MATCH NOTES
- Hope Avayevu scored his fifth goal of the season.
- José Mulato scored his ninth goal of the season.
- North Texas SC playoff dreams end after tonight's loss.
Arlington, Texas (September 3, 2023) – North Texas SC (7-11-8, 30 points) fell 3-2 to western conference leaders Colorado Rapids 2 (16-4-5, 57 points) on Sunday night at Choctaw Stadium.
HOPE IS THE KEY
Ghanaian forward Hope Avayevu logged two goal contributions in tonight's x-x match. Avayevu scored his fifth goal of the season in the seventh minute of play from the penalty kick spot. He also assisted José Mulato in the second goal of the match in the 30th minute.
EL GOLEADOR JOSÉ MULATO
FC Dallas forward José Mulato scored his 18th career-goal for North Texas SC. Mulato ranks third of goals scored with North Texas SC in MLS NEXT Pro play. This was Mulato’s ninth goal of the 2023 MLS NEXT Pro season.
PLAYOFF DREAM ENDS
With tonight’s 3-2 defeat to Colorado Rapids 2, North Texas SC has officially been eliminated from playoff contention. This is North Texas’ first time missing out on playoffs since joining MLS NEXT Pro ahead of the 2022 season.
UP NEXT
North Texas SC visits Houston Dynamo 2 for the final edition of the 2023 Texas Derby on Sunday, September 17 at SaberCats Stadium. The match kicks off at 5:30PM CT on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
Lineups
North Texas SC — Antonio Carrera; Herbert Endeley (Yeicar Perlaza – 46’), Amet Korça, Henri Santos, André Costa; Carl Sainté (Diego Pepi – 90’+6’), Tomas Pondeca (Nayrobi Vargas – 71’), Nolan Norris (Dylan Lacy – 87’); Diego García (Lautaro Taboada – 71’), José Mulato, Hope Avayevu.
Substitutes not used — Michael Webber, Malachi Molina, Alejandro Araneda, Jared Salazar.
Colorado Rapids 2 — Lars Helleren; Jackson Travis, Blake Malone, Michael Edwards, Sebastian Anderson; Jackson Walti (Marlon Vargas – 46’) (Daniel Garcia – 90’+11’), Daouda Amadou, Oliver Larraz; Darren Yapi, Rémi Cabral, Yosuke Hanya (Steve Flores – 90’+8’).
Substitutes not used — Robinson Aguirre, Caique de Brito, Logan Batiste, Keith Chavarria, Dillon Serna, Leonardo Medina.
Scoring Summary:
NTX: Hope Avayevu (penalty kick) – 7’
COL: Yosuke Hanya – 20’
NTX: José Mulato (Hope Avayevu) – 30’
COL: Darren Yapi – 58’
COL: Rémi Cabral (Marlon Vargas) – 90’+2’
Misconduct Summary:
NTX: Tomas Pondeca (caution) — 39’
COL: Daouda Amadou (caution) — 55’
NTX: Carl Sainté (caution) — 57’
COL: Michael Edwards (caution) — 75’
NTX: Yeicar Perlaza (caution) — 90’
Weather: Cloudy, 86°F
*Attendance: 878
Post Game Quotes
Interim Head Coach John Gall
On being eliminated from playoff contention…
“This is a tough one it really is, we knew the stakes were going to be costly tonight especially when you play against a really good team like Colorado. First half we were really good and confident even after we gave up the equalizing goal. We kept pushing and José Mulato scored a great goal. In the second half we came out knowing that Colorado was going to come at us, and unfortunately, we made a mistake that changed the game. With the score tied, we knew that wasn’t enough for us at this stage of the season, so we changed to push for the game. Even at 2-2, we had a chance to score and missed it, then Colorado got a chance on the counterattack and scored it. The team is resilient, of course they’re disappointed now and will be for the next couple of days, but we’ll respond. We have two very important Texas derby games over the next two weeks, so we’ll keep pushing forward.”
On positives from tonight…
“The positives from tonight are that we played against a team first in the western conference where we were as good if not better than them. Of course they scored the goals they needed too, but we’re a confident team with great talent on the field and unfortunately, we’re chasing games based on individual mistakes. Young players are going to make mistakes and hopefully, the players are going to learn their lessons because they’re good players. Making mistakes doesn’t make them bad players, but ultimately these mistakes are costing us. Right now we’re looking to bounce back from the mistakes and get ready for the next game.”
Defender Nolan Norris
General thoughts on the match…
“This match sums up the story of our season. There have been good moments. Since John (Gall) took over you can see what we are trying to do. It’s frustrating how we give goals up and we obviously don't want to point fingers. It’s a tough part to be eliminated from playoff contention. We have two massive games against our Texan opponents, and we have to win those last two games.”
On moving more up the field…
“This season has been good for me both on and off the field. When I came into preseason with the first team, Nico told me I would play more inverted, whether at center back or at midfielder. Slowly but surely, I am transitioning into that role. There have been multiple games where I play at the six, and then tonight I got to play at the eight role. I look at everything with a positive mindset, I am young, and I have a lot of room to grow. Every game is an opportunity to get better and impress my coaches and learn from their input. I am enjoying the time I have with the first team as well as the second team. I take it all in and we keep moving forward.”
