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RENO, Nevada (September 26, 2018) — Rio Grande Valley FC (6-13-11, 31 points) will face off against Reno 1868 FC (12-10-7, 46 points) at Greater Nevada Field on September 26. Kick-off will be at 9:00 p.m. (CDT). The match will be broadcast on ESPN+. 

The RGVFC will be making a short trip to Reno, Nevada after hosting Seattle Sounders FC 2 at home. The Toros will enter the match after earning three big points that led from a 3-0 win. Midfielder Todd Wharton opened up the lead for the Toros in the 5th minute. Midfielder Eric Bird scored a late first halve goal in the 41st minute and Midfielder Nicolas Perea scored his second goal in a row in the 76th minute. RGVFC scored three goals for the first time this season. 

Midfielder Brandon Morales, first RGVFC academy signee, debuted in the USL league where he played a total of 67 minutes, had one chance created, 35 touches, 23 total passes and two tackles. The Toros also had three Houston Dynamo players; Goalkeeper Chris Seitz, Defender AJ DelaGarza, and Bird. 

Reno 1868 FC will enter the match with a 3-3 draw versus Las Vegas Lights FC. Reno FC is still fighting to clinch a spot in the 2018 USL playoffs. “Fans should be expecting a tough match, they’re still trying to clinch a spot, so I am sure they will come out firing and with a lot of intensity. We will not be expecting anything less from them and they won’t expect anything less from us. Reno is a tough place to go and play a game, but we are going to go out and our main objective is to come back with a win and I think every player knows that and we are ready for a tough fight and it will be an exciting game,” Perea commented on upcoming match against Reno FC. 

The last time both teams faced each other was in May 2 at H-E-B Park where the match ended with a 0-0 draw. 

The Toros will host the last home game of the 2018 season on Saturday, September 29 at 7:30 p.m. taking on Fresno FC. The giveaway will be a Mr. Toro bobblehead to the first 600 fans. 

Updates on the match will be provided via Twitter at @RGVFC or by following #SomosToros. To see more matchday information, visit https://www.rgvfc.com . 

#  SOMOS TOROS #

The Rio Grande Valley FC Toros collected their second home win of the season after defeating Las Vegas Lights FC 2-0. Conor Donovan scored in the first half to put the Toros ahead and Jesus Enriquez scored the second goal for the Toros.

Las Vegas tried to keep their offensive momentum rolling into this match. In the 12th minute, Daniel Guzman Miranda tried to score off a header but was denied by RGV FC Toros goalkeeper Michael Nelson. Later in the 18th minute, Todd Wharton ran through the Las Vegas defense on the right flank. Wharton dropped the ball back to Pablo Aguilar. Aguilar took a shot at goal on his second touch but the ball was deflected by the Lights FC defense.

Jordan Jones was able to get a shot on target in the 28th minute. Kai Greene sent in a deep cross and found Jones. Ricardo Ferriño, goalkeeper for Las Vegas, saved the header without much difficulty. After cutting from the left side of the pitch, Pablo Aguilar sent a curler towards goal in the 38th minute. The ball barely went wide to the right. Aguilar’s free kick in the 41st minute hit the right post of the goal.

The Rio Grande Valley FC Toros found their goal after a series of missed opportunities. Kai Greene found Nicolas Perea in the near post. Perea blasted his shot at Ferriño and could not get full contact of the rebounding ball. Las Vegas tried to clear the ball from danger but they cleared the ball straight to Conor Donovan. Donovan blasted his shot from a distance towards the left corner of the goal and put the home team ahead.

A through ball left Jordan Jones one-on-on against Ferriño. Ferriño blocked the initial shot from Jones but Wilmer Cabrera found the ball. Cabrera juked Ferriño out but missed his target on shot. In a give and go play between Perea and Cabrera, Perea found himself facing the goal with only Ferriño in his way. Perea’s toe poke was not enough to get the ball past Ferriño.

Las Vegas had opportunities to equalize late in the game. In the 83rd minute, Marco Jaime headed in a Marcelo Alatorre cross but missed the target.  Daigo Kobayashi missed a golden opportunity in the 88th minute. His close range shot went over the crossbar. In the 90th minute, Rio Grande Valley FC Toros doubled their lead off a breakaway. Aldo Quintanilla stole the ball and darted towards goal. Quintanilla played the ball over to Jesus Enriquez. Enriquez buried the ball to the lower right corner as Ferriño came out of his line.

