MATCH NOTES
- Eight North Texas SC players make club debuts
- Attendance: 1,336
- MLS NEXT Pro Box Score
- Photos from tonight’s match (Please credit North Texas SC)
ARLINGTON, Texas (March 9, 2025) – North Texas SC (0-1-0, 0 points) fell 3-0 to St. Louis CITY2 (1-0-0, 3 points) in the season-opening match of the 2025 season Sunday night at Choctaw Stadium.
THE START OF SEASON SEVEN
North Texas SC begins its seventh season as a professional club. FC Dallas’ affiliate has established itself as a model lower-league club in player development and competitive success. Since 2019, North Texas SC has won the inaugural USL League One title and claimed the 2024 MLS NEXT Pro Cup.
REINFORCING THE TEAM
Eight players made their North Texas SC debuts: Gianluca Cangiano, Mo Cisset, Ian Charles, Gavin Gall, Enzo Newman, Sam Sarver, Caleb Swann, and Josh Torquato. Cisset, Newman, and Sarver were selected by FC Dallas in the 2025 MLS SuperDraft with the 11th, 41st, and 77th overall picks, respectively.
THE PATH TO PRO STARTS IN NORTH TEXAS
Ian Charles became the 26th FC Dallas Academy player to make his professional debut with North Texas SC since the launch of MLS NEXT Pro.
A FAMILIAR FACE RETURNS
John Gall returns as North Texas SC’s full-time head coach after serving as an interim assistant coach with FC Dallas in 2024. Gall strengthens his coaching staff with the additions of Phil Gomez and Nicky Law.
Post Game Quotes
North Texas SC Head Coach John Gall
On his first game back with North Texas SC…
“Disappointed. Obviously, when you concede a goal in the first 90 seconds, you have to play catch-up. In all honesty, we had two early chances to score, and if we had converted those, it would have been a completely different game. A couple of individual errors led to their later goals, which made the game more difficult for us. Football is a game of moments and goals, and when you concede, it becomes a challenge. I’m disappointed in the manner we gave up those goals. Fighting back from 3-0 at halftime is not easy, but I’m proud of the fight and mentality within the group.”
On the response he wants to see from the team…
“I don’t want to see long faces or disappointment lingering. It’ll sting for the next 24 hours, but we’ll come back into training and keep pushing forward. No one is winning or losing championships today, so we’ll continue to grow and develop these players.”
Forward Sam Sarver
On making his professional debut…
“It was obviously very special. I’m disappointed with the result, but I’m excited to get back to it on Friday and earn those three points.”
On being named team captain for the 2025 season…
“I was very excited to be named captain. When a coach gives you that responsibility, it shows he respects the work you put in and believes you can represent the team well. I’m honored, but as I told my teammates, we all lead in different ways. A captain’s armband doesn’t define leadership, but I’m thrilled to wear it.”
Midfielder Diego Garcia
On what went wrong tonight…
“It wasn’t our night; we are a different team but that is no excuse. Yes it was a bad result, but we aren’t denying the talent we have within the team. We just got to keep working, and this was a minor setback. We will work to bounce back for the next match.”
On getting familiar with new teammates…
“We just have to keep working together so we can keep improving. Yes, we lost by three, but we had chances that we should’ve been able to put away. We will put this game behind us and focus on the next match coming up on Friday.”
