MATCH NOTES
- Goalkeeper Justin Stewart made his North Texas SC debut
- Yeicar Perlaza, Nolan Norris and Justin Stewart earned their first starts of the season
- MLS NEXT Pro Box Score
ARLINGTON, TX (April 9, 2023) – North Texas SC’s (2-1-0, 6 points) early two-game winning streak was snapped with a 4-1 defeat to Whitecaps FC 2 (2-0-1, 8 points) at Choctaw Stadium Sunday night.
CAPTAINCaptain and midfielder André Costa scored his first goal of the season with a penalty in the 39th minute. It was Costa’s third-career goal for the club after scoring two during the 2022 campaign.
HOME OPENERS
The home defeat snapped North Texas SC’s perfect record in home-opening games going back to 2019. The club is now 4-1-0 in home openers.
DEBUTSGoalkeeper Justin Stewart made his North Texas SC debut by starting tonight’s game. Defenders Yeicar Perlaza and Nolan Norris earned their first starts of the season.
UP NEXT
North Texas SC will face up against Austin FC ll, at Parmer Field within St.Davis Performance Center on Wednesday April 12. The match will kick off at 7:00 PM CT, and will be available on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
Lineups
North Texas SC — Justin Stewart; Nolan Norris, Henri Santos, Amet Korça; Tyshawn Rose, André Costa (Pablo Torre – 81’) , Carl Sainté (Theo Ferreira – 65’), Yeicar Perlaza (Alejandro Araneda – 65’); Hope Avayevu (Alejandro Urzua – 40’), José Mulato (Diego Pepi - 65’), Bernard Kamungo.
Substitutes not used — Michael Webber, Manuel Caicedo, Diego Hernandez, Tomas Pondeca.
Whitecaps FC 2 — Max Anchor; Mihali Gherasimencov, Finn Linder, Karifa Yao, Malcolm Johnston (Christian Greco-Taylor – 87’); Giovanni Aguilar, Vasco Fry, Levonte Johnson (Kamron Habiblah – 56’), Jay Herdman; Antoine Coupland (Edwin Espinal– 87’) , Gloire Amanda (Joseph Hanson – 83’)
Substitutes not used — Cohen Park, Simone Masi, Lucas Dasovic.
Scoring Summary:
VAN: Gloire Amanda (Levonte Johnson) — 13’
VAN: Finn Linder (Gloire Amanda) — 16’
VAN: Levonte Johnson (Antoine Coupland) — 18’
NTX: André Costa — 39’
VAN: Giovanni Aguilar (Jay Herdman) — 84’
Misconduct Summary:
NTX: Carl Sainte (caution) — 20’
VAN: Karifa Yao (caution) — 40’
VAN: Malcolm Johnston (caution) — 69’
Weather: Mostly Cloudy, 70°F
Attendance: 1,298
Post Game Quotes
Head Coach Javier Cano
On the difference from the opening two games to this one…
“The difference is the defensive aspect. Last week, we controlled the game and defended every set piece perfectly. Every cross, we were in position. Today we weren’t. Today, we changed our shape due to circumstances but we tried to put our best players on the field but maybe this shape didn’t help us. But we learned. That’s it. We need to improve. I don’t know if they were better than us by (a score) of 4-1. There wasn’t a big difference. It’s just efficiency and composure in the game. We didn’t have both of those things.”
On his message to the team ahead of the match against Austin FC 2...
“It’s about learning the lesson and moving on. This is the thing, we don’t have time to dwell on it. We didn’t have the best game today. We’re going to analyze it with them and Tuesday we’ll prepare for the game, drive to Austin and get ready for the game.”
Defender Tyshawn Rose
On what the team has to do going forward…
“We told each other not to drop our heads and always look ahead. It’s not the result we wanted but we will look at the video and correct the tactical mistakes we had. We need to bring more intensity in each game. We give each other positive encouragement and acknowledge where it went wrong.”
On whether there’s an advantage to having a young team…
“It is definitely an advantage because our younger generation brings a more creative side to this team. The older generation including myself, brings the team more experience and discipline in the field. While they teach us new things, we tend to do the same by returning the favor. Having that relationship is positive for the team.”
