MATCH NOTES
- Forward José Mulato scored his team-leading eighth goal of the season
- Goalkeeper Antonio Carrera registered 10 saves setting a new career-high and recorded his third shutout of the season
- MLS NEXT Pro Box Score
Vancouver, BC (August 25, 2023) – North Texas SC (7-10-8, 30 points) defeats Whitecaps FC 2 (8-10-6, 33 points) 1-0 to keep playoff hopes alive thanks to a 82nd minute game winner from José Mulato on Friday night at BC Place.
SUPER MULATO
Colombian forward José Mulato scored his eight goals of the 2023 season in the 83rd minute of the match. Mulato brings his total to 17 goals scored for North Texas SC in MLS NEXT Pro play.
LA MURALLA CARRERA
FC Dallas homegrown goalkeeper Antonio Carrera set a new career-high in saves and maintained the crucial shutout. Carrera saved all of the 10 shots he faced on target from Whitecaps FC 2, including 8 on shots from inside the box. His previous career-high was set at eight saves in which he registered three different occasions.
FIRST WIN ON CANADIAN SOIL
Tonight’s 1-0 win over Whitecaps FC 2 is the club’s first ever win on Canadian soil. North Texas had managed just one draw and suffered two losses in the previous three trips north of the border.
AWAY STREAK SNAPPED
North Texas SC snapped a 10-game winless streak on the road with tonight’s 1-0 win. The club last earned a win on the road against LA Galaxy II on April 2. Interim head coach John Gall earned his first professional win on the road since taking over head coach duties on July 17.
UP NEXT
North Texas SC hosts Colorado Rapids 2 on Sunday, September 3 at Choctaw Stadium. The match kicks off at 8:30PM CT and will be streamed on MLSNEXTPro.com.
Lineups
North Texas SC — Antonio Carrera; Herbert Endeley, Amet Korça, Nolan Norris, André Costa; Carl Sainté, Tomas Pondeca (Alejandro Araneda – 90’+4’), Diego García (Diego Pepi – 89’); Anthony Ramirez (Dylan Lacy – 79’), José Mulato (Pablo Torre – 89’), Hope Avayevu.
Substitutes not used — Michael Webber, Malachi Molina.
Whitecaps FC 2 — Max Anchor; Mihail Gherasimencov, Karifa Yao, Finn Linder, Elage Bah (Darko Ilic – 84’); Jeevan Badwal, Malcolm Simmons (Gloire Amanda – 76’), Giovanni Aguillar; Levonte Johnson, Lowell Wright, Antoine Coupland.
Substitutes not used — Cohen Park, Amirmahdi Ghasemi, Lucas Dasovic, Amoni Thomas, Joe Hanson, Christian Greco-Taylor, Joshué Ndakala
Scoring Summary:
NTX: José Mulato – 82’
Misconduct Summary:
VAN: Giovanni Aguillar (caution) — 80’
VAN: Giovanni Aguillar (caution) — 90’+1’
NTX: Pablo Torre (caution) — 90’+1’
Weather: Mostly Cloudy, 67°F
Post Game Quotes
Interim Head Coach John Gall
General thoughts on the performance tonight…
“Grit comes to mind. We had a lot of players put in a lot of work and effort. We tried to play good football, but we knew we had to grind out a result. We knew we had to work extra hard and it’s a difficult trip coming to Vancouver. It’s very long and you have to be able to get your rest and be ready to respond. Credit to the boys, we knew we had to play a team that likes to counterattack, and we were able to shut it down. A gritty and quality performance from the boys when we needed it. We got the goal, and like I said, Antonio made 10 saves. It’s a team effort and we will continue to push for the playoffs. These past few weeks have been a joy for me.”
On offensive effort tonight…
“It’s been incredible working with these guys. The last four to five weeks have been a joy to work with these players. They have a great attitude; they work hard, and they want to be successful. We had a great idea on how we wanted to attack the opponent and we knew we had to put numbers in the box. We came in from the right through Hope (Avayevu) following a nice link up play from José (Mulato) and I am happy he kept following the play. Credit to him because he does not miss a beat. He comes from the first team, plays in games and wants to be successful. I am super happy for Mulato with tonight’s performance, and with his game-winning goal .”
Goalkeeper Antonio Carrera
On his performance and career-high saves…
“It’s something that I am proud of, and I will enjoy it with my boys. We are on an away trip so I will enjoy it with them. Like coach (John) Gall said, it's my job. My job is to make saves, I made 10 saves, but we have to keep going. We keep pushing and that is the new standard. We build from this going forward.”
On the importance of tonight’s win…
“Of course we are ecstatic. You can tell the progress and work the team has put in. Like coach (John) Gall said, tonight’s game was all about grit. We worked from the first whistle of the match to the final whistle. Not just me, but the whole team from the defenders, midfielders, and forwards. The goal was pure grit, we worked hard for it. Today was a battle and our players and team won that battle.”
