Despite Golazo, North Texas SC Fall to St Louis City 2, 3-1

Aaron Essel scores an absolute ROCKET, but North Texas SC can't overcome the visiting league leaders.

As FC Dallas played Austin to a gritty draw further south, North Texas SC welcomed St Louis City 2 last night to Choctaw Stadium.

This was a fun one to watch, largely because we have been hoping and wondering as North Texas fans for this team to put everything together in a run of form we glimpsed earlier in the season. But it was also a game in which we could see if North Texas was improving as they measure up to the best team in MLS Next Pro.

Alas, despite the needed return of Enes Sali to the squad and an incredible goal from Aaron Essel, St Lous City SC 2 had it pretty easy, slotting in goal after goal from defensive miscues from the home side.

We talk about game state a lot on the pod, and game state just indicates that sometimes you give up an extra goal or two as a team when you push forward. This is why a 2-1 lead for a team often leads to a 3rd, not because the team being beaten is noticeably worse, but because they are pushing for an equalizer, leaving gaps in their defense. A quick counter-attack, an extra pass - a good team exploits those opportunities to deepen the hole in soccer.

That was the case on Saturday, as North Texas, coming from a 1-0 deficit in the first half, grabbed a huge equalizer from Essel, a blast that you have to see (and you can bet we will be playing on repeat on the show tonight). With both teams level, all it took was a lack of concentration for North Texas to leave the back post undermanned, and St Louis found the go-ahead goal and then another.

North Texas pushed throughout, taking 11 shots on goal, getting into numerous dangerous opportunities. Ultimately, they couldn’t get the shots on target in the same way that St Louis was, but the fight was there from the young home side. Ultimately, the best team in MLS Next Pro looked the part.

“I think overall the performance was a good one. We played against a good, mature, experienced team. A lot of their players played in the league last year, proving that they're going to be successful. Last year, they got to the playoffs and had a good run,” North Texas head coach John Gall told media. “But in saying that, I thought that we showed what we're made of tonight. We showed a lot of grit. We showed a lot of character. We showed at times we wanted to play. We want to try and do the things that we've been working on all season long. Just a minute before they scored in the first half, I think we had a chance that we probably should have scored, and then suddenly, 30 seconds before half time, they got a goal, and it's difficult.”

The big storyline from the game is the return of Enes Sali. We’ve tweeted about it in the past, but there were a ton of questions about the playmaker’s future after spending the spring on loan with Al Riyadh. In his return to North Texas, he showed why he is clearly too good for Next Pro, even if there is work to be done to connect with his mostly new teammates.

“I was on loan, and it was a really good experience. It feels good to be back though with North Texas,” Sali told media. “It was a little difficult for me to adjust to how the guys play here, it’s a completely different team since I left. I tried to fit in the best I can, and we’ll see where we go from here.”

Bottom line - North Texas needs some attacking talent, so if a loan opportunity doesn’t materialize in the coming weeks, why not give Sali half a season to bolster this young team ahead of a potential winter sale?

Really, Sali at least helps with the departure of Sam Sarver.

Finally, here is the danger - North Texas SC now sit just above the playoff line, not the place they want to be (although with a game in hand on those beneath them). There are plenty of opportunities to pick up points ahead, but we could be looking at a real possibility that this young team misses out on postseason action. Is anyone panicking yet? No. Does the team need to find another gear? Absolutely.

We’ll touch on the loss tonight on the Afterburn Soccer Show.