North Texas SC Return Home Empty-Handed, Losing 6-1 at Ventura County
Despite a perfect sunset and a SpaceX launch, a beautiful evening goes to waste for North Texas as their porous defense dooms their chances in Southern California.
Yes, that speck of light and hazy trail of smoke in the background is one of Elon Musk’s satellite launches, a regular sight out here in Southern California.
When I showed the picture to North Texas SC head coach John Gall, he was intrigued and then wondered, with a smile, if his squad had gotten distracted by the spectacle of a rocket launch instead of the actual work of winning a soccer match.
Interestingly, the image above captures a moment in the match that reveals a lot of North Texas SC’s woes at Ventura County, as they fell Friday evening 6-1. Slade Starnes is stepping off his back line to contend for a ball to a VCFC attacker. If he can make the challenge, win the ball, or just slow down the move, it’s a good play, but if the attacker wins the ball, suddenly, a 3v3 scenario opens up with Starnes out of position, phenom left winger Eric Preston ready to run into the space left by Starnes, and another attacker on the right stretching the defense. Preston would end up with two goals on the night, often just by getting behind Enzo Newman or arriving late at the back post. He wasn’t alone.
Over and over again, North Texas SC got out of position, allowed runners in behind, or just failed to win or control balls. By the 15th minute, in a shade to last weekend’s home draw, they were down by 2 goals. For every moment where it felt like they were getting their feet under them, Ventura County ruthlessly and emphatically put the game out of reach.
Heck, Nicholas Simmonds, who struggled a bit to influence the game and control the ball despite his size advantage, finally won the ball in the opponent’s box, controlled it, and slotted home a goal in the second half, his third of the season. It was a boost of confidence North Texas needed. Within 60 seconds, Ventura County answered, and you could see the body language, from coaching staff to players, slump.
I asked Gall about the defensive miscues on the night.
"It's been our Achilles' heel for most of the season. The errors we've made at times have held us back. I thought we had turned a corner, but tonight was the culmination of many issues that have affected this team throughout the season,” he told Afterburn. “Unfortunately, everything unraveled at the same time. The three first-half goals were unacceptable. We allowed players to get in behind us. Our back line wasn't together. We let the ball come inside instead of forcing it outside. Being down 3-0 at halftime makes for a difficult team talk, but we came out in the second half like we did against LAFC2, and we were much brighter. We could have given up after those goals, but we kept trying to get back into the game. Tonight was disappointing.”
The young squad will return home with lots of questions to answer and a narrowing window to get back into the playoff hunt.
In the big picture, we can acknowledge that the FC Dallas organization continue to go out and find talent to bring into this program. Lucas Martins made his debut on the night, a promising Brazilian midfielder. Da’vian Kimbrough’s family were in the stands to watch their talented attacker who only made a late cameo. With the number of balls bouncing off the goalposts, you could argue that the attack wasn’t the primary culprit. If one or two goals had gone in, maybe North Texas SC could keep their heads up high and push for more.
But in the short term, something is not working. Messages are not getting through to this group of players. Every step forward is met by a step back. Chalk it up to a very competitive league. Chalk it up youngsters who are learning how to be consistent. Heck, chalk it up to the absence of Josh Torquato or Jaedyn Contreras, both away at the CONCACAF U20 championships. Or chalk it up to a formation or tactical setup that hasn’t clicked.
On the bright side, North Texas SC will be at home in Mansfield for their next four matches. That might be the perfect motivation to turn this season around.
A few other notes:
Both Nicholas Simmonds and Ricky Louis started the year with impressive preseason showings, flirting with roles in the first team. Now, they look slightly out of their depth with North Texas SC. It may have just been a rough night. What is missing?
Add Alvaro Augusto to that question mark, as the promising defender had hinted at a larger role at times with the first team, but is now helping lead a defense that just gave up six goals. Not his night.
Lucas Martins, Gall and staff noted, is still learning how to speak English and adjust to a new culture. His role might grow as he gets more comfortable in Frisco.
Enzo Newman was a bright spot on the night, even if he did get beat on a couple of goals. He was confident on the ball and helped spearhead some promising attacks when his teammates were struggling to find space and advance the ball. Shout out to his family from nearby Temecula who came to cheer him on.