verde Dos are currently 0-1-0 on the season.
