Ten-Men North Texas SC Defeats LAFC2 4-0
Ten-Men North Texas SC Defeats LAFC2 4-0
NTSC remains atop the MLS NEXT Pro Western Conference standings.
North Texas SC won 4-0 on the road against LAFC2 on Sunday evening to remain the leaders of the MLS NEXT Pro Western Conference.
Tarik Scott scored a brace, while Diego Garcia and Diego Pepi each found the back of the net to seal the club’s sixth win of the season. Scott leads the team in goals scored with six.
Goalkeeper Victor Darub made his MLS NEXT Pro debut tonight after entering in the 12th minute of the match following the ejection of Michael Collodi. Darub signed with North Texas SC in October 2023. Darub kept a clean sheet in his first-ever game for North Texas SC.
Like their big brother club, FC Dallas, North Texas SC will be on the road next week as they visit MNUFC2 on Sunday, June 9.
Lineups
North Texas SC — Michael Collodi, Mads Westergren, Amet Korça (Turner Humphrey – 61’), Nico Gordon, Isaiah Parker, Diego García, Tomas Pondeca (Nicholas Mendonca – 70’), Herbert Endeley (Anthony Ramirez – 70’), Abdoul Zanne (Victor Darub – 12’), Tarik Scott (Diego Pepi – 45’), Pedrinho.
Substitutes not used — Malachi Molina, Malik Henry-Scott.
LAFC2 — Abraham Romero, Luca Bombino, Thabo Nare (Javen Romero – 45’), Diego Rosales, Shakir Nixon, Christopher Jaime (Matias Wanchope – 45’), Thomas Musto (Charlie Rosenthal – 64’), Matthew Evans (Joshua Santiago – 73’), Adrian Wibowo (James Arteaga – 65’), Tomás Ángel, Nathan Ordaz.
Substitutes not used — David Ochoa, Decarlo Guerra, Bajung Darboe.
Scoring Summary:
NTX: Tarik Scott – 21’
NTX: Tarik Scott (Herbert Endeley) – 41’
NTX: Diego García (Pedrinho) – 67’
NTX: Diego Pepi (Isaiah Parker) – 87’
Misconduct Summary:
NTX: Michael Collodi (ejection) – 10’
LAFC2: Adrian Wibowo (caution) – 13’
LAFC2: Tomás Ángel (caution) – 25’
NTX: Tarik Scott (caution) – 31’
LAFC2: Nathan Ordaz (caution) – 36’
LAFC2: Tomás Ángel (caution) – 39’
LAFC2: Tomás Ángel (ejection) – 39’
LAFC2: Shakir Nixon (caution) – 45+6’
LAFC2: Matias Wanchope (caution) – 70’
LAFC2: Luca Bombino (caution) – 78’
Weather: Clear, 65°F
LAFC 2 fielded 10 teenagers in the match: 5 starters and all 5 subs. I believe they are consistently the youngest squad in the league. Only one starter was over 21. The youth showed in this match. They had no discipline in the attack and especially on defense. They consistently settled for low percentage long distance shots and they were cut apart repeatedly in transition. They also committed 24 fouls and had 6 yellows.
They have a significantly different developmental philosophy from some of the other teams in the league like Tacoma who generally field older players in their early 20s. I think Tacoma only typically starts one or two teenagers. I just find the different compositions and utilizations of MLS NextPro rosters really fascinating. I’ve kind of concluded that only about half of the teams in the league really expect to develop players through MLS NextPro. I think a lot of them are fielding teams because MLS mandated it but they really aren’t investing in true player development.