Frisco, Texas (April 21, 2022) – North Texas SC will host Houston Dynamo 2 on Saturday, April 23 at approx. 4:20PM at Toyota Stadium. Here's everything you need to know before the game.
How to Watch
Stream: The match will be streamed on MLSNEXTPro.com starting approx. 4:20PM.
Match Overview
NTX Record: 3-0-1 (11 points – 2nd in West)
HOU record: 4-0-0 (12 points – 1st in West)
NTX vs. HOU all-time: First ever meeting
STORY LINES
Kick Off Time Change
MLS NEXT Pro announced today that North Texas SC’s home match against Houston Dynamo 2 at Toyota Stadium on Saturday April 20, will now kick off at 4:30PM CT. The match was originally scheduled to begin at 5PM CT.
Texas Derby MLS NEXT Pro Edition
North Texas SC will take on Houston Dynamo 2 for the first time this season on Saturday at 4:30PM. Both clubs are unbeaten in the league with NTSC having a 3-0-1 record and Dynamo Dos having a 4-0-0 record. The two clubs occupy the top two spots in the Western Conference standings. North Texas SC head coach Pa will be coaching his first Texas Derby.
Pa-Modou Kah: "We focus on ourselves. We know it’s a derby. We are going to keep doing what we do, and we can’t worry about the external. It is just another game for us, we will try and perform to the best of our ability and do our best to earn all three points at home."
First Road WinNorth Texas SC earned its first road win of the season on April 17, vs. Earthquakes II in a 1-0 win. Bernard Kamungo’s 80th minute goal sealed the three points for North Texas. Midfielder Tomás Lacerda registered his first career MLS NEXT Pro assist and goalkeeper Antonio Carrera recorded his first career shutout while also registering four saves in the match. Academy product, and recent U.S. U-19 National Team callup, Nolan Norris made his professional debut and registered his first start for the club.
Pa-Modou Kah: "For us we know that road points are difficult to earn with all the travelling the team has to do within our league. Our mindset doesn’t change, and our mentality doesn’t change. We challenge the boys in the sense that we haven’t kept a clean sheet, nor we have been able to score first. They came through, our mentality doesn’t change for us whether it’s a home or away game. We believe in a certain way of playing.”
Stepping Up
Captain Derek Waldeck has started in all four games of the season so far playing a total of 336 minutes. The midfielder has recorded 23 duels and registered 11 interceptions when defending. On offense he has a goal to his name this season and has completed a total of 139 passes with a 63.5% accuracy. He also played the full 90 minutes in both road games, the first one on April 2 in a 1-1 draw against Tacoma Defiance and in a 1-0 win over Earthquakes II on April 17.
Derek Waldeck: “Playing away games and getting results is a testament to the guys. It’s the guys taking responsibility, ownership of their responsibilities on the field and executing it to the best of their abilities. The game against Earthquakes II by no means was our best. We were sloppy at times, but the guys dug in individually and as a collective group.”
Looking for Revenge
On March 13 Houston Dynamo 2 defeated NTSC 2-0 in a preseason match up. The goal scorers for Dynamo Dos were Marcelo Palomino and Roberto Avila.
Derek Waldeck: “We played them in a preseason match earlier this year and dropped the result on the road. We’ve had this game circled on our calendar for a while now. We knew we are going to be in Frisco in Toyota Stadium playing the second game of the double header. It’s a little more personal to us, and we hope to count on the support from the fans.”
The Opponents
Houston Dynamo 2 are the current Western Conference leaders with 12 points and a perfect record of 4-0-0. Forward Roberto Avila is tied for first in the MLS NEXT Pro golden boot race, while forward Papa N’Doye leads the team with three assists to his name. Dynamo Dos is coming off a 4-1 win at PNC Stadium on April 17 vs. Timbers 2. N’Doye, D’Alessandro Herrera, Marcelo Palomino and Avila were the goal scorers in the match.
