Arlington, TX (June 26, 2022) – North Texas SC moved into first place in the Western Conference after defeating Minnesota United 2 by four goals on Sunday night at Choctaw Stadium.
JOSÉ MULATO’S HOME GOAL RECORD
Forward José Mulato has scored in back-to-back home games this season. The Colombian has now found the back of the net on four occasions. All four of Mulato’s goals were scored while playing at home. One goal scored at Toyota Stadium and the rest at Choctaw Stadium
LEADING AT THE HALF EARNS A WIN
With tonight’s 4-0 win, North Texas SC have a 7-0-0 record when heading into halftime with the lead. In those seven matches, the team has scored 17 goals and has only conceded three goals.
LEADING SCORER
North Texas SC’s leading scorer Bernard Kamungo extended his tally to eight goals on the season, third-most in MLS NEXT Pro. The forward has four goals and two assists in his last five games.
ASSIST KING
Midfielder Hope Avayevu recorded an assist on Collin Smith’s second-half goal to bring his tally to six on the season, tied for most in MLS NEXT Pro.
BOX SCORE BREAKDOWN
North Texas SC scored four goals for the first time in MLS NEXT Pro play. The team recorded 61% possession, 24 total shots and 12 shots on target. Goalkeeper Felipe Carneiro made three saves to help the club earn its fourth shutout of the season.
UP NEXT: NORTH TEXAS SC FACES SPORTING KC II
FC Dallas faces Sporting KC II next on Saturday, July 2 in Kansas City at Rock Chalk Park. Saturday’s match will be streamed on MLSNEXTPro.com starting at 7PM CT.
Lineups
North Texas SC — Felipe Carneiro; Blake Pope, Alejandro Araneda (Chase Niece — 46’), Pau Amedume, Isaiah Parker; Blaine Ferri (Hope Avayevu — 46’), Santiago Ferreira (André Costa — 71’), Derek Waldeck; Bernard Kamungo, José Mulato (Tomás Lacerda — 76’), Luis Miguel (Collin Smith — 71’).
Substitutes not used — Seth Wilson, Pablo Torre.
MNUFC2 — Fred Emmings; Carlos Leatherman, Nicholas Mendonca, Callum Montgomery (Andrew Brown — 46’), Devin Padelford (Perry Blay — 86’), Iwe Emmanuel; Ignacio Gutierrez, Veljko Petkovic, Aziel Jackson; David Garcia (Diogo Pacheco — 62’), Thomas Williamson.
Substitutes not used — Alec Smir.
Scoring Summary:
NTX: José Mulato (Luis Cardoso) — 39’NTX: Bernard Kamungo (Isaiah Parker) — 55’NTX: Luis Cardoso (Paul Amedume) — 59’NTX: Collin Smith (Hope Avayevu) — 81’
Misconduct Summary:
NTX: Alejandro Araneda (caution) – 44’
Weather: Partly Cloudy, ℉
Attendance: 748
Referee: Edgar GarcíaAssistant Referees: Nicholas Balcer (1), Chana Forstall (2)Fourth official: Gloria Resendiz
North Texas SC Postgame Quotes
Head Coach Pa-Modou Kah
On the feeling after today’s match…
“The best growth mindset we can have as a team and as players is to learn to grind it out. For me, the only one who had a killer mindset was Felipe (Carneiro) because of the saves he made in the first half. The game could’ve turned out very different from what the final result said. Am I happy that we kept a clean sheet? Yes. Am I happy that we scored more than three goals in this game? Yes. But am I happy with the overall performance? No.”
Thoughts on the team’s performance…
“We created a lot but we didn’t defend as a team. I don’t only look at the defenders because attacking starts at the back and defending starts from the front. For me, I think (Minnesota) was easily breaking our lines and we didn’t do a collective job to be able to stop them. The collective was not on today defensively but offensively we created enough chances to finish the game.”
Defender Derek Waldeck
On winning after falling short last weekend…
“Winning 4-0 means a lot, it sends some sort of message. I felt like we were in control of the match, especially in the second half where we were able to get an early goal and take a little bit of pressure off. I am proud of the guys because we kept going and we were not satisfied at 2-0. We didn’t have the best start of the game, especially in the first 10-15 minutes of the match. We were lucky to not have conceded, and that’s big credit for Felipe (Carneiro), who kept us in the match. At the end of the day it’s a 4-0 win, a lot of guys contributed to the attack and got on the score sheet as well. We are happy as of now but not satisfied because we will keep pushing for more.”
O\n playing the full match…\
“I feel great, it was good for me to be able to get a full 90 minutes undere my belt and it helps build my confidence. The great thing about this team is that we have many guys who can step up and fill that role. It has been a while since I’ve last started, we’ve had other guys step in and do the job. My job was to be ready for any moment that popped up. I am satisfied with playing the full match, but like I said we are never satisfied enough. I will push myself individually and I will also push the rest of the guys around me to help them be better.”
Defender Isaiah Parker
On the defensive contribution in game…
“We were lacking communication and Felipe (Carneiro) saved us a bunch of times which was good but we shouldn’t be letting that happen. We shouldn’t have to rely on him and that should be our intention.”
O\n his development over the first half of the season…\
“In the first half of the season, I had just moved to a new position and wasn’t as confident. I used to be a winger and now I play fullback. Now, as I get more experience and build chemistry and work as a whole with the team, I’m gaining confidence, playing better, and we’re winning games.”
