North Texas SC Crash Out of the MLS Next Pro Playoffs, Losing 3-0 to Town FC

Simply put, the Town FC controlled this one from the opening whistle, and mistakes and inability to attack doomed North Texas' chances at a repeat.

With confidence and class on Sunday night in San Jose, the Town FC dispatched the MLS Next Pro defending champions 3-0. This was a strong statement by the home side, who went out of their way to select North Texas SC as their opening playoff opponent. Whatever the motivation was, it was more than enough.

From the opening whistle, North Texas could not create the dangerous opportunities they wanted. Turnovers, mistakes, bad luck, miscommunication - whatever you want to call it, this game resembled performances we had seen throughout the 2025 season, especially for a squad missing talisman and human spark plug Sam Sarver. Without their Best XI goal scorer, away with FC Dallas, the struggles in the final third looked oddly familiar. They couldn’t stretch the Town. The final pass was lacking. It was just one of those nights, cemented by defensive miscues that doomed their hopes.

Case in point - North Texas SC didn’t get their first corner until late in the second half.

It was a tough night.

“We are disappointed at the moment,” North Texas head coach John Gall told Afterburn Soccer. “We are trying to put into perspective what we have done this year. We knew coming into the game that the Town would be a difficult performance, with a lot of older and experienced players. They are disciplined with the ball and without the ball. They have a few players who made first-team appearances this year. We knew not having Sam was going to be a bit of a blow for us. When you take a player out of your team who scored 19 goals, we knew it was going to be a challenge. So we planned on not having him. We planned around some different looks and ideas. I tried to do the plan, tried to do the things we asked them to do. Our Achilles heel this year has been giving away goals. Something we worked hard on this year not giving up goals on set pieces. They scored on a set-piece goal that turned the tide.”

JT Harms, who grew across this season into a team leader and captain as the first-choice goalkeeper, acknowledged those mistakes.

“We didn’t control the game like we were hoping. We didn’t take our moments,” he told the media. “The game comes down to individual moments. When those moments don’t go your way, it’s difficult. I take full accountability.”

Clearly, one of the first orders of business in this offseason, beyond figuring out who gets that contract extension and another shot at this level, is to identify those goal scorers either within or outside of the organization. Removing Sam Sarver, the attacking options were hampered by injury or were a miss at this level. For example, Faiuse Sangare, despite being a product of Wolverhampton’s academy, struggled to make a difference, closing out the year with just 2 goals. It’s likely we will see the departure of some of those guys as the club looks to bring in some fresh faces and give them an opportunity.

Fans won’t have to wait too long though, as open tryouts are already scheduled this November to begin looking for that next diamond in the rough.

For head coach John Gall, the offseason evaluation begins in the coming days, but he wanted to assure fans of what the club is building.

“There is a lot in the future for North Texas and FC Dallas,” Gall told the media. “We want winners. We want to build a fanbase in Mansfield and the south side of Dallas. I assure all of those fans we are going to give it 100%.”

Indeed, despite bowing out in the first round, this is a young side. It’s a theme Gall mentioned in the post-game call - that this team is for those young guys to get the opportunity to grow. Growth sometimes comes out of defeat.

And he reminded us why we should care about North Texas SC in the first place, especially as FC Dallas fans, pointing to the impact North Texas had on FC Dallas’ huge win in Vancouver the night before.

“This is a reason for the second team, to get these kids ready,” Gall said. “The (first) team last night had six or seven that contributed to North Texas last season or this season. It makes me proud to be a part of their pathway and progression.”

As we shift into offseason mode for North Texas, we’ll look for some other opportunities to see what is ahead in a historic coming year for the team as they prepare to move into their own facilities.

For now, a strange, rollercoaster 2025 comes to an end for this side.

On to the next.