North Texas Fail to Capitalize on Late Goal, Draw 1-1 to SKC II
A late stunner from SKC II nullified Jayden Contrares' strike. With the result, North Texas SC now lie just outside of playoff contention.
This is not the night that North Texas SC needed.
Against one of the worst teams in the MLS Next Pro Western Conference, North Texas SC struggled to imprint themselves until the second half in a mixture with plenty of fouls exchanged. SKC II had a confident game plan and were happy to bottle up the home side and prevent them from breaking out into space. The teams, for the most part, looked evenly matched.
North Texas SC regrouped at halftime and came out with extra intensity. That intensity led to a penalty kick in their favor midway through the second half, a vital moment, but Sam Sarver, normally deadly at that position, skied the shot. Was it rust? Was it just the moment?
But both sides kept pushing.
North Texas SC finally found a breakthrough on a brilliant counter-attack with less than 10 minutes in regular time left, and Sam Sarver wisely squared the ball for Jayden Contreras, who slotted in an easy goal, his first.
For a moment, the home side was poised to come out of this match with a huge three points.
And then a corner kick to SKC II led to disaster, an even later equalizer.
While North Texas threatened further, inlcuding a late opportunity from Chris Salazar, the visitors were happy to secure a road point.
The resulting penalty kick shootout likewise fell apart as North Texas had two shots saved in a row to doom that vital extra point.
“First half, we were hoping that the things that worked for us last time against this team would have worked again. Sam had a chance early on in the game. We kept putting balls in those areas. KC dropped in and was able to deal with any threat we had behind,” North Texas SC head coach John Gall told media after the match. “I talked to the boys at halftime about building a little more momentum to draw them out. We missed a penalty kick. At this stage of the season, it can cost dearly. They were very resilient. They worked hard. They fought for their team. I am the first one to say I am disappointed, but the disappointment will end.”
As it stands, with 37 points, North Texas are on the outside looking in on playoff action with three games left. Those games - and the need for as many points as possible - puts the young squad in a tough position. They’ll travel to play Minnesota United FC 2 in the upper midwest, return home for their final home game against Real Monarchs, and then close out against red hot LAFC 2. It’s not going to be easy.
But that won’t stop this young team from pushing for that ticket.
“We have the ability. We have the talent. This is what North Texas is all about,” Gall said. “I assure you, we will be positive, we will be confident. We will push for three points in Minnesota. I know the players are disappointed with tonight. They will respond as they should.”
Certainly, there are lessons from this match, including for Sam Sarver who will look back at that missed penalty kick as a wasted opportunity. Hopefully, we don’t look back too and see it as the missing piece to get this side into the postseason.
“At the end of the day, these are all learning moments that players sometimes have to go through. We have gone through quite a few this season. We have a young team, an inexperienced team,” Gall said. “These moments are what this game is all about, what the second team is all about. Hopefully, this little bit of a bad feeling will spur the guys on. We will be pushing for 9 points.”
Jayden Contreras, scoring his first goal for North Texas SC, shrugged when asked about the pressure at the moment, “We know the quality we have. We aren’t stressing out. We are being more focused. Working harder throughout the training week.”