North Texas SC entered the weekend with four wins through four games, although these weren't all that convincing. 1-0 wins are still wins, but the team didn't look particularly dominant. They sat undefeated thanks to a rather large amount of luck.

This all changed in the second half on Saturday, where North Texas played one of the best halves of soccer I've ever seen to completely silence Orlando City B. Academy kids stepped up in a massive way, putting in performances one expects from season professionals, not actual teenagers in their 2nd or 3rd professional appearance. Every part of the team clicked, and it led to a downright beautiful game.

Let's dive in.

Players and Tactics

This was a much younger squad than normal, even compared to some very young squads in recent weeks, thanks to the first team needing to lean on youth particularly heavily on Saturday. For the first time this season, four academy players started for North Texas, with three of them playing the full 90 minutes.

North Texas SC starting lineup vs Orlando City B. (5-11-19)

In the first half, we saw a spin on the typical LuchiBall 4-3-3, with Alfusainey Jatta taking the injured Brecc Evans' spot in the back line, Imanol Almaguer playing as the 6, and it was very interesting usage of Tanner Tessmann and David Rodriguez in midfield. Rodriguez and Tessmann both traded off playing either the fixed 8 or the free 8, with one dropping back towards the center as the other pushed forward. Tessmann looked great in the role, getting several good chances off, while Rodriguez, in his professional debut, looked a little shaky.

In the 57th minute, David Rodriguez subbed off for Ronaldo Damus, who slotted in at right wing. Arturo Rodriguez then shifted from the wing to play much more of a playmaking 10, serving as the main distributor of passes into the final third, while Tessmann was the more vertical linking midfielder, connecting to the front three from Almaguer and the back line. That said, the three would rotate as needed, with Tessmann dropping back as Almaguer pushed forward, and in defense, both Arturo Rodriguez and Almaguer would drop back to double up with the wing-backs, leaving Tessmann as the central linking midfielder.

North Texas SC lineup after substitution of D. Rodriguez for R. Damus. (6-11-19)

The final substitution of Cesar Murillo for Johan Gomez changed the shape even further, with a formation that resembled a 3-5-2. Jatta moved to the central defensive midfield role from the back line, Murillo slotted into the back line, both Kevin Bonilla and Bryan Reynolds pushed further forward, and Bicou Bissainthe doubled up on the left wing. It looked something like this during the few minutes we saw it late in the game.

Orlando City B, meanwhile, used the same 4-3-3 they've used much of the season, in a very similar system to North Texas. Austin Amer played as the 6 while Rafael and Serginho played as dual 8/10s, on the left and right wings respectively. Both wing backs, Randy Mendoza and Leonardo Simas, pushed forward to create a sort of 3-4-3, with William Bagrou playing as a deep-lying 9 to feed the wingers and working more to pull apart defenders than to play as a typical 9.

Orlando actually play their system far better than their record suggests. They're organized and dangerous, and for much of the first half, they controlled play. Were it not for consistent disorganization in the final third from the players expected to score goals, Orlando City B would be firmly in the top four, and we definitely can't overlook them.

The Goals

1-0 OCB Goal, 48' - Jatta and Montgomery struggle to play the ball forward with Bagrou pressing high. Kevin Bonilla gets dispossessed by Rafael, who easily runs into the box around Montgomery and Jatta. He gets a shot off which is saved by Zobeck, but bounces back to the feet of Bagrou, who scores. This is one of those goals that happens when your back line is young and inexperienced, and having Jatta playing out of his natural position doesn't help. This North Texas team hasn't had to deal with much of a press and generally have been able to contain any pressure in midfield. It's a learning experience, for sure.

1-1 North Texas Goal, 69' - This goal is LuchiBall at it's finest. Jatta plays a perfectly weighted pass from the back line right to the feet of Bryan Reynolds on the right wing. Reynolds plays it diagonally back to Arturo Rodriguez who dribbles through the Orlando defense before passing back to Reynolds, who passes it into the box to Oscar Romero with his first touch. Romero doesn't have an angle from which to shoot, and passes it to Tessmann, who has wide open space right in front of him. Tessmann's first touch sends the ball into the bottom left corner for his first professional goal. Fifteen touches, five passes, five players, and never coming close to losing the ball. Nice.

