North Texas SC Prepares for LAG II
The grind continues for North Texas SC, as they look to turn the page on a run of draws and disappointing penalty kick shootouts.
North Texas SC is a young team, and over the past five or six games, that has shown.
With FC Dallas experiencing an injury crisis, some of the young players on the senior roster, who were getting minutes with North Texas, have been pulled away. Head Coach Javier Cano has turned to the next man up mentality, trusting young players with crucial opportunities. And the results have been mixed. Some players have shown in these moments, like goalkeeper Julian Eyestone, left back Tyshawn Rose, and striker Nayrobi Vargas. The team’s attack has come together, but the defense has lacked consistency, giving up early goals and settling for draws. At times, they gave up disappointing leads, like against Colorado 2, or battled back to get something out of nothing.
In the past four penalty kick shootouts, since MLS Next Pro rules give teams an opportunity to win an extra point with pks after the match, North Texas has come up short.
On Friday, Head Coach Javi Cano spoke with media about where the team is and how it is prepping to face the Los Angeles Galaxy 2, a young team that has struggled.
“First thing, we are respecting LA Galaxy. They are similar to us. If you don’t respect us, we can be very dangerous,” Cano said. “They are having some good results. They are tying; they are scoring goals. Our focus is on their weaknesses and trying to exploit them.”
The key for North Texas will to be improve their defense, which hasn’t been helped with the absence of guys with the senior team.
“In defense, we are not being consistent. We are receiving the same amount of goals we concede. It doesn’t help us win the game,” Cano said. “Some of it is the little modifications. We are giving small details to the players. The game versus Colorado - the penalty from Malachi at the end. The last game versus Houston Dynamo - the pressure on the moment on the tying goal. We are trying to give to our players these small details.”
Cano acknowledged that as the offensive firepower of the team has improved, it’s been harder for the team to mirror that at the back.
“It is easier to defend than attack, people say,” Cano smiled. “Maybe we are on the otehr side. Maybe it is easier to attack than defend for us.”
The penalty kick shootouts are a unique feature of Next Pro, and in the post-game from the previous weekend, striker Diego Pepi acknowledged how those events are lotteries. There is a lot of luck involved. Cano agreed with this assessment, reminding us that even in the World Cup some coaches choose to practice penalty kicks and others do not. The results don’t always follow those easy patterns.
“There is no rocket science,” Cano said. “It’s not anything where you practice more, you win more. It’s mental. We analyze every single team. We are close to this. In the end, we cannot be in the players’ minds.”
If there is a bright spot from all of this, North Texas has given debuts to a number of players who are simply exciting to watch and are going through the growing pains at a new level. And the minutes given to homegrowns like Nolan Norris and Superdraft signings like Herbert Endelay have proved crucial to the senior team. Both players earned minutes on Wednesday against Sporting Kansas City.
“This was the key to sign here. When I was speaking with Nico after the last meeting, we are working together. We are working very very close. My mission is to help players get ready,” Cano said with pride. “Nolan Norris was playing in the academy as left back or centerback, so we thought maybe a position for him is as a 6. We gave him quality minutes as a 6. Against Kansas City, he played a decent game. If young players are ready, if they want to have minutes or opportunities, sure. I am the happiest one - I am investing part of my life to help in their lives.”
North Texas SC will welcome Los Angeles Galaxy 2 to Choctaw Stadium on Sunday evening and hope that investment continues to pay off.