The Rio Grande Valley FC Toros hit the road to take on Swope Park Rangers on Sunday, July 22. The match will kickoff at 4p.m. CT.

The Rio Grande Valley FC Toros have acquired Pharr native and RGV FC Academy product Brandon Morales. Morales signed an academy contract and is eligible to play with the Toros this season.

Brandon Morales was part of the inaugural class for RGV FC Academy and IDEA Toros and becomes the first RGVFC Academy player to sign with the Toros. Morales spent his junior and senior year at IDEA Toros. During his spell with the RGV FC Academy,  Morales was acting captain and had the opportunity to participate at the NCAA showcase in Houston, IMG Cup Super Group, and the Dallas Cup.

“When we started this academy, we were hopeful to one day be able to forge players that could play for our professional team,” said RGV FC Toros president Bert Garcia. “This is a testimony of all the hard work done by the organization, from the coaches to all the way to the young players. I am proud to have been able to see Brandon Morales’ growth in the last two years and now see him one step closer to his goals. ”

IDEA Toros focuses on providing a top quality athletic program along with a rigorous educational program that pushes individualized learning.  Through a partnership with the RGV FC Toros, IDEA Toros provides it students with the highest level of soccer training incorporated during their school hours. Throughout the year, the student athletes visit college campuses and are also able to showcase their skills to college coaches in various showcases and tournaments.

“We have always believed that the Rio Grande Valley is full of talent,” Garcia added. “As an organization, with the support of the Houston Dynamo, we are proud to be able to provide a structure to give young players the necessary preparation, tools, and opportunities to pursue a collegiate and professional career.”

Prior to IDEA Toros,  Morales attended IDEA Quest. He started playing in the local youth leagues in San Juan at the age of six before joining the Atlas Mission academy at eight years old.  At the age of fifteen, Morales had a seven-month spell with the Houston Dynamo Academy. During his tenure with the Houston Dynamo Academy, Morales played at the Liga MX International Tournament in Mexico City.

“Brandon is a RGV FC Academy player that has been practicing with us for over a month and half and he had been doing very well,” said RGV FC Toros head coach Gerson Echeverry. “With the Houston Dynamo and RGV FC philosophy of giving chances to younger players, we wanted to provide him the opportunity to sign and be an option for us to use in games.”

The Rio Grande Valley FC Toros defeated the reigning Liga MX Champions, Club Santos Laguna, 3-0 in a friendly exhibition played at H-E-B Park. Pablo Aguilar, Jordan Jones, and Monday Etim all got on the score sheet for the Toros.

The visitors from Torreon had the first dangerous play in the match. In the 12th minute, Jorge Gonzalez hit the crossbar and failed to give Santos the lead. RGV’s Pablo Aguilar got things going for the Toros from a set piece. From a free kick, Aguilar placed his shot in the top left corner of the goal to give the Toros the lead in the 21st minute.  

After the goal, lanes opened up for the Toros. In the 28th minute, Jordan Jones doubled the lead for the Toros. Todd Wharton’s throw-in beat the defenders’ backs and left Jones against Carlos Acevedo, goalkeeper for Santos Laguna. Jones was able to hold off the defenders and strike his shot into goal.  Jones had another chance to bag his second goal of the night in the 35th minute, but his shot went wide to the left.

As Club Santos Laguna pushed numbers forward, Rio Grande Valley held their own.  In the 51st minute, goalkeeper Matt Sanchez blocked Jonathan Rodriguez from pulling one back for Santos Laguna. Roberto Castellanos blocked the rebounded shot from Sanchez’s save. Three minutes later, Julio Furch tried chipping a through ball over Sanchez but his shot missed the target.

In the 58th minute, Alan Magda’s diving header connected with a cross but the ball went over the crossbar. Monday Etim gave the Toros their last goal of the night in the 64th minute. Manny Padilla’s cross found Etim who buried the shot into the back of the net. Matt Sanchez’s work was not done yet. In stoppage time, Sanchez denied Furch from scoring off a floating header.

