EDINBURG, Texas (September 22, 2018) – The Rio Grande Valley FC (6-11-12) earned three points at home versus Seattle Sounders FC 2 (5-19-5) with a 3-0 final. Midfielder Brandon Morales, first RGVFC academy signee, debuted in the USL league.
RGVFC kicked off the game with a 1-0 lead in the 5th minute when Forward Carlos Small sent a cross inside the box to Midfielder Todd Wharton where he then sent it to the back of the bottom left corner from outside the box. Sounders 2 fired back when Midfielder Nicholas Hinds shot from the left side of the box and Goalkeeper Chris Seitz stopped the equalizer attempt in the 10th minute. In the 18th minute, Forward Wilmer Cabrera Jr. sent a through ball to Small where he took on the defending line attempting to take on Goalkeeper Calle Brown, but Brown blocked away Small’s attempt. Two minutes later, the Toros had another attempt when Small sent a cross ball to Cabrera but he wasn’t able to reach it. RGVFC had another attempt when Small sent a ball to Cabrera but he missed to the bottom left corner in the 23rd minute. Late in the first half, Cabrera sent a throw in ball to Midfielder Eric Bird who struggled with the Sounders 2 defensive line where he then managed to chip it over the defenders and sent it to the back of the center goal marking the second goal of the match in the 41st minute.
Sounders 2 started the second half with an attempt from Forward Shandon Hopeau where he shot from outside the box, but Seitz saved their attempt in the 47th minute. The Toros had an attempt in the 54th minute when Bird sent a ball to Wharton where he shot from outside the box but missed to the left side of the goal. Two minutes later, Midfielder Jesus Enriquez shot from the 35th yard line to the center of the goal, unfortunately, the attempt was saved. In the 76th minute, Wharton kicked a corner to the center of the box and Midfielder Nicolas Perea headed it to the bottom left corner marking the third goal of the match.
Seitz had three saves tonight which were the only shots on goal made by the Sounders 2. The Toros had three Houston Dynamo players; Seitz, AJ DelaGarza and Bird. The Sounders 2 earned their third loss in a row.
Rio Grande Valley FC will have a short trip to Nevada to take on Reno 1868 FC on September 26 at 9:00 p.m. (CDT).
Attendance: 4,468
Scoring Summary: RGVFC – Todd Wharton 5’ (Assist by Carlos Small), Eric Bird 41’, Nicolas Perea 76’ (Assist by Todd Wharton)
Misconduct Summary: S2 – Azriel Gonzalez 32’ (Yellow Card)
S2– Calle Brown, Tony Alfaro, Sam Rogers (Jalen Markey 35’), Rodrigue Ele, Azriel Gonzalez, Nicholas Hinds
(Ibrahim Usman 60’), Antonee Burke-Gilroy, Jesse Daley, Shandon Hopeau, Marlon Vargas (David Olsen 69’), David Estrada.
Subs Not Used: Jacob Castro, Alfonso Ocampo Chavez.
Stats: Shots: 5, Shots on Goal: 3, Saves: 3, Fouls: 7, Corner Kicks: 2, Offsides: 2.
RGV Toros FC – Chris Seitz, Conor Donovan, AJ DelaGarza, Sheldon Sullivan, Kyle Adams, Todd Wharton, Brandon Morales (Bryce Marion 67’), Eric Bird, Carlos Small (Jordan Jones 80’), Wilmer Cabrera Jr. (Nicolas Perea 57’), Jesus Enriquez.
Subs Not Used: Nico Corti, Omar Ontiveros, Robert Castellanos, Pablo Aguilar.
Stats: Shots: 12, Shots on Goal: 6, Saves: 3, Fouls: 10, Corner Kicks: 2, Offsides: 0.
# SOMOS TOROS #
