EDINBURG, Texas (Sun., Mar. 8, 2020) – Rio Grande Valley FC (0-1-0) fell to LA Galaxy II (1-0-0) at home for their 2020 season opener, 1-5. Luka Prpa scored his first professional goal tonight.
The first matchup of the 2020 season kicked off with two goals from Los Dos. RGV FC had plenty of dangerous opportunities but wasn’t able to capitalize. In the 2nd minute, defender Robert Coronado sent a cross inside the box to Kevin Rodriguez. Rodriguez side kicked the ball, but the ball went out.
Garrett McLaughlin had an opportunity as he sent a left-footed shot from the top of the box in the 4th minute but Eric Lopez blocks the shot. In the 6th minute, Coronado took a strike from the left side of the box but hit the right post allowing Lopez to save it.
In the 8th minute, McLaughlin sent a pass inside the box to Rodriguez where Lopez deflected Rodriguez’ shot. Carlos Harvey sent a through ball to Kai Koreniuk where he sent a shot to the lower right side of the goal past Paul Blanchette, 0-1, in the 13th minute.
Los Dos added a second goal in the 30th minute after a counterattack. Cameron Dunbar dribbled the ball in, cut inside the box and struck a goal to the left-back post, 0-2. During stoppage time, RGV FC didn’t want to go into the half without another opportunity. Prpa sent a pass inside the box where Isidro Martinez managed to send it up the crossbar.
The second half kicked off with more action. In the 51st minute Dunbar took a right footed shot from the right side of the box but missed to the right. Two minutes later, Augustine Williams racked up the third goal for Los Dos, 0-3, as he took on Blanchette sending the ball to the bottom left corner of the goal.
LA2 continued to attack the Toros’ goal. In the 63rd minute Williams had another dangerous opportunity after Koreniuk dribbled the ball in, but Williams sent a shot out to the left.
Four minutes later Jonathan Perez sent a pass to Koreniuk where he took a left footed shot from the center of the box to the bottom right corner collecting his brace with Los Dos, 0-4. The Toros struck back when Juan Carlos Obregon Jr. took a shot from outside the box but was saved in the bottom left corner in the 70th minute. Toros midfielder, Timo Mehlich unleashed a left footed strike to the goal, but Lopez managed to block it. DeShane Beckford attacked right after but Lopez saved his shot in the center of the goal.
In the 85th minute, Martinez sent a ball to Obregon Jr. after a set piece situation. Obregon Jr. headed the ball towards the right post finding Prpa. He then headed the ball from the right side to the bottom right corner past Lopez scoring the first goal for the Toros, 1-4. Los Dos scored their last goal of the match in the 88th minute after a set piece play where Mauricio Cuevas sent the shot over the wall to the top left corner, 1-5.
The Toros totaled 15 shots, eight on target while completing 80.4% of the passes. RGV managed 56.2% possession throughout the match. LA Galaxy II totaled 16 shots, six on goal while winning 51.9% of the duels.
McLaughlin totaled four shots, one on goal and completing two key passes. Prpa tallied one goal on his only shot of the night. He led the team with four key passes. Martinez led the squad with four tackles and two interceptions. Robert Castellanos totaled three tackles, four clearances and one block.
RGV FC will head to the West Coast as they go up against new USL Championship team, San Diego Loyal FC on Saturday, March 14. Kick-off is set for 9:00 p.m. CT. To see more matchday information, visit https://www.rgvfc.com.
Attendance: 2300
Scoring Summary: RGV FC – Prpa 85’ (Assist by Obregon Jr.); LA2 – Koreniuk 13’ (Assist by Harvey), Dunbar 30’ (Assist by Cuevas), Williams 53’ (Assist by Dunbar), Koreniuk 67’ (Assist by Perez), Cuevas 88’.
Misconduct Summary: RGV FC – Prpa 19’ (YC)
LA2 – Eric Lopez, Mauricio Cuevas, Omar Ontiveros, Isaac Bawa, Diedie Traore, Carlos Harvey (Josue Varela 73’), Adam Saldaña, Jorge Hernandez (Jonathan Perez 56’), Cameron Dunbar (Ivan Gutierrez 81’), Kai Koreniuk, Augustine Williams.
Subs: Abraham Romero, Marcus Ferknanus, Andre Ochoa.
Stats: Shots: 16 Shots on Goal: 6 Saves: 7 Fouls: 9 Corner Kicks: 5 Offsides: 2.
RGV FC – Paul Blanchette, Robert Coronado, Robert Castellanos, Victor Garza (Erik McCue 72’), Kyle Adams, Isidro Martinez, Kevin Rodriguez (DeShane Beckford 58’), Timo Mehlich, Christian Lucatero, Luka Prpa, Garrett McLaughlin (Juan Carlos Obregon Jr. 69’).
Subs: Ben Willis, Diego Rocha, Taiberson Nunes, Josh Hallenberger.
Stats: Shots: 15 Shots on Goal: 8 Saves: 1 Fouls: 14 Corner Kicks: 8 Offsides: 1.
# TOROS UNIDOS #
