After being forced to finish the game down to 10 men, North Texas SC is able to secure the 2-0 win on the road at National Sports Center Stadium against MNUFC2. North Texas is now 3-4-3 on the season with 2 shoot-out wins.
Lineups and Tactics
Los Toritos changed things up a bit from their last outing against MNUFC2. This time, opting for a 4-4-2 formation with Nico Montoya getting his 2nd start of the season in goal, after a solid showing against the Verde Dos.
The backline remained the same from their previous game, with one lone change in the midfield. Ian Charles earned his 1st start of the season at CM, replacing Chris Salazar, who had started previously at ST.
Ricky Louis earned his 4th start of the season at RM, with Diego Garcia earning his 9th start of the season, this time at LM. Most notably absent from the starting XI was Nick Simmonds, who continues to travel with the first team.
Opposite the away side, the Little Loons sported a 4-3-3 formation, with Kayne Rizvanovich earning his 1st start of the season since the team’s final playoff game last year. On the backline, 16-year-old Jadan Bernard earned his 3rd start of the season at LB.
The team’s leading goal scorer, Marcus Caldeira, started up top at ST, with wingers Darius Randell (RW) and Jakob Friedman (LW) both earning their 8th and 5th starts, respectively. Most notably absent from the starting XI tonight was Dominik Fitz, who has one goal and one assist in two games this season.
The Game
North Texas would kick off the scoring 26 minutes into the game. Edu Nys was able to trek back and pick up the ball in possession. Nys then found Garcia, who timed his run perfectly. Garcia took the ball into the box, crossed it into the middle to find Enzo Newman, who tapped it home for his first goal of the season.
“Credit to the guys for making that play,” Newman said. “I was just there on the end of it to put it away and do my job. I wouldn’t be here without the guys. We had a tough week, we were tough on each other, and we just wanted to get the best for one another.”
After starting the game up 1-0, North Texas doubled its lead nearly 15 minutes later. In the 42nd minute, Natty James was taken down just outside the box and was awarded a free kick.
Nys then stepped up to take the kick, played a low shot on goal, and Louis was able to redirect the shot past Rizvanovich for his first goal of the season. North Texas SC took a 2-0 lead into halftime.
Up 2-0 at halftime, North Texas didn’t have the stats to show for it as they had been outpossessed for most of the night – 62% to their 38% of possession. MNUFC2 had 9 touches in the NTSC box, but North Texas had 75% of their 4 shots on goal, compared to the Little Loons, who had 25% of their 4 total shots on target.
In the 66th minute, Timmy Ospina collided with Luciano Pechota near the midline and picked up his second yellow of the night, resulting in a red card. North Texas was forced to finish the game down to 10 men.
Despite being down a man for nearly 25+ minutes, Los Toritos found a way to stay sound defensively and walk away with a 2-0 win. The Little Loons were able to pepper 11 additional shots in the second half, but they only added one shot on goal during that time.
“I’m really pleased with our effort tonight,” head coach John Gall said. “We have gone through a little bit of a patch of not getting results, and we spent a lot of time this week in training trying to tweak things a little bit, and we made it difficult for Minnesota.”
There were a number of players tonight who deserved to be named Man of the Match, including Josh Torquato, who completed 88% of his 24 passes and had 19 defensive contributions. However, my MotM is Edu Nys, for the integral part he played in both goals tonight.
As the catalyst for the first goal, Nys had the awareness to work his way back into open space, get the ball, carry it forward, and create an opportunity for the team to get the scoring started. His free kick also sparked the second goal, after Louis was able to deflect it in.
That type of performance is exactly what coach Gall is looking for from his players, especially someone on Nys’ talent and caliber.
Up next, North Texas SC returns home to Choctaw Stadium to welcome Sporting KC II, on Saturday, May 16th at 7:30 pm, for the second time this season. SKCII is currently 1-7-3 on the season, with 1 shoot-out win.
