North Texas SC dropped all three points at home, after Colorado Rapids 2 scored 3 goals in the first half of a 4-1 loss.
Coming off their MLS Next Pro Invitational win, North Texas SC sported a 3-4-3 / 5-4-1 hybrid. Nico Montoya got his sixth start in goal, with Gavin Gall and Malachi Molina both playing out on the wing, and really blurring the line between midfielder and defender at times.
A few familiar faces returned to Choctaw, as Nolan Norris, Álvaro Augusto, and Joshua Torquato all made an appearance in the Starting XI. Los Toritos leading scorer, Sam Sarver, started out wide at RW, with Tarik Scott up top as the team’s lone striker.
For Colorado, they held a 3-4-3 formation as well, with Zack Campagnolo getting his ninth start in goal. The backline consisted of Josh Belluz, Vincent Rinaldi, and Charlie Harper, who are all nearing their tenth start for the opposing team.
The Rapids 2 leading scorer, Billo Diop started up top at striker, with Antony Garcia and Josh Copeland out on the wings alongside him. Most notably absent from tonight’s starting XI was Daouda Amadou, who has started 17 games so far this season for Colorado.
After twenty-five minutes of back-and-forth action between these two teams, the Rapids 2 opened up the scoring. After Garcia drew a foul inside the box against Favour Aroyameh, Garcia stepped up and buried his PK to make it 1-0, Colorado.
Things would escalate in the 28th minute after Steve Flores played a through ball to Diop. There was a bit of confusion between Mohammed Cisset and Augusto, as Diop found the pass with no defenders around him. Diop, now all alone with the goalie, curled it past Montoya to extend their lead to 2-0.
North Texas’ disaster of a night wasn’t over yet, as Colorado continued to pour it on. In the 33rd minute, Aaron Essel unfortunately was on the wrong end of an own goal, as a cross by Colorado bounced off his shoulder and into the back of the net. 3-0, Rapids 2.
This game wasn’t over quite yet. In the 50th minute, Torquato would find Sarver on the right side, streaking up the field. After a couple of dribbles, Sarver rocketed a shot past Campagnolo, off the post, and into the back of the net. 3-1, Rapids 2.
Unfortunately, things just didn’t go North Texas’ way tonight. In the 66th minute, the away team scored the final goal of the night. As Flores received a cross into the box, he volleyed it back into the center of the box, where Diop was waiting to chest it home for his second goal of the night. 4-1, Rapids 2.
“We were not at our best tonight,” head coach John Gall said after tonight’s disappointing performance. “We had 592 completed passes to their 243, and it painted a clear picture for me that we were our own worst enemy tonight.”
An unfortunate end to a less-than-impressive showing from North Texas.
One positive takeaway from tonight’s game was that Sam Sarver continued to show why he’s so valuable to this team. With one goal on the night and numerous chances created, he’s (unsurprisingly) our Man of the Match.
MLS Next Pro leading scorer Sarver had this to say after the game, “…when you give up three goals in the first half, it’s not a battle, it’s like climbing Mount Everest. We shot ourselves in the foot with that, but that’s part of the game. We came out of the second half pushing harder to get a goal, and we did. We responded well to the deficit, but when you give up that fourth goal, it extinguishes the fire.”
Up next, North Texas SC travels to Parmer Field to take on Austin FC II on Friday, August 8th at 7:30 pm CT. The Verde Dos are currently 6-5-7 on the season, with 3 shoot-out wins.
I saw a lot of selfish play. Colorado played as a team. They shared the ball and played as a unit. Sarver can’t score on an island.