EDINBURG, Texas (July 5, 2022) –Rio Grande Valley FC (7-8-2, 23 pts) travel to face New Mexico United (7-3-5, 26 pts) in back-to-back matches. The first match on Wednesday, July 6 is the rescheduled fixture originally dated for June 22nd which was postponed due to weather complications.
Isotopes Park will host both matches, which will be the first two meetings of the 2022 Championship campaign between the sides. The action will be live nationally on ESPN+ .
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HEAD-TO-HEAD (2022 Championship Figures)
Rio Grande Valley FC (17 Games) – 23 goals, 62 shots on target. | 24 goals conceded, 4 clean sheets | Western Conference Standing: 10th place
New Mexico United (15 Games) – 24 goals, 60 shots on target. | 13 goals conceded, 4 clean sheets | Western Conference Standing: 7th place
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2022 Goal Total Tracker: RGV FC
FW- Frank Lopez (4), DF- Robert Coronado (4), MF- Emilio Ycaza (4), FW- Dylan Borczak (2),
DF- Wahab Ackwei (2), FW- Ricky Ruiz (2), FW- Adolfo Hernandez (1), DF- Frank Nodarse (1),
DF- Juan Cabezas (1), FW- Duilio Herrera (1), DF- Luka Malesevic (1)
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Rio Grande shut down a red hot El Paso Locomotive side who entered their June 29th matchup on fire offensively at H-E-B Park. Rookie keeper, Javier Garcia, made his second consecutive start for the Toros and did not disappoint once again. He made four key saves and earned a back-to-back clean sheet to help RGV FC earn a hard-fought point at home as they closed out the first half of the season officially.
It has been “next man up” all season for Wilmer Cabrera’s side as he has been forced to improvise his lineups often due to missing pieces both by injury or discipline and recently the most notable adjustment that is paying off has been Javier Garcia. The hidden gem has been a third option behind veteran keeper Tyler Deric and returner Colin Miller, but he has proven his worth at the starting job with a combined nine saves, two clean sheets and allowing two goals over three career starts. If Garcia is tasked with a starting bid once again, he is a player to watch in this doubleheader in New Mexico as his defense rises in confidence in front of him.
The ongoing battle up front for a final touch to finish plays has been a factor lately for RGV but new pieces and schemes have opened the danger effectively for the young Toros offense and they have tested defenses more often and have started taking long shots and created impressive crosses on open plays and set pieces.
Look to these two battles being physical and all about patience in order for the Toros to eanr their much-needed points to rise in the standings as they seek a playoff spot in the second half of the 2022 campaign.
For single match tickets please visit rgvfc.com/singletickets or the H-E-B Park box office, open weekly from 10am-6pm CST.
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