What a night it has been for the Roja League, with three big upsets, massive shakeups in the table, and a new top dog entering Matchday 6!
In Mansfield, Irving FC finally found their footing and scored their first win in Roja League action, defeating NTX Rayados firmly 2-0. For Irving, this might just be their highest-profile win in the team’s history, given the long list of accolades the Rayados have earned.
Inocentes FC takes over the top spot on goal differential thanks to a 3-1 win over Diablos Estudiantes that, despite the scoreline, remained much closer throughout with the Estudiantes holding their own against the UPSL stalwarts. Inocentes hold a single goal advantage over 2nd place NTX Rayados, tied on 9 points each.
Finally, in Chisolm Trail Clasico action, Fort Worth Vaqueros once again emerged victorious over Denton Diablos in a wild, back-and-forth 4-3 thriller. Fort Worth struck first, but Denton answered, and the two sides continued trading blows through halftime and into the second half. Denton briefly took a 3-2 lead early in the 2nd half, but Fort Worth once again found an answer, as the two sides continued to trade goals. The Vaqueros found the net late in the half to secure a narrow 4-3 victory.
But, because this is the Chisolm Trail Clasico, the real prize is the championship belt, and with 4-1 and 3-4 results, the Denton Diablos take the belt 7-5 on aggregate, giving the Diablos their biggest prize to date.
With all that said, here’s how the table looks after 5 matches played:
Roja League Table
Things have gotten even crazier and closer as the league has progressed, with ties for first, third, and a close fight at the bottom, and with one left to play, 4 of the 6 teams are still in contention for the top spot.
The action continues on Wednesday with three matches around the Metroplex. Denton Diablos and Diablos Estudiantes host an all-Denton, all-Diablo black-and-red hellacious hoop-off in Denton, Inocentes host NTX Rayados in a highly anticipated showdown between two top amateur sides, and the Fort Worth Vaqueros host Irving FC in the final kickoff of the regular season.
The Roja League wraps up on Saturday, July 25, with a championship playoff triple-header.