RGVFC Defeats Sounders 2 Despite Shortened Roster

The Toros are momentarily in 5th place in the Western Conference pending results from Swope Park vs Tulsa.

By: Edson J. Ochoa | @EOchoa_8 & @CargaNaranjaRGV

With information from The Monitor’s Saul Berrios-Thomas

RGVFC returned to H-E-B Park looking to earn three points against Seattle Sounders 2, but they had to do it without three key players as Charlie Ward, Jose Escalante, and Kai Greene were preparing with the Houston Dynamo for Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup action.

The Toros looked strong on the field and were rewarded with an early goal at the 16th minute. Sounders goalkeeper Tyler Miller intended to pass the ball to his defender, but a lack of communication led to the ball being intercepted by Jorginho James. Well aware that the goalkeeper was out of position, he sends a long-distance shot from the right side of the field which went over the keeper and found itself inside the net, giving the Toros the lead.

After the goal, Seattle Sounders gained more possession of the ball looking for the equalizer and they found it just before the half time whistle through a corner kick. Ray Saari sent the cross towards the first post and finds Riley Grant who deflected the ball with the back of his head just enough to throw Borja Angoitia off balance and go in near the far post.

In the second half, Toros looked stronger in the attack, using the counter attack at times to find the winning goal. In the 62nd minute, Jorginho James opened the play to the left flank finding TJ Casner who sends a low, driven cross that finds Ruben Luna and slotted the ball in for his second goal this season. Three minutes later, the Toros gave the Sounders 2 the finishing blow after an Emilio Garcia free kick finds Ivan Magalhaes in the far post and his shot goes past Miller for the final 3-1 score.

Two new players debuted for the Toros. Jessie Ortiz, an U-16 Dynamo academy player, and Brownsville native Juanito Garcia, a UTRGV alum.

Positives:

Jorginho James. Played very well not only in defense but was able to participate in the attack and distributing the ball to the attackers.

The Defense. Besides the late goal in the first half, the back line was very concentrated and was rarely found out of position.

 

Negatives. 

The Referee. Very inconsistent calling and had a tendency to be more lenient with Sounders 2.

RGVFC return to H-E-B Park this Saturday at 7:30pm to host LA Galaxy 2 in USL action.

Quotes of the Game

Junior Gonzalez on Ivan Magalhaes’ goal

“We had seen that they had given up some goals on the back post, so at training, we were working on sending quite a few guys to the near and saving one or two for the far. Ivan almost scored against Sacramento. Off this restart, he got to the spot and scored a great goal. He’s been excellent all season.”

Borja Angoitia on playing with a shortened roster

“It shows that this is a strong team and it has depth. It is important that everyone knows that when they are needed to step up, they can. … We got the three points, and that is very big for us and for Junior to know that he can count on any of those players at any minute.”

Photo Credit: KRGV Sports @KRGVSports