A Potent Attack Is Emerging for North Texas Soccer Club
We had lots of questions about how the team would replace club legend Sam Sarver, and the answer is coming into focus for the young team as they prepare to face Sporting Kansas City 2 at home tonight.
Earlier in the year, I wrote a quick primer about North Texas Soccer Club, and central to that, I highlighted some questions that face this young side in a season that brought lots of a change. For example:
Can this squad, mostly rebuilt, find a way to grind out matches and preserve wins? Can they find consistency, especially at home?
Obviously, North Texas faced a ton of questions this year, chief among them was how to get more offensive production out of the squad. Last year, when Sam Sarver wasn’t on the pitch, North Texas struggled to score goals. Their offensive weapons were just not good enough, so it wasn’t a surprise that the team went out and convinced Edouard Nys, Natty James, and Nicholas Simmonds to help right the ship.
So far, the project is working pretty well.
Has it been perfect? No. The two losses on the road against Austin FC 2 and Dynamo 2 highlighted that this is a young team who have a lot to learn. The consistency is not there yet and will take time. The game against Austin was just weird with that extreme wind, but Dynamo are as good as any team North Texas will face. The loss revealed a sizable gap between the teams.
But that is a gap that can be narrowed over the course of the season.
Last week, North Texas took care of business with a thorough 4-1 demolishing of Sporting Kansas City 2 on the road. It was a confident performance, a boost that this young team needed. We mentioned on the pod that while SKC 2 is hardly a good team, you got to pick up the easy wins when you can. Every performance like that helps this roster grow together, trust each other, and raise their ceiling.
This evening, Sporting Kansas City 2 stroll into Choctaw Stadium, and North Texas will be relishing the chance to sweep their opponents so early in the season. From two straight losses to two straight wins? It can happen.
It will happen.
Sure, North Texas must not over-estimate any opponent, including a Sporting Kansas City team that has nothing left to lose and will be smarting from their drubbing at home, but this is a game to build on the stellar performance from last week and shift it to another gear. I don’t want them to get too greedy, but you have got to win this one.
Here is what I will be watching for:
With Natty James getting a brace and Edouard Nys getting his 5th of the year, the attack is lively. We’ve seen that Nicholas Simmonds can do damage. Sam Sedeh is still young and hasn’t quite looked as dangerous — but he has time. Other contributors are knocking on the door. Despite some very good performances, there is a lot of room for this offense to click, especially with wing backs getting more active. I want to see if James can get another goal tonight, since he has been up and down so far this season.
We highlighted on the podcast that the goalkeeping situation isn’t quite there yet. It’s no reason to panic, as it took JT Harms most of the season to find his voice and claim his leadership role last year. Could Eryk Dymora be on a similar trajectory? If not, who else will Gall give an opportunity to?
Despite last week’s win and a few guys being clear week in and out starters (Nys, Swann, Contreras), there are a ton of spots on this roster that can be staked down. I think that competition is what North Texas SC needs over the course of the season, as it pushes these young players every week. That there are guys who haven’t locked down spots yet can also explain some of the inconsistency. Let’s see this crew get closer to that lock down starting XI tonight and in the coming weeks.
The match kicks off tonight at 7:30 PM CST and is free to watch over on YouTube.