MATCH NOTES
- Interim head coach John Gall makes his professional head coaching debut
- Forward José Mulato scores his fourth goal of the season
- MLS NEXT Pro Box Score
Arlington, TX (July 22, 2023) – North Texas SC (5-9-6, 22 points) conceded twice in the first half and drops a 2-1 loss to Sporting KC II (8-5-5, 32 points) Saturday night at Choctaw Stadium.
GALL DEBUT
Interim head coach John Gall made his professional head coaching debut this evening. Gall assumed interim head coach duties on Monday, July 17 after North Texas SC relieved Javier Cano of his coaching responsibilities. Gall began the season as an assistant coach for North Texas and serves as the FC Dallas Academy Boys Director of Coaching.
LEADING THE LINE
Forward José Mulato scored his fourth goal of the 2023 season in the 11th minute of the match. Mulato is now tied with Hope Avayevu for the team lead in goals (4) to pair with his three assists. With tonight’s goal, Mulato now leads the North Texas with seven total goal contributions, four goals and three assists in just 12 total games.
RECORD AT HOME
North Texas SC’s home record falls to 3-4-3 for the 2023 season after suffering a 2-1 defeat to Sporting KC II. North Texas registers a 21-7-14 all-time record at Choctaw Stadium since starting play in Arlington in 2020.
RECORD VERSUS SKC II
North Texas SC now holds a 2-2-1 all-time record when facing Sporting KC II. NTSC has scored nine goals and conceded seven goals in five matchups.
UP NEXT
North Texas SC hosts Timbers2 on Saturday, July 29 presented by Children's Health. The match kicks off at 7:30PM CT on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
Lineups
North Texas SC — Antonio Carrera; Tyshawn Rose, Nolan Norris (Diego Pepi – 86’), Henri Santos, Herbert Endeley; Carl Sainté, André Costa (Alejandro Araneda – 81’), Theo Ferreira (Diego García – 72’); Tomas Pondeca (Yeicar Perlaza – 72’), José Mulato (Pablo Torre – 81’), Hope Avayevu.
Substitutes not used — Michael Webber, Manuel Caicedo, Jared Salazar, Nayrobi Vargas.
Sporting KC II — Ethan Bandré; Lucas Rosa, Nassim Mekideche, Chris Rindov, Enzo Mauriz (Cam Duke – 62’); Jahon Rad, Vitor Dias, Andrew Draper (Alenis Vargas – 62’), Josh Coan (Ethan Bryant – 80’); Keny Martínez (Pau Vidal – 46’), Sebastian Cruz (Ozzie Cisneros – 88’).
Substitutes not used — Nati Clarke, Michael Lenis, Amadou Traoré
Scoring Summary:
NTX: José Mulato (Tyshawn Rose) – 11’
SKC: Sebastian Cruz (Andrew Draper) – 41’
SKC: Josh Coan (penalty kick) – 45’+2’
Misconduct Summary:
SKC: Nassim Mekideche (caution) — 48’
NTX: Henri Santos (caution) — 51’
SKC: Jahon Rad (caution) — 84’
SKC: Cam Duke (caution) — 90’+3’
Weather: Sunny, 92°F
Attendance: 987
Post Game Quotes
Interim Head Coach John Gall
On tonight’s match…
“Football is about putting the ball in the back of the net, and they did that tonight and got the win. Overall, you saw a different North Texas team tonight. It was a team with a lot of confidence and a lot of belief in what they were doing. They were passing the ball, keeping the ball, and progressing when we needed to. We created a good number of chances in the game, but when you give those couple of goals away at the end of the first half it sticks a pin in it. We came out in the second pushing and forcing the game, with changes we made. The subs that came in did a really good job of increasing the intensity. At the end of the day we’re here to win games. We want to win and everything we do is about winning. Our mentality is going to continue to change, but I’m really proud of the boys because they gave all their effort tonight. We’ll keep pushing and there’s no doubt this team is on the rise.”
On the goal…
“We spent a lot of time this week enjoying our football and being on the ball more. We have a lot of good players with talent and high technical ability, so we want to use that to our strength. That’s a part of the DNA of FC Dallas, we want quality players on the ball, and we have that and will continue to use it. It was a great goal from back to front with the finish from Jose. At the end of the day we want to keep pushing. The first 25 minutes were probably the best 25 minutes of the season. We probably could’ve capitalized with a second goal but had a couple of mistakes before halftime. We’ll keep working and being positive with the players to help them become the best they can be.”
On match preparation for Timbers2…
“We’re going to take it up a notch from last week. This past week was a lot of introductions on some of the things we wanted to work on. WE saw a lot of things in the game that were positive from training. There will be a lot more additions in training this week. The desire, effort, and intensity are there now. We just have to clean up the little details and we’ll turn this around quickly.”
Midfielder Carl Sainté
Thoughts on the match…
“It was a good game, but we were unlucky and weren’t able to get the result we wanted. We lost against one of the best teams in the league. We have eight games left in the season and we are treating them all as a final. We had clear chances tonight to score but we will focus on finishing those in the next match.”
On the team’s playing style…
“We have been working a lot this week on keeping the ball more. When you keep the ball more, you tend to tire and drive opponents crazy. The way we play and build up is very important. We need to keep this style ahead of the last games of the season.”
On the last eight matches of the season…
“Every game is like a final for us. We are not looking for one or two points. We want three points, and we want to give our 100% to be the best version of ourselves. We will adjust some details midweek, so we are able to get the result we want each weekend.”
