North Texas SC went on the road for the first time while missing players and from a Thomas Roberts goal was able to scratch their way to another win that left the club at the top of the USL League One standings and as the only team remaining to have a a perfect record still this season. NTSC defeated Greenville SC in NTSC’s fourth game of the season and second 1-0 win in a row.

Lineup

NTSC used several academy players to fill for the depleted roster that had only five substitutes available. Imanol Almaguer started at the left back position, while Tanner Tessmann filled into a center midfield position, and Johan Gomez played up top.

Here's our starting XI for tonight's match with @GVLTriumph!



Kickoff is set for 6 PM!#WeAreNext | #GVLvNTX pic.twitter.com/J3XqFg13bE — North Texas SC (@northtexasSC) May 4, 2019

Bryan Reynolds, Brandon Servania, Thomas Roberts, and Dante Sealy, who are technically FC Dallas players, played in the match as well.

Alfusainey Jatta, who is usually a midfielder, played center back.

At halftime, NTSC shifted its formation and subbed on Dante Sealy, an offensive player, for Brecc Evans, a center back. In the 54th minute, Bicou Bissainthe subbed in for Oscar Romero, and in the 75th minute, Cesar Murillo subbed in for

Johan Gomez, who was still limping from an injury he suffered a few minutes prior.

The Match

In the 17th minute, North Texas SC midfielder Thomas Roberts scored his first professional goal. Roberts intercepted a Greenville pass with a first touch that set him up to rip a left-footed strike from distance which deflected and found its way into the back of the net.

In the 30th minute, Carlos Avilez had a great double save that continued his shutout streak.

Right after subbing on, Dante Sealy nearly almost scored from point blank range off a Thomas Roberts corner kick, but it was Greenville’s keeper’s time to make a terrific double save on Sealy and his rebound attempt.

Two minutes later, Greenville SC had their best chance of the match to equalize. A Greenville SC player on the wing crossed a beautiful ball in to Jake Keegan, who had an excellent sight at goal, but missed the target on his wide open attempt.

In the 57th minute, NTSC’s defense nearly gave way again. A Greenville attacker weaved his way past a few NTSC midfielders and defenders before missing a shot wide of goal.

North Texas SC worked hard to see the game out safely, and did not try to connect or try anything fancy going forward. NTSC managed to hold on to its early goal and keep a shutout to defeat Greenville SC 1-0.

Catch all the highlights from last night's game with @GVLTriumph! #GVLvNTXhttps://t.co/p7MPJjG4cp — North Texas SC (@northtexasSC) May 5, 2019

Notes

Both John Nelson and Callum Montgomery, the two FC Dallas 2019 first-round draft picks, were not with this NTSC squad, and instead were both substitutes with FC Dallas against the Houston Dynamo. Nelson has been impressing all season long, both for NTSC and for FC Dallas. He has been contributing and finding minutes with the first team. He surpassed Marquinhos Pedroso on the depth chart at left back for FCD, which is one of the reasons Pedroso was sold to DC United. Montgomery had an excellent performance against Orlando City B the week before this match, and was named to the USL League One Team of the Week. He earned himself a spot in the 18 for FC Dallas.

Johan Gomez, an FC Dallas academy player who played in the forward position for NTSC in this match, showed incredible hustle. He had several full sprints which pressured Greenville’s backline into launching the ball up field and giving the ball away back to NTSC.

Tanner Tessman, another FC Dallas academy player, appeared to me like he was a capable ball winner and distributer in the midfield.

After nearly scoring a few minutes after coming on at halftime, Dante Sealy seemed to disappear from much of the rest of the match. To be fair, though, NTSC had already started playing to just keep the one goal that they already had and close the game out.

Ema Twumasi came back from Ghana on a three week trip in which he received a green cardl which should help his availability for FC Dallas. Ema will likely jump right into either NTSC as a starter or FC Dallas as a substitute.

Both Francis Atuahene and Cristian Colman are beginning to return to training from their injuries. They will both be potential players to get minutes with NTSC as they recover from their injuries.

North Texas SC will play its next match on Saturday, May 11, at 3:20 PM against Orlando City B in a part of a doubleheader with FC Dallas vs. New York Red Bulls. NTSC defeated Orlando City B already, and will try to defeat them again. Orlando City B sits at the bottom of the league standings, while NTSC currently sits at the top.