MATCH NOTES
- Theo Ferreira and Herbert Endeley scored their first MLS NEXT Pro goals
- Midfielder Diego Hernandez made his first NTSC start.
- FC Dallas Academy players Malachi Molina and Nayrobi Vargas made their professional debuts
- MLS NEXT Pro Box Score
ARLINGTON, TX (April 16, 2023) – North Texas SC (3-2-0, 9 points) earned a 2-1 comeback victory over MNUFC2 (3-1-0, 9 points) thanks to goals from Theo Ferreira and Herbert Endeley on Sunday night at Choctaw Stadium.
FIRST GOALS
*Midfielders Theo Ferreira and Herbert scored their first career North Texas SC goals in the second half of the match. Endeley was drafted in the first round of the 2023 MLS SuperDraft by FC Dallas out of Indiana University.
PRO DEBUTANTS
Sixteen-year-old FC Dallas Academy players Malachi Molina and Nayrobi Vargas made their professional debuts as second-half substitutes.
COMPLETE DOMINANCE
With tonight's comeback win, North Texas SC improved to a 4-0-0 record when facing MNUFC2. North Texas has scored 11 goals and conceded three goals in four matches played against the loons.
UP NEXT
North Texas SC will host Real Monarchs, at Choctaw Stadium on Friday April 21. The match will kick off at 7:30 PM CT and will be available on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
Lineups
North Texas SC — Antonio Carrera; Herbert Endeley (Tomas Pondeca – 85’), Henri Santos, Nolan Norris, Tyshawn Rose; André Costa, Carl Sainté, Diego Hernandez (Nayrobi Vargas – 57’); Yeicar Perlaza (Malachi Molina – 46’), José Mulato (Diego García – 85’), Theo Santos (Amet Korça – 87’).
Substitutes not used — Justin Stewart, Alejandro Araneda, Alejandro Urzua, Anthony Ramirez.
MNUFC2 — Fred Emmings; Nicholas Richardson (Patrick Weah – 86’), Britton Fischer, Carlos Leatherman, Chineye Uche; Zaydan Bello, Rory O’Driscoll, Devin Padeelford; Emmanuel Iwe (Diogo Pacheco – 62’), Tani Oluwaseyi, Juan Mosquera (Ekoue Mesanvi – 62’).
Substitutes not used — William Pulisic, Malik Khan, Geremy Rodas, Keith Romanshyn.
Scoring Summary:
MIN: Zaydan Bello — 16’
NTX: Theo Ferreira — 60’
NTX: Herbert Endeley (José Mulato) — 81’
Misconduct Summary:
NTX: Nolan Norris (caution) — 39’
MIN: Carlos Leatherman (caution) — 76’
NTX: Carl Sainté (caution) — 89’
NTX: Tomas Pondeca (caution) — 90’+6’
Weather: Sunny, 71°F
Attendance: 1,202
Post Game Quotes
Head Coach Javier Cano
On earning the comeback win…
“We had a very clear game plan going in against Minnesota. We knew the weaknesses they had so at halftime it was about reinforcing that message and tweaking some movements. We made some subs at halftime to modify the team too. We know if we keep playing our way with some modifications, we would have opportunities. We put in two forwards with Nayrobi (Vargas) and his work rate was great. It gave us more space to build up and belief to get the three points.”
On ending a two-game winless run…
“We’d had two very bad results with individual mistakes and conceding seven goals in 15 minutes. But we’ve worked to solve that problem and today the players were very aggressive in closing down the ball and that was our main focus. Minnesota is a very good team, very good at counter attacking so we made sure to focus on that too.”
On Herbert Endeley’s performance…
“We’ve seen the two positions he can play, as a fullback who loves to attack and as a winger who can be very dangerous cutting inside. He gave us a lot today and we missed that when he was ill. He’s at a good level and I don’t know what his ceiling could be, but we will help him improve and that’s our goal. If Nico (Estévez) and the first team need him he’ll be ready for that.”
Defender Herbert Endeley
On the team’s mood…
“The mood is great. We’re very happy, and they’re a really good team like I said. It was really important for us to bounce back after the last two games and I’m really glad to have scored the game winning goal.”
On scoring the game winning goal…
“It feels great, those opportunities don’t come as often playing more defensively. Where I’m playing doesn’t really matter to me as long as I’m on the field. I feel like I make a difference regardless of where I’m playing, so I think having that mentality is the most important thing. Regardless of what position you play, scoring is the most exciting thing.”
Forward Nayrobi Vargas
On making his pro debut and earning a win…
"Tonight, it felt like there was more effort from the guys and there was the energy from the fans to back it up. It just felt like we worked harder. I want to keep contributing to the team and wherever they need me I will be there. It’s been a good year in the Academy, my teammates have helped me a lot to be better than who I was last year.”
On executing the game plan…
"In training we’ve been working on creating space for our forwards and making different runs. I think we did that today more than in previous games. I just want to keep contributing to the team and be ready to play wherever coach Javi needs me.”
