The relationship between the Houston Dynamo and Rio Grande Valley FC Toros is amplified this week as two RGV FC players are training with the Dynamo after excelling through the first four games of the USL season. 20-year-old Honduran winger Jose Escalante and veteran defender Kevin Garcia remained in Houston on Sunday following a 1-0 road victory at Real Monarchs SLC. The pair has a chance to test themselves against the first team this week before returning to RGV FC for the home opener Saturday against LA Galaxy II.
Escalante scored his first goal for RGV FC on Saturday, the game-winner after a quality buildup from the Toros. The wide midfielder played at the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup last summer and is in his first season in the Dynamo organization, on loan to the Toros from Olimpia of Honduras.
"I am very thankful to God for the opportunity to train with the first team,” Escalante told HoustonDynamo.com through a translator. “It's my dream to play in MLS and this is the best way to get there.”
Escalante’s Olimpia upbringing and time with the Honduras national team connected him with popular Dynamo midfielder Boniek García, who has over 100 caps for Los Catrachos. Escalante is also friends with former Dynamo players Luis Garrido and Alex Lopez.
“They are my friends and I've had great communication with Luis, Boniek and Alex. I hope to play with Boniek on the Dynamo someday."
Garcia is the first captain in Toros history, bringing three years of professional experience to the young team. The 25-year-old center back was drafted by the New England Revolution in 2012 and signed with Swedish club IFK Luleå a year later, making 30 appearances in two seasons. Garcia was coached by RGV FC head coach Wilmer Cabrera during his youth career at BW Gottschee in New York and then was a four-year starter at Villanova University.
"It feels great to be here with the training staff and the facility and training environment is top of the line,” Garcia said. “It just goes to show the relationship between the Toros and the Dynamo. If you perform well with the second team you'll have a chance to train with the Dynamo, so you have to take advantage of it. The relationship between the teams has been very close. We have been very competitive in scrimmages with the Dynamo and we always look forward to coming to Houston to show ourselves with the training staff here."
RGV FC opened its first season in USL with four consecutive road games and went 2-1-1 over the long road stretch, which included two games in a five-day span and two bye weekends.
"We lose our first game and knew we made mistakes and had to correct them,” Garcia said. “Coming out of preseason we knew we had a good playing style and that we would have a chance to be successful. We are looking forward to playing LA Galaxy II in our first home game this weekend. "
“We know the team because we watch every game and have had RGV here scrimmaging the first team,” Dynamo head coach Owen Coyle said. “These two lads, along with many others in the group, have shown up well. It was a great opportunity to get them here this week, and we’d love to have more, but having (the right amount of players) in training limits that. In the next couple weeks there will be others coming in. Escalante is a very talented wide player that can score goals and create goals and I think he has a real opportunity to be a good player. Kevin obviously is a much more experienced player and has played at a good level. He knows the game inside out and is a good leader and a good organizer. I think both lads are really enjoying the opportunity to be part of the Dynamo for a couple days.”
Five years older than Escalante, the bilingual Garcia has played mentor to the young Honduran and helped his transition to the United States.
"He's been doing very well,” Garcia said. “I think Jose is one of our most threatening players. He doesn't speak English, but football is a universal language and he connects and integrates well with the team and we love him."
Escalante is grateful for his acceptance in the team and his relationship with Cabrera, a Colombia native with extensive experience with youth players highlighted by five years as head coach of the U.S. Under-17 national team.
"I have a great relationship with Wilmer and my teammates,” Escalante said. “They make me feel like a part of the family and they've helped me communicate with the team. I love the United States and don't want to leave. The soccer level has grown a lot and keeps growing. The players are very technical and physical. I think it is a high level of play after training with the first team.”
RGV FC is the hybrid affiliate of the Dynamo, who control all technical aspects of the soccer operation while the McAllen, Texas based Rio Grande Valley Vipers run the business operations, including the current construction of a 9,400 seat soccer stadium that will resemble Houston’s BBVA Compass Stadium.
