North Texas Soccer Finds Gritty Win Over Quakes 2
Enzo Newman bashed home a second half goal, and Eryk Dymora and company earned a clean sheet to give North Texas a crucial win on the road.
Yes, tomorrow is the World Cup final, but tonight was for North Texas Soccer Club as they found the win in a gritty, hard fought victory on the road in San Jose.
Enzo Newman popped up in the box - right place, right time - as the ball bounced around dangerously after a NTSC corner kick late in the second half. His shot wasn’t necessarily pretty. It wasn’t the kind of goal you will see on highlight reels to take your breath away. In fact, it’s kind of hard to see on the replay and crowd of bodies desperately trying to make something happen, but the goal was enough to get a massive three points in Northern California.
Enzo was appreciative and humble after the goal. The right wing back has been on a long injury recovery journey after suffering a season ending injury last year, but his steady minutes at North Texas and practice time with the first team suggest he is fully fit and ready to make a difference.
“Enzo is a leader, a big personality. He was injured with the first team last year. He’s spent a lot of time with us,” North Texas head coach John Gall said after the game. “You could see how much it meant to him — I think his second game winner of the season. He is the type of kid you can count on. He certainly stepped up tonight.”
A big statistic? San Jose Earthquakes II had 20 shots on the night, but North Texas SC managed to block 9 of them in a defensive performance that highlighted Eryk Dymora and a much more organized and spirited back line. When the offense didn’t click behind Nys and Louis, which is going to happen from time to time, you need the boys at the back to be resolute. They did that.
“Sometimes you need to win ugly,” Gall told Afterburn Soccer. “One of the things we talked about all week long was a clean sheet. We probably scored the ugliest goal we could score, but I felt we deserved a goal. I think we had almost ten blocked shots. Eryk came up with some really big saves. It’s not just about flowing, pretty football - of course, we want to try to do that… but young professionals need to learn how to win games. Really proud of the defensive performance.”
Gall noted after the match that, in the past three games, the team has only given up one goal, a late stunner from the Rapids 2, a result he felt was unfair. He marks it as a sign that the defensive unit is beginning to turn the corner after plenty of rocky moments in the first half of the season. In short, there is light ahead.
Another stat? Quakes II sit just three points above North Texas in the table, a gap that could narrow quickly in the coming weeks as the next five out of six games are at home in Mansfield.
It’s a crucial stretch of the season ahead. Win all five home games? North Texas could be sitting at 40 points and seriously in the mix of postseason action.
Enzo Newman expressed appreciation for the fan support, especially with the honor of opening a new stadium in front of a large crowd and a desire to repay the investment in him and in the club in the coming weeks.
In other words, while the World Cup may come to a close today, there is a feast of soccer ahead for North Texas Soccer Club and FC Dallas. Stay tuned!