In the second installment of the latest USL League One rivalry, North Texas defeated Forward Madison at home 3-1 on Wednesday, thanks to two early goals.

Ronaldo Damus opened the scoring in the 3rd minute with a long run through Madison's defense off a pass from Alfusainey Jatta for his second goal of the season. Just four minutes later, brothers Arturo and David Rodriguez combined to double the lead, giving David his first professional goal.

"I feel excited about it, and I'm ready to score more," David said, adding that "It feels good playing with my brother. We understand each other, and we help out each other."

Controversy erupted in the 10th minute when Madison goalkeeper Brian Sylvestre charged out of his box to try and disrupt a charging Damus, clipping the ball with his hand. He received a yellow card for his actions, though debate ranged on whether it should have been red.

10' Brian Sylvestre is shown a yellow card for handling the ball outside his box.#NTXvMAD pic.twitter.com/3esi6cEWcT — North Texas SC (@northtexasSC) May 23, 2019

Don Smart pulled one back for Madison in the 15th minute, taking a pass from Jiro Toyama at a very sharp angle, bending the ball into the far side net, and North Texas entered halftime leading 2-1.

North Texas controlled possession for much of the second half, but couldn't find a third until the 70th minute, when Imanol Almaguer buried a running shot from just outside the penalty arc for his first professional goal.

"I want to thank my family, and God, and the coaches," Almaguer said post-game. "It's a great feeling to score to my first goal, and I just want to keep on going and prove to coach that I can do it."

With the win, North Texas maintains first place in USL League One with 19 points through 7 games.

"I was really pleased, especially with the way we started. We came out, house on fire, two great goals," coach Eric Quill said after the game. "In the second half, we hunkered down, made some changes, and really sewed the game up."

North Texas resumes play next Wednesday, May 29, when they travel to Canada for the first time this season to take on Toronto FC II.