Texas Border Business
Sacramento, California – The Rio Grande Valley FC Toros fail to get three points on the road to Sacramento Republic FC. What the Toros did get was a club record.
The RGV FC had three new faces on the starting lineup tonight. Tyler Deric, RGV FC goalkeeper (Houston Dynamo loan), A.J. DelaGarza, RGV FC defender (Houston Dynamo), and the Panamanian, Carlos Small, RGV FC forward. DelaGarza returns back to the pitch after 10 months of being out from a torn ACL and was able to create a chance in the first half. Small earned his first goal for the RGV within the first minute of the game and sets a record for the club for quickest goal. As Aldo Quintanilla (F) passed the ball to Small, he ran past between Republic FC defense and shoots passed Josh Cohen, Republic FC goalkeeper, sending it to the bottom left corner of the goal.
Republic FC had a couple plays that tested Deric several times throughout the first half. In the 27’, Cameron Iwasa, Republic FC forward, took a lone shot to the top right-hand corner that tested Deric but misses. Following, in the 32’ Luis Espino, Republic FC midfielder, broke through the left wing taking on Todd Wharton, RGV FC midfielder, where Connor Donovan, RGV FC defender, stopped the play with a slide. Villyan Bijev, Republic FC forward, and Mitch Taintor, Republic FC defender, had a play sequence where Bijev took a dangerously left footed shot to the center of the goal right to Deric. The RGV FC pressured the Republic FC enough to not allow a goal in the first half.
The RGV FC start off strong with a missed head shot from Small in the 57th minute. Three minutes later, Jesus Enriquez, RGV FC midfielder, and Quintanilla get a run through the left wing, but Republic FC broke the play. Unfortunately for the Toros, Republic FC flipped the script when Iwasa scored a head shot to the left of the six-yard box sending it to the back of the net in the 61-minute scoring his 27th goal of the season, leading in USL in shots. In the 68th minute, Jeremy Hall, Republic FC midfielder, had a head shot that went right past through Deric scoring their second goal of the game.
RGV FC got some dangerous action in the last minutes of the game. Omar Ontiveros, RGV FC defender, took a right footed shot from the center of the box but Justin Schmidt, Republic FC defender, blocks the shot. After, Enriquez gets a right footed shot in the 85’ from the center of the box but misses just over the bar. Even though the 1-2 loss suffered by the Toros, the team sustained the pitch enough to not let Jure Matjasic, Republic FC midfielder, do any damage. Republic FC continues to remain undefeated and the RGV FC fail to beat them.
The Rio Grande Valley FC Toros will host OKC Energy FC on August 18 at H-E-B Park. It will be the second time the two teams confront each other this season.
Attendance: 10,937
Scoring Summary: SRFC – Cameron Iwasa 61’ (Elliot Hord), Jeremy Hall 68’ (Keven Aleman); RGVFC – Carlos Small 1’ (Aldo Quintanilla).
Misconduct Summary: RGVFC – Todd Wharton (Yellow Card) 83’; SRFC – Keven Aleman (Yellow Card) 64’, Jure Matjasic (Yellow Card) 78’, Villyan Bijev (Yellow Card) 80’.
Sacramento Republic FC – Josh Cohen, Shannon Gomez, Justin Schmidt, Mitchell Taintor, Elliott Hord, Jaime Villarreal, Jeremy Hall, Luis Espino (Keven Aleman, 57’), Jure Matjasic (Christian Eissele, 81’), Villyan Bijev, Cameron Iwasa.
Subs Not Used: Thomas Olsen, Cole Seiler, Adam Moffat, Roberto Hategan, Wilson Kneeshaw.
Stats: Shots: 13, Shots on Goal: 4, Saves: 2, Fouls: 16, Corner Kicks: 6, Offsides: 0.
