A strong second half from North Texas SC got the scoreline even, but Colorado Rapids 2 scored a 92nd-minute game winner to steal all three points from the home team.
For the second straight week, North Texas SC held a 4-4-2 formation, with captain Sam Sarver and Tarik Scott as the team’s strikers. Antonio Carrera got his third start of the season in goal after another solid performance last week.
Midfielder Diego Garcia returned to the starting lineup to join FC Dallas player Álvaro Augusto, who got his first start tonight for North Texas. Also worth noting that Aaron Essel joined the team on the bench for the first time this season, since his signing on April 2nd.
The Rapids 2 came out in their traditional 4-3-3, which they have sported all season. Nico Hansen got the start in goal for his second time this season, in place of Zackory Campagnolo, who started last week.
Captain Daouda Amadou and points leader Sam Bassett started in the midfield, alongside Malik Pinto, who led the team in accurate pass percentage. Michael Edwards got his first start after coming down from the first team. Mamadou Billo Diop also got his first start of the season at striker.
North Texas would get off to a rough start once again this week. In the 11th minute, after an unforced turnover, Alex Harris quickly picked up the ball and threw it in behind Isaiah Kaakoush. After catching up to the ball, Diop sent a shot just over Carrera, who was off his line, into the back of the net to put the Rapids 2 up 1-0.
Disaster struck again in the 39th minute, after another turnover by North Texas in the midfield. This time, Diop laid off a pass to Bassett, who cut the ball back onto his left foot. Took a couple of dribbles around his defender, and curled the ball past Carrera to make it 2-0 Rapids 2.
“I think it’s pretty evident that the first half was disappointing. I am disappointed with the way that we allowed Colorado to get a couple of goals. I didn’t think that they caused us too many issues.”
Coach John Gall
North Texas wouldn’t let this game get away from them in the second half.
“You go two nil down, you come in at half time, you try to rally the troops and tell the players some truths to see how they respond. We responded tremendously well in the second half; it was a completely different team. The way we competed, the way that we tried to connect passes, the way we tried to attack the opponent, the way that we did in the second half.”
Coach John Gall
In the 47th minute, Ramirez played the ball over to Sarver on the right side of the field. Sarver sized up his defender and shot the ball past both his defender and the goalie, to bring one back for the home team.
Sarver continued to pull this game back for North Texas. In the 53rd minute, Sarver made a great run down the right side of the field and was brought down in the box for a penalty. Sarver stepped up to take the pen and buried it past the keeper to level the game 2-2.
“We know what Sam can bring to the table. He’s a great leader. He’s somebody that is going to give his all every time he’s on the pitch. It is something that we loved about the kid when we watched him in college. He’s a competitor, he’s a leader, he’s somebody that we need to continue to push forward.”
Coach John Gall
Unfortunately, North Texas’ momentum would run out in the 92nd minute. After a cross in the final seconds of the game, Diop headed the ball at the goal. It bounced off the post, rolled out to Colton Swan, who shot and scored, to win it for Colorado, 3-2.
Despite the heartbreak that occurred in the final minutes of tonight’s game, there was one player who stood out from the rest. El Capitan, Sam Sarver, was our Man of the Match for North Texas SC. With his second-half brace and the numerous offensive chances that were created in the second half, there’s no one more deserving than him.
He even almost won the game tonight in the 70th minute when his through ball found Joshua Torquato, after making it through a crowd of four Rapids 2 players. However, it just wasn’t their night tonight.
Up next, North Texas SC welcomes the Town FC to Choctaw Stadium on Wednesday, April 23rd at 7:30 pm CT. The Town FC is currently 0-2-1 on the season.