The Rio Grande Valley FC Toros continue their two-city Pacific Northwest swing at 9:30 p.m. CDT tonight at Seattle Sounders 2 (Watch Live above) with a chance to record another franchise first, a winning streak. After capturing the first win in team history Friday night, a 2-0 decision at Portland Timbers 2, the new USL affiliate of the Houston Dynamo have had three days to settle in and prepare for tonight’s match at Starfire Stadium in Tukwila, Washington, a suburb south of Seattle.
Tonight’s weather conditions – low 50s with a chance of rain – will certainly seal the “road game” feeling for the Toros. But Sounders 2 is off to a slow start, now 0-3-0 on the season and yet to score following a 3-0 home loss to San Antonio SC on April 3.
“I saw them during their first and second game and they’re a young team that’s trying to accommodate themselves,” RGV FC head coach Wilmer Cabrera told HoustonDynamo.com by phone. “But they’re in a situation where they’re desperate to win so we have to be careful and mature, because they’re going to want to win their first game of the season. We are going to continue to grow in our game and (if we play as well as we are capable) we will be able to hurt them (in the attack).”
Sounders 2 head coach Ezra Hendrickson was very candid in his postgame remarks following the loss to San Antonio SC, detailing the source of his club’s struggles.
“I think right now, we are just getting pushed around at home,” Hendrickson told SoundersFC.com. “What they’re going to help us with is their mentality. Right now, I’m not seeing it on enough people on the team…We’re going to have a big, long discussion about the mental aspect of our game, because right now it’s not good enough, and until we change that it’s going to be very hard to win games.”
Three Houston Dynamo players remain on loan with RGV FC and could start once again after the trio were in the starting XI at Portland on Friday. Dynamo defender Bradley Bourgeois scored his first professional goal and Houston defender Sebastien Ibeagha made his USL debut and helped keep a clean sheet.
Perhaps most importantly for the Dynamo first team in the short term, midfielder Collen Warner played 45 minutes and wore the captain’s armband as he returns from a bi-lateral hamstring strain suffered in preseason with Toronto FC before his March 2 trade to the Dynamo. The seven-year MLS veteran made 29 appearances for Toronto FC last season and is expected to play an important part with the Dynamo this season.
The Toros bussed from Portland to Seattle on Saturday morning and trained Sunday and Monday. RGV has a chance to gain a full three points against S2 after the parent MLS clubs played to a 1-1 draw Sunday afternoon in Houston.
After tonight’s game, the Toros return to South Texas to prepare for the fourth and final game of the season-opening road trip, a visit to the Real Monarchs (Real Salt Lake) on April 23 while construction continues on their new soccer-specific stadium. RGV FC will play their first home game April 30 against LA Galaxy II.
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.
