The Rio Grande Valley FC Toros defeated the reigning Liga MX Champions, Club Santos Laguna, 3-0 in a friendly exhibition played at H-E-B Park. Pablo Aguilar, Jordan Jones, and Monday Etim all got on the score sheet for the Toros.
The visitors from Torreon had the first dangerous play in the match. In the 12th minute, Jorge Gonzalez hit the crossbar and failed to give Santos the lead. RGV’s Pablo Aguilar got things going for the Toros from a set piece. From a free kick, Aguilar placed his shot in the top left corner of the goal to give the Toros the lead in the 21st minute.
After the goal, lanes opened up for the Toros. In the 28th minute, Jordan Jones doubled the lead for the Toros. Todd Wharton’s throw-in beat the defenders’ backs and left Jones against Carlos Acevedo, goalkeeper for Santos Laguna. Jones was able to hold off the defenders and strike his shot into goal. Jones had another chance to bag his second goal of the night in the 35th minute, but his shot went wide to the left.
As Club Santos Laguna pushed numbers forward, Rio Grande Valley held their own. In the 51st minute, goalkeeper Matt Sanchez blocked Jonathan Rodriguez from pulling one back for Santos Laguna. Roberto Castellanos blocked the rebounded shot from Sanchez’s save. Three minutes later, Julio Furch tried chipping a through ball over Sanchez but his shot missed the target.
In the 58th minute, Alan Magda’s diving header connected with a cross but the ball went over the crossbar. Monday Etim gave the Toros their last goal of the night in the 64th minute. Manny Padilla’s cross found Etim who buried the shot into the back of the net. Matt Sanchez’s work was not done yet. In stoppage time, Sanchez denied Furch from scoring off a floating header.
The Rio Grande Valley FC Toros return to USL action on July 14 when they take on Las Vegas Lights FC for the very first time. The match will kick-off at 7:30p.m. at H-E-B Park.
