MATCH NOTES
- Turner Humphrey makes his professional debut.
- Tarik Scott scores North Texas SC’s first goal of the season.
- Goalkeeper Michael Collodi registered a career-high six saves.
- MLS NEXT Pro Box Score
St. Louis, Missouri (March 24, 2024) – North Texas SC (0-0-2, 3 points) and St Louis CITY2 (0-1-1, 1 point) battle to a 1-1 draw in regulation time. NTSC goalkeeper Michael Collodi saved two penalty kicks to give North Texas the extra point in the shootout.
THE COMEBACK
Tarik Scott’s goal in the 42nd minute of the match is the clubs first goal of the 2024 season. The last time Scott found the back of the net for North Texas was on March 26, 2022, in a 3-1 win over MNUFC2. Scott underwent ACL and LCL reconstruction surgery on February 21, 2023, on his right knee during a preseason game with FC Dallas in 2023.
TURNER TIME
Defender Turner Humphrey made his North Texas SC and professional debut after featuring in the starting lineup tonight. The Redland, California native signed with North Texas on March 12.
THE COLLODI SHOW
Goalkeeper Michael Collodi registered a career-high six saves in tonight’s 1-1 draw against St Louis CITY2. He recorded two extra point shootout saves, his third PK save of the season. The Plano, Texas man made his professional debut last match week versus Whitecaps FC 2 where he kept a clean sheet.
MARCH RECORD
North Texas SC ends March with a 0-0-2 record. North Texas SC’s lone goal came through Tarik Scott. North Texas holds a 3-0-2 record for the month of March in all-competitions since starting play in 2019.
UP NEXT
North Texas SC returns to Choctaw Stadium to take on The Town FC on Saturday, April 6. The match kicks off at 4PM and is available to watch on MLSNEXTPro.com and YouTube.
Lineups
North Texas SC — Michael Collodi; Herbert Endeley, Amet Korça, Turner Humphrey (Anthony Ramirez – 64), Abdoul Zanne; Carl Sainté, Diego García, Nick Mendonca (Lautaro Taboada – 90’+10’); Tarik Scott, Diego Pepi (Malik Henry-Scott – 76’), Enes Sali.
Substitutes not used — Nico Montoya, Malachi Molina, Ian Charles, Leo Londe Jr.
St Louis CITY2 — Christian Olivares; Tyson Pearce (Nolan Mcguire – 77’), Kyle Hiebert, Michael Wentzel, Jayden Reid; John Klein, Hosei Kijima (Carson Locker – 88’), Cam Cilley (Seth Antwi – 77’), Wan Kuzain; Caden Glover (Ryan Becher – 64’), Brendan McSorley.
Substitutes not used — Nick Bishop, Eric Kinzer, Dida Armstrong, Gabriel Mikina.
Scoring Summary:
NTX: Tarik Scott – 42’
STL: Kyle Hiebert (Jayden Reid) – 82’
Misconduct Summary:
STL: Caden Glover (caution) – 16’
NTX: Enes Sali (caution) – 69’
STL: Michael Wentzel (caution) – 74’
NTX: Tarik Scott (caution) – 74’
NTX: Nick Mendonca (caution) – 79’
NTX: Herbert Endeley (caution) – 79’
NTX: Amet Korça (caution) – 83’
NTX: Tarik Scotti (ejection) – 90’+7’
NTX: Enes Sali (ejection) – 90’+9’
Weather: Cloudy, 62°F
Post Game Quotes
Head Coach John Gall
On earning two points on the road…
“It was a tough game against a good opponent. They are really organized defensively and are hard to break down. We try to continue to do the things that worked for us like possession and keeping the ball. We closed our spaces and made it difficult for them. To get the first goal was really important for us. Tarik was out for a really long time, and it is great to get him back on the score sheet and playing with more confidence. Overall, we are happy with the bonus point, but we certainly wanted to come away with three points because that is the standard and expectation, we have set for ourselves. Certainly getting that extra point is a confidence booster for us going forward.”
On the adjustments made to counter St Louis CITY2 play style…
“It took us a little bit to get ourselves settled into the match. The biggest adjustment for us was dropping our fullbacks lower to deal with their press. Once we felt more comfortable as the game progressed, we were able to build out of the back. It’s something we want to do continuously. We want to have the bravery and courage to pay out of the back. Our players need to understand that if they progress to the MLS level, they will be players that will press them intensely.”
Goalkeeper Michael Collodi
General thoughts on the match…
“They definitely put a lot of pressure when trying to play out of the back. We felt like that was their game plan from the beginning. Some of those mistakes that we were making early in the match were because of the pressure, and some of our own mistakes. We are expected to do better, and we know that. Being able to adjust and make changes helped us get that first goal in the match. It’s a huge sign and a good step for us to take.”
On getting points in the first away match of the season…
“Away matches are always difficult. Travel can be exhausting, and then you are not playing what you are used to back home. The venue, atmosphere and fanbase can make it intimidating for teams that come here to St. Louis. Echoing what John [Gall] said, the effort, heart and grit that we showed today proved how much we can do. I don’t think we had the best performance overall, and we know we must perform better overall. Like I told the boys in the locker room, the ability to get a result like that is a sign of a good team with better things to come.”
