North Texas SC pulls off a dramatic 93rd-minute game-winner, stunning Portland Timbers 2 and securing all three points on the road.
Antonio Carrera made his first appearance for North Texas SC this season, with the team making the transition back to the 4-3-3 formation. Alongside Carrera, Landon Hickam and Gavin Gall also made their first starts of the season.
Ian Charles was inserted back into the lineup, along with Caleb Swann, who got his second start of the season. Also worth mentioning, Diego Garcia sported the captain’s armband for North Texas with Sam Sarver on the bench to start the game.
For Timbers 2, the home team came out in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Trey Muse got his second start of the season in goal, in place of Lukas Burns, who has been the other half of this team’s two-goalie rotation so far this season.
Center back Zac McGraw and midfielder Adolfo Enriquez both got their first starts of the season, while the rest of the lineup remains relatively unchanged with the rotation of players that have been used through the first three games of their season.
Portland jumped out to a very quick lead, less than a minute into the game. After a dead ball restart, Portland sent a long ball forward, which found its way to Kyle Linares. The Timbers 2 forward would ping a shot off Carrera, have it fall right back to him, and manage to score on an open net to make it 1-0, Portland.
“This team has a lot of character. We were up against a tough opponent, and I felt the challenge, especially given how things have gone for us in past matches. The resilience shown, especially going down 1-0 in the first 40 seconds of the game and then coming back in the last minute, says a lot about the group. We’ve been talking about mentality, resilience, and desire, and these guys gave everything today. I’m so proud of these guys today.”
North Texas SC Head Coach John Gall
North Texas leveled the game in the 15th minute, off a turnover in the midfield. Tarik Scott picked up the ball from Anthony Ramirez, after a great tackle from Swann to take the ball away. Scott made his run up the right side of the field and eventually found Daniel Baran alone in the box, who buried the ball past the keeper to tie the game.
It would be a relatively quiet rest of the first half, with both teams only getting three shots each on goal. Malachi Molina subbed on for Mohammed Cisset in the 29th minute, after Cisset picked up a knock, which forced him to leave the game early. Molina played right back with Enzo Newman moving to center back.
In the second half, Timbers 2 dominated. Portland accumulated 7 shots on goal, including one that nearly went in. Fortunately for North Texas, Antonio Carrera was on his A-game.
In the 63rd minute, Timbers 2 got their best chance at goal in the second half. Linares made a dangerous run down the left side of the pitch, made a pass to Nuñez, who had his shot saved by Carrera on the doorstep. The ball landed at the feet of another Timbers 2 player, but would be saved again and eventually corralled by Carrera after a flurry of shots and great saves, to keep the game level at 1-1.
North Texas shocked everyone in the 93rd minute after Molina caught the Timbers 2 keeper off his line. Carrera lobbed a long ball over the top of the defense, where Molina was able to get behind the back line and chip the ball over the keeper, into the back of the net to win it.
“I think it was just chemistry between Antonio and I. Honestly, I stayed on the last defender when the ball was going back to Antonio [Carrera], I knew he would put the ball right where I needed it. Big shout-out to Antonio; couldn’t have asked for a better ball. Once it came to me I saw the keeper off his line, and I put it over him for the goal.”
Malachi Molina
An incredible ending to a game that realistically shouldn’t have gone in favor of North Texas. That’s life sometimes.
Despite the goal given up in the 1st minute of the game, Antonio Carrera deserved the majority of the credit for today’s win. Carrera finished the game with 9 saves, including the best one all game, in the 63rd minute. Carrera also picked up his first assist of the season on the game-winning goal to Malachi Molina.
Up next, North Texas SC travels to Parmer Field to take on Austin FC II on Friday, April 11th at 7:30 pm CT. The Verde & Black are currently 1-1-1 on the season.
