ARLINGTON, Texas (May 25, 2023) – North Texas SC (4-4-3, 15 points) earned a 3-3 draw with Colorado Rapids (7-0-2, 24 points) before falling 4-2 in the extra point shootout Thursday night at Choctaw Stadium.
ACADEMY REPRESENTATION
North Texas SC included five FC Dallas Academy players in its starting lineup for the first time this season: Julian Eyestone, Will Baker, Diego Hernandez, Anthony Ramirez and Nayrobi Vargas. Five more Academy players were included on the bench: Dylan Lacy, Luke Shiner, Jared Salazar, Malachi Molina and Santiago Ferreira.
FIRST OF MANY
North Texas SC players Diego García and Henri Santos, along with FC Dallas Academy player Nayrobi Vargas, all scored their first professional goals for the club. Santos opened the scoring with a header in the 18th minute. The goal was followed by two go-ahead goals from García in the 27th minute and Vargas in the 55th minute.
GOAL FEST
In the last three home games, North Texas SC has averaged 3.3 goals per game while scoring three or more each game. After the 3-3 draw with Rapids 2, North Texas has now had 10 different players score this season. The team remains unbeaten in the past three home games, collecting one win and two draws.
UP NEXT
North Texas SC travels to St. Louis City2 on Sunday, May 28 at CITYPARK. The match kicks off at 5:00 PM CT and will be available on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
Lineups
North Texas SC — Julian Eyestone; Alejandro Araneda, Henri Santos, Will Baker, André Costa; Alejandro Urzua, Theo Ferreira (Tomas Pondeca – 75’), Diego Hernandez (Jared Salazar – 68’); Diego García (Santiago Ferreira – 82’), Nayrobi Vargas (Pablo Torre – 82’), Anthony Ramirez (Malachi Molina – 68’).
Substitutes not used — Justin Stewart, Luke Shreiner, Dylan Lacy.
Colorado Rapids 2 — Adam Beaudry; Daniel Gracia (Joshua Hardin – 73’), Michael Edwards, Blake Malone, Logan Batiste (Keith Chavarria – 73’); Oliver Larraz, Robinson Aguirre, Steve Flores; Parris Mitchell (Jack Sullivan – 86’), Caique de Brito (Jackson Travis – 62’), Rémi Cabral
Substitutes not used — Diego Gurrola
Scoring Summary:
NTX: Henri Santos (Diego Hernandez) – 18’
COL: Caique de Brito (Rémi Cabral) – 23’
NTX: Diego García – 27’
COL: Rémi Cabral (Caique de Brito) – 48’
NTX: Nayrobi Vargas (Anthony Ramirez) – 55’
COL: Oliver Larraz (penalty kick) – 83’
Misconduct Summary:
NTX: Diego García (caution) — 59’
NTX: Theo Ferreira (caution) — 63’
COL: Parris Mitchell (caution) — 67’
COL: Michael Edwards (caution) — 86’
COL: Blake Malone (caution) — 90’
Weather: Sunny, 81°F
Attendance: 873
Post Game Quotes
Head Coach Javier Cano
On the result of tonight's game…
“It is very unfortunate, once again we were taking the lead and we allowed them to come back. In the end, Colorado knew how to take advantage of our mistakes and that cost us three goals and the loss in penalties. When it came down to penalties, they were very prepared and they also have a very talented goalkeeper. Now, it is time for us to fix our mistakes and focus on our next game.”
On midfielder Diego Garcia’s performance…
“He’s an incredible kid. When we saw him on videos first, we knew we wanted him to join and be in our structure. His running numbers, if you compare with the league average of 12.75 kilometers per game, is more than any MLS player in his position. His work rate is unbelievable, nobody is close to him. Having him in the starting lineup gives us energy, power and courage to keep pressing and be organized with energy. He played in the first game against LAFC and when he subbed him the team dropped its energy. I promised him to keep working like this because the opportunities will come, never give up. For me, he’s the MVP of the last three games.”
Midfielder Diego García
On scoring his first professional goal…
“My first goal was a crazy feeling. It’s my first professional goal and I can’t explain it. I just looked at the sky and said ‘thank God for this opportunity.’”
On his in-game work rate…
“For me, I see every game as a chance to play with all your heart. You never know who’s watching, you don’t know anything that could happen. For me, playing with heart means giving 100% to run and attack every ball I can.”
On his development within the North Texas system…
“I think it’s going well. Sometimes it felt like it wasn’t going so well but I kept trusting myself, always, and kept working. And now it’s paying off, you know?”