2-1 North Texas Goal, 77' - After several failed attempts to build from the back, Callum Montgomery's pass to Jatta is carried forward for Johan Gomez, who has dropped into midfield. Gomez sends it wide for Bryan Reynolds, who sends his first touch to Ronaldo Damus. Damus spins to shake Matheus Silva and dodges several Orlando defenders, carries the ball forward, and passes to Arturo Rodriguez waiting just outside the penalty arc. Rodriguez's first touch leaves the ball at Gomez's feet with only the keeper in front of him. He takes a few steps with the ball and buries it high and hard into the net for his first professional goal. Another goal which began in the back line and involved half the team in its buildup, just as planned.

3-1 North Texas PK Goal, 86' - Ronaldo Damus wins a penalty following a very promising bit of play. Callum Montgomery sends the ball forward to Tanner Tessmann, whose header leaves it right in the path of a charging Damus. As Damus continues his run and challenges for the ball, he tangles with Orlando's Randy Mendoza and goes down inside the box. Going through it frame-by-frame, Mendoza appears to catch Damus' right leg with his left, and the spot-kick is awarded. Arturo Rodriguez steps up and sends it leisurely to the keeper's right to extend the lead.

4-1 North Texas Goal, 88' - Barely 30 seconds after Orlando kicks off, North Texas strikes on the counter. Thiago Souza passes to Matheus Silva, whose pass intended for Austin Amer is intercepted by Almaguer. Almaguer quickly passes to Tessmann, whose backheel leaves the ball open for Almaguer. Almaguer charges through midfield and plays the ball forward to a sprinting Arturo, who then passes into the box right to a charging Damus. Damus taps it through the scrum in the box for his first professional goal

3 Stars

Arturo Rodriguez gets the first star and Man of the Match thanks to a goal from the penalty spot, two assists, and key passes in the build-up to all four North Texas goals. Easily the best game he's played for North Texas this season, and his flexibility to move between midfield and the wing proved absolutely lethal to Orlando's defense. It's very well illustrated with his passing chart from the second half. He was a key focal point of the team's offense for 90 minutes and gets his first professional goal and assists to show for it. Well done, Arturo!

Johan Gomez gets my second star in his second career game. From kickoff, he was bent on putting as much pressure as he physically could on anyone with the ball in Orlando's half. He started running out of steam in the second half, but he was impressive on and off the ball for the majority of the game. He also gets his first professional goal, too. Good work from the young forward.

Tanner Tessmann shoots versus Orlando City B. (5-11-19) (Jack Wallace / North Texas SC)

My final star of the night goes to Tanner Tessmann, who started his third game for North Texas and finally got on the score sheet. While he's had his moments up top when he's in midfield, he really shines, and this was no exception. He covers a massive amount of ground, he has an awareness on the field that one rarely sees from a player this young, and he has a ridiculously powerful shot. He's thriving with North Texas at the professional level.

Highlights

Kyle Zobeck gets an honorable mention in here for playing his first game since September of 2017 and holding a very underrated Orlando offense to just a single goal. He had a few moments where he looked visibly rusty, but all things considered, put in a very solid performance.

Ronaldo Damus gets his first professional goal in his third game for North Texas and looks like a very promising young winger. With the lack of depth on the wings with the first team, there's a non-zero chance Damus gets a chance with FC Dallas for an Open Cup game this summer.

Pro Debuts

David Rodriguez finally made his professional debut, starting and playing 57 minutes as an attacking midfielder. His passing accuracy, particularly in the opponent's half, was solid, at 77.8%, up there with Almaguer and Brandon Servania. He also managed a shot on target and didn't look too bad pushing forward. He's only just turned 17 a week ago and looked a lot better than I expected against professionals.

Around the League

Chattanooga found themselves down 2-1 thanks in part to an own goal, but a quick equalizer from Éamon Zayed got them another point at home.

Lansing managed to eke out a draw at home against Greenville with a second-half goal from Ricky Lopez-Epstein off the bench.

Joe Gallardo got his fourth goal of the season to equal Ricardo Pepi's league-leading total as Richmond beat FC Tucson at home 2-0.

Tormenta FC had a penalty kick and red card go in their favor against Toronto FC II to secure a 3-2 win at home.

With that, here's our PPG standings after Week 7:

PPG standings as of May 13 (USL-1)

Next Week

North Texas travels to Lansing, Mich., for their second road game and first match of the season against Lansing Ignite FC. Lansing will be coming off a midweek U.S. Open Cup fixture on the road against Indy Eleven, while North Texas will have a full week of rest.

Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. Central at Cooley Law School Stadium and will, like every USL League One match this season, be streamed via ESPN+.

The North Texas SC starting XI against Orlando CIty B. (5-11-19) (Jack Wallace / North Texas SC)