After conceding an early goal to MNUFC2, North Texas SC sent the game to a shootout on Saturday night, which they won 5-4 at Texas Health Mansfield Stadium.
The back-to-back shootout wins secured Los Toritos their 33rd point on the season as they continued the chase to make the playoffs.
Lineups and Tactics
For the final game of their 4-game home stretch, North Texas held a 4-4-2 formation, which doubled as a 4-5-1 at times when Edu Nys (ST) would float between the midfield and forward positions. Paired with Nys at ST was Nick Simmonds, who was inserted for Da’vian Kimbrough.
In goal, Eryk Dymora earned his 18th start of the season. The backline saw one change from their previous match as Leandro Gonçalves replaced Liam Vejrostek at LB. Slade Starnes (CB) captained the home side, with Álvaro Augusto paired alongside him at CB.
One additional change was made in the midfield as Timmy Ospina (CM) swapped with Lucas Martins, after the newcomer picked up two yellows in their previous game against the Timbers2 and was subsequently sent off in the 64th minute.
After a two-week hiatus from Soccer, the Loons 2 returned to action with a 4-2-3-1 lineup, with Kayne Rizvanovich earning his 5th start of the season in goal. The backline consisted of John Farris (LB), Jack Clarkson (CB), Nick Dang (CB), and Philip Tarnue (RB).
Darius Randell, the team’s second-highest-scoring player this season (6), started opposite Jakob Friedman (RW) at LW. Luciano Pechota (CM) and Hector Cruz (CM) played behind Sam Vigilante, who started at CAM for his 16th start of the year.
Up top, Luke Hille earned his 4th start as the team’s lone striker. Most notably absent from the starting XI was forward Marcus Caldeira, who leads the team in goals this season with 10. Caldeira is also tied for first with 3 assists.
The Game
The Little Loons opened up the scoring in the 27th minute. After a couple of shots were deflected away by NTSC defenders, Tarnue settled the ball at the top of the box. After setting his feet, he unloaded a shot which was deflected by Dymora off the post, and in.
North Texas found its equalizer just minutes before halftime. In the 4th minute of stoppage time in the first half, Enzo Newman was able to draw a penalty after Rizavonicich collided with Newman.
Simmonds stepped up to take the kick, had his shot saved, and Ricky Louis came in to clean up the rebound. North Texas headed into halftime tied at 1-1.
“Honestly, I thought we controlled the game very well,” Louis said. “They scored a really good goal, but it didn’t discourage us. Coach John Gall kept telling us that if we could get a goal before halftime, something could happen. I anticipated the rebound, and I’m happy I was able to help the team get the equalizer.”
Similar to the first half, MNUFC2 dominated the time of possession with a whopping 62%. This game saw a downtick in shots on target after both teams only managed 2 total shots (1 each) in the second half. It was a messier half as well, as both teams’ passing percentage dropped significantly.
However, after 90+ minutes of soccer, the game headed to a shootout. North Texas SC converted all 5 of their shots from the spot to secure two points in front of the home crowd after a miss from Farris on Minnesota’s second shot.
Penalty Kick Results:
MIN – 🟢🔴🟢🟢🟢
NTX – 🟢🟢🟢🟢🟢
“At this stage of the season, every point is important, especially against a team competing with us around the playoff line,” Head Coach John Gall said. “I’m really happy we earned the extra point in penalties, but I felt we had opportunities to get all three.”
Even though Louis had the lone goal for North Texas, it would be a miss not to mention Leandro Gonçalves and the quietly solid game he had tonight. My Man of the Match had the most defensive contributions between the two team with 14, even after starting at LB for the first time this season.
Up next, North Texas SC travels to Energizer Park to take on St. Louis CITY2 on Friday, August 28th at 7:00 pm CT. St. Louis is currently 9-7-7 on the season, with 4 shoot-out wins.