March 23, 2023 – United Soccer League Championship (USL) – Rio Grande Valley FC Toros News Release
EDINBURG, Texas – The 2023 USL Championship season enters its third week as Rio Grande Valley FC (0-0-2) prepares to host Monterey Bay Union FC (1-1-0) on Friday, March 23 at 7:00 p.m. CST at H-E-B Park. The closing matchup of a three-game home stand will be live nationally on ESPN+. This is the third all-time meeting between the sides.
RGV FC: The Toros showed glimpses of improvement as they dominated the first half of their last match against Oakland Roots SC. A duo of defenders connected for the opening goal of the match as Frank Nodarse found a loose ball inside the box on a set piece play and tapped it over to Jonathan Ricketts, who then sent a shot to the right corner of the goal to make it 1-0 good guys.
RGV FC allowed for some concentration issues in the late stages of the second half, opening the door for an equalizer which shadowed the hopes of three points at home. The Toros have now earned two out of the possible six points in the opening matches of the season and are hungry to become clinical in their finishing to put games away by a fair margin.
Jonathan Ricketts (DF) and Ricky Ruiz (F) are tied as the RGV FC top scorers with one goal apiece, while Frank Nodarse owns the assist category with the lone tally.
Monterey Bay Union FC: The visitors are seeking redemption after a 0-1 loss to Louisville City FC left a bitter taste. It will make for a complicated matchup at H-E-B Park as the Toros will be ready to defend home turf in hopes of ending their opening home stand with a flawless record.
Recently acquired attacker, Jesus Enriquez, is no stranger to Edinburg, TX and if he is in the 18-man roster he will look to cause disturbances to Cabrera’s plans. Defensively he must be contained on the wings to avoid plays developing into short crosses inside the box which would create traffic for Tyler Deric.
Controlling the mid sector and not allowing space in the wings will be the key for both sides as they tend to use those avenues for attacking opportunities.
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