Frisco, Texas (May 19, 2022) – North Texas SC travels to Real Monarchs on Friday, May 20 at 8PM at Zions Bank Stadium. Here's everything you need to know before the game.
How to Watch
Stream: The match will be streamed on MLSNEXTPro.com starting 8PM.
Match Overview
NTX Record: 5-1-2 (18 points – 2nd in West)
SLC record: 0-5-2 (2 points – 11th in West)
NTX vs. SLC all-time: First ever meeting
STORY LINES
Game of the Week
Friday’s match is the featured MLS NEXT Pro’s game of the week. This will be NTSC first game of the week this season.
Team Chemistry
For the inaugural MLS NEXT Pro season, North Texas SC signed 10 new players, returned three players from the 2021 squad and resigned Derek Waldeck. Two FC Dallas Academy players and four first team players have also joined the team for the season. NTSC is currently second in the Western Conference with only a third of the season being played so far. Seven of the 14 goals scored so far in the season have come from either new signings or Academy players.
Pa-Modou Kah: “I like that we stick to our philosophy that we want to play off the ball and being able to keep possession of the ball. They understand the demands and the expectations we ask from them. The concept we have they understand. Overall if you look at the games, we’ve played so far it feels like we haven’t gotten out played. We want to always be the better team and we always want to improve. I am very happy where we at, given that this group were brand new to each other.”
Experienced Leader DW18
Derek Waldeck has been at the club since 2020 and took over the captaincy role in 2021. Waldeck made 45 appearances and played a total of 3,580 minutes during his first two seasons for North Texas SC. In MLS NEXT Pro he has made eight appearances and has 249 minutes under his belt. He also scored the first North Texas SC goal and his first professional goal in the current MLS NEXT Pro season.
Pa-Modou Kah: “I like to say I have a squad; I always ask my team to give it their everything at every training session. I am satisfied with Derek and the things he has done as a leader for this group. He is the voice of this group, and he is our captain. We are very happy to have Derek.”
Trusting the Philosophy
Midfielder André Costa leads the team in accurate pass percentage with 90.4%, completing 141 passes total in six appearances. Head Coach Pa’s philosophy is moving the ball around and connecting passes. The team is ranked third in the league in accurate passes with 3095 completed and is tied for third in the league in pass percentage with Toronto FC II at 82.5%. NTSC is also tied for second in the league with Minnesota United 2 and Toronto FC II for assists in the league.
André Costa: “We’re second place in our conference, but the most important thing to my teammates and I is the constant growing and developing as players and as a team. We’ve built a lot in defense and in offense, we trust our philosophy and get better at it. We like to move the ball around offensively and defensively pressing the opponents to get the ball back. That is our mindset and the growth the team wants.”
The Opponents
Real Monarchs are currently 11th in the Western Conference with a 0-5-2 record and two points total. The Monarchs have scored seven goals in the season with midfielder Pablo Fonseca leads the team with four goals to his name in seven appearances. Fonseca also leads the team in minutes played with 730 total, in accurate forward passes with 90 and in duels with 74. Midfielder Bode Davis leads the team in interceptions with nine. Real Monarchs is coming off a 2-0 loss on the road to Tacoma Defiance.
