MATCH NOTES
- Antonio Carrera registered five saves and two extra point penalty shootout saves
- Tomas Pondeca netted his second goal of the season
- Anthony Ramirez scored North Texas’ equalizer
- Attendance: 826
- MLS NEXT Pro Box Score
Arlington, Texas (September 2, 2024) – North Texas SC (12-4-7, 48 points) clinched an MLS NEXT Pro playoff spot following an extra point penalty shootout win versus the Colorado Rapids 2 (6-13-4, 23 points) following a 117-minute weather delay. North Texas becomes the first MLS NEXT Pro team to clinch a playoff spot in the 2024 season.
PONDECA ON THE BOARD
Midfielder Tomas Pondeca scored in the 83rd minute from a Carl Sainté assist to start the comeback. Pondeca now has two goals and has appeared in 14 games this season for North Texas.
RAMIREZ TIES IT UP
Midfielder Anthony Ramirez scored the equalizing goal for North Texas in added time to send the match to the extra point penalty shootout. Ramirez set a new career-high in goals scored with three.
HELLO PLAYOFFS
With tonight’s extra point shootout win and a Timbers2 loss in regulation, North Texas SC becomes the first team to clinch a spot in the 2024 MLS NEXT Pro playoffs. Since starting play in 2019, North Texas SC has reached the playoffs on four different occasions.
LA MURALLA
Goalkeeper Antonio Carrera made his third appearance for North Texas this season and registered five saves, including two saves in the penalty shootout. Carrera holds multiple first-place records, including games played in goal (36), games won (18) and saves (135).
UP NEXT: HEADING NORTH
North Texas SC heads to Canada to take on Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 on Sunday, September 8. The match kicks off at 6PM CT from Swangard Stadium and will be available to watch for free on MLSNEXTPro.com and YouTube.
