The Rio Grande Valley FC Toros were defeated at home by Real Monarchs SLC. Jose Escalante scored the goal for the Toros. Daniel Haber and Chandler Hoffman scored for the Monarchs.
The Toros conceded a goal early in the match. Daniel Haber put Real Monarchs SLC ahead in the 8th minute. Reagan Dunk assisted in the play that found Haber open for the goal. The Toros had an opportunity to find the equalizer in the 15th minute. Jose Escalante was fouled inside the box after dribbling the ball since half field. Unfortunately for the RGV, Connor Sparrow stopped Eric Bird’s penalty shot.
Eric Bird would find another opportunity to score in the 32nd minute. His volley shot after a cleared free kick, bounced safely into the hands of the goalkeeper. Haber almost doubled the lead in the 40th minute but his shot from a distance hit the crossbar. RGV FC Toros almost pulled one back right before the first half ended. Kyle Murphy headed the ball towards goal but was denied by Sparrow.
Rio Grande Valley started the second half hungry for a goal. Eric Bird enabled TJ Casner inside the box but Real Monarchs SLC’s defense was able to clear the ball. RGV’s Victor Garza denied Haber in the 57th minute, clearing the ball in the line. The Toros were able to tie the game in the 58th minute. Kyle Murphy crossed the ball to Jose Escalante outside the box. Escalante shot the ball first touch and put it past Sparrow.
Francisco Pungo almost scored a goal in his home debut. Pungo found space in front of him and went one-on-one after Eric Bird’s perfectly placed through ball. Max Lachowecki was able to catch up to him and slide to clear the ball as Pungo was taking his shot.
Real Monarchs scored their second goal off a penalty kick in the 78th minute. Chandler Hoffman got the best Marco Carducci and sent him the other way when he took his shot. The Toros almost found an equalizer late in the dying minutes of the game. Bird was not able to get a concrete contact with the ball and his shot rolled right into Sparrow.
The RGV FC Toros outshot Real Monarchs SLC 18 to 9. Seven of those shots were on target for Rio Grande Valley. The Toros will now go a on a three-game Pacific Northwest trip. They next face Portland Timbers 2 on Saturday, July 29.
# SOMOS TOROS #
