TULSA, OK. (October 6, 2018) – The Rio Grande Valley FC (8-12-13) earned three points on the road with a 2-1 win against Tulsa Roughnecks FC (3-17-12). The Toros welcomed back Midfielder Camilo Monroy after an injury that prevented him from earning minutes this season. Monroy earned 11 minutes tonight.
RGVFC did not wait to attack the Roughnecks at the beginning of the match. Forward Carlos Small had an attempt in the 7th minute but unfortunately, the shot was blocked. In the 20th minute, Midfielder Nicolas Perea took a left footed shot from outside the box but missed to the right side of the goal. Five minutes later, the Roughnecks attempted to strike with a header by Defender Joshua Morton but missed to the right. Less than one minute later, Midfielder Todd Wharton took a free kick from the 35-yard line but was sent off a little too high from the top bar. In the 28th minute, Perea sent a through ball to Small but was caught offside. The Roughnecks had four attempts back to back but fortunately for the Toros, the shots were missed.
The Toros were eager to get a lead in the second half that RGVFC had two goals in one minute. First goal was in the 51st minute off a corner by Wharton to Perea’s head where he headed it to the back of the net. Right after, Small took on the defending line with the goalkeeper and sending it off to the bottom left corner getting a 2-0 lead. Unfortunately for the Toros, the Roughnecks stroke with a goal from Forward Joaquin Rivas to the center of the goal net marking a 2-1 score in the 60th minute. Five minutes later, Rivas had another attempt but was saved. In the 76th minute, Wharton had an attempt off from a free kick but missed up high. Goalkeeper Michael Nelson had two back to back blocks in the 84th minute by Midfielder Paris Gee and Midfielder Alejandro Covarrubias. Small attempted to get a brace when he took a right footed shot from the center of the box, but it was saved.
As the end of the season nears, the Toros have won the past two matches. Perea has also scored three goals in the last five matches. Defender Kyle Adams, once again, led the Toros with 13 clearances tonight. Nelson earned three saves. Small led the Toros with four total shots, two shots on target, two key passes and one blocked shot.
The Toros will close out their 2018 season at San Antonio FC on October 13 at 7:30 p.m. (CDT).
Attendance: 2,766
Scoring Summary:RGVFC – Perea 51’ (Assisted by Wharton), Small 53’ (Assist by Enriquez); TUL – Rivas 60’ (Assists by Gamble and Tavares)
Misconduct Summary: TUL – Vukovic 85’ (Yellow Card).
TUL – Fabian Cerda, Joshua Morton (DJ Dean 67’), Claudio Muñoz, Nemanja Vukovic, Adriano Jusino. Paris Gee, Ivan Mirkovic (Alejandro Covarrubias 79’), Eti Tavares, Joaquin Rivas, Jonathan Levin (Isaac Diaz 57’), Michael Gamble.
Subs Not Used: Terence Smith, Uzi Tayou, Chase Gentry, Christian Rodriguez.
Stats: Shots: 16, Shots on Goal: 4, Saves: 1, Fouls: 15, Corner Kicks: 4, Offsides: 2.
RGVFC – Michael Nelson, Kyle Adams, Conor Donovan, Sheldon Sullivan, Omar Ontiveros, Nicolas Perea, Carlos Small (Robert Castellanos 90’), Pablo Aguilar (Camilo Monroy 80’), Todd Wharton, Jesus Enriquez, Wilmer Cabrera Jr. (Romilio Hernandez 67’).
Subs Not Used: Nico Corti, Brandon Morales, Matias Zaldivar, Bryce Marion.
Stats: Shots: 11, Shots on Goal: 3, Saves: 3, Fouls: 10, Corner Kicks: 5, Offsides: 2.
# SOMOS TOROS #
