EDINBURG, Texas (March 7, 2019)– Rio Grande Valley FC enters the 2019 USL Championship season schedule after a good preseason which began in Houston with the Dynamo. The Toros trained and played scrimmages against the first team to prepare for the upcoming campaign.
Over the span of four preseason matches, RGV FC was able to score over 10 goals, 6 of those goals were against USL competition in the likes of San Antonio FC and Austin Bold FC. Tacoma Defiance kept a rather quiet preseason schedule but look to be prepared to enter their first season in the USL Champions league as a franchise.
Toros head coach Gerson Echeverry commented on Friday’s matchup between RGV FC and Tacoma Defiance; “The way we are approaching is that we are gonna throw whatever we can at them and see if they can handle it and vice versa. After the 10 or 15 minutes we will see and strategize as coaches and see what we can do to get the win.” Both sides have never met before as Tacoma is a newly formed team, making it an interesting first game for the Toros.
As a returning member on the RGV FC roster, midfielder Victor Garza said this about the preparation for opening night; “It’s important to know your teammates and how they play and what are their strengths and abilities. I think it’s more into adapting to build that chemistry, but we are a strong team. I think we have prepared for the first test of the season and we are ready for them.” Rio Grande prides itself in the unity of the team and with new faces, looks to create some good chances on the pitch this Friday.
Not everyone on the roster is new to the climate and region of Seattle, first year goalkeeper Ben Willis is a native of Washington and added the following about returning home to play; “This game will be extremely special for me, not only because I get to play in front of my family and friends but because I’m playing against the team that’s affiliated with the team I grew up playing for. So, it’s going to be a lot of fun to battle it out with guys I have known for a while.”
Echeverry spoke on his confidence for the Toros entering this 2019 campaign, “I feel like we have a better team, a better bench, a very athletic team and a very dynamic team compared to last year. We struggled offensively last year and this preseason, we were one of the better teams offensively and I’m pretty happy with that and hopefully we continue that throughout the season.”
The matchup begins at 9:00 p.m. CST and will be available on ESPN+as the 2019 USL Championship season gets rolling. Updates on the match will be provided via Twitter at @RGVFC or by following #SomosToros. To see more matchday information, visit https://www.rgvfc.com .
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