The Rio Grande Valley FC Toros return to USL action on July 14 when they take on Las Vegas Lights FC for the very first time.  The match will kick-off at 7:30p.m. at H-E-B Park.

The Rio Grande Valley FC Toros played to a 1-1 draw against Tulsa Roughnecks. Jesus Enriquez scored for the Toros and Paris Gee scored for the Roughnecks.

The first dangerous play for the Toros came in the 10th minute.  Matias Zaldivar’s corner kick was punched away by Fabian Cerda, goalkeeper for the Roughnecks. Todd Wharton headed the cleared ball over to Pablo Aguilar. Aguilar took a shot from outside the box, but was denied by Cerda. In the 18th minute, Aldo Quintanilla cut inside the box and blasted his shot straight to Cerda.

Tulsa Roughnecks had an opportunity to get ahead in the 31st minute. Nemanja Vukovic took a free kick from outside the 18-yard box. His left-footed shot barely grazed over the cross bar. Pablo Aguilar had another crack at the goal in the 32nd minute. Quintanilla left the ball to Aguilar, who was running towards goal. Unfortunately for the Toros, the shot went well to the right.

Two RGV substitutes connected in the 75th minute for a goal. Bryce Marion stole the ball from Tulsa after their defense tried playing it from behind. Marion dribbled through the right flank and crossed the ball over to the penalty area. Jesus “Chuy” Enriquez hit the ball on his first touch and found the back of the net.

In the subsequent kickoff, Tulsa found the equalizer. A back heel pass from Paris Gee to Jesus Ferreira left Gee with space. Ferreira sent a through ball back to Gee. As Nico Corti came out of his line, Gee kicked the ball to lower left corner for a goal.

The Rio Grande Valley FC Toros will take on Liga MX champions Club Santos Laguna on Wednesday, July 11th. After the exhibition match, the Toros will take on Las Vegas Lights FC at home on July 14th for the first encounter between the two clubs.

Rio Grande Valley FC has acquired forward Carlos Small on loan from CD Árabe Unido in Panama pending receipt of his International Transfer Certificate and P-1 Visa, the club announced today. The loan agreement runs through the end of the year.

Small, 23, has scored 12 goals in 45 games for Árabe Unido over the last two seasons, including 10 in 31 appearances this season. Since making his professional debut for San Miguelito in 2016 as a 21-year-old, he has made 85 professional appearances and scored 24 goals.

“We are excited to add Carlos Small to RGV FC. We have been tracking him for some time and are glad we could finalize this loan,” said Houston Dynamo Assistant General Manager Nick Kowba. “He’s a young dangerous striker with good strength and speed who gives us a different look and can reinforce our attack.” 

Small has represented Panama at the Under-20 and Under-23 levels and with the full national team. He made his senior international debut on February 17, 2016 in a friendly match against El Salvador, and scored his first two international goals in a 5-0 victory over Grenada in a friendly on October 24, 2017.

“He is a player that we have been looking at a while. Fortunately, we were able to get him signed,” said RGV FC head coach Gerson Echeverry. “Offensively, our prowess hasn’t been where we would like it to be but we are excited to bring him in and hopefully he can contribute with some goals.”

With the addition of Small, RGV FC now has 25 players on the active roster.

The hybrid relationship between the Dynamo and RGV FC in which the Dynamo control all aspects of soccer operations, including employment of the technical staff and player selection, while RGV FC manages the business side of the club, was unique in MLS when RGV FC was launched in 2016 and has quickly been emulated by multiple MLS clubs over the past year.

TRANSACTION: Rio Grande Valley FC acquires FW Carlos Small on a six-month loan from Árabe Unido.

CARLOS SMALL BIO

Rio Grande Valley FC has acquired forward Carlos Small on loan from CD Árabe Unido in Panama pending receipt of his International Transfer Certificate and P-1 Visa, the club announced today. The loan agreement runs through the end of the year.

Small, 23, has scored 12 goals in 45 games for Árabe Unido over the last two seasons, including 10 in 31 appearances this season. Since making his professional debut for San Miguelito in 2016 as a 21-year-old, he has made 85 professional appearances and scored 24 goals.

“We are excited to add Carlos Small to RGV FC. We have been tracking him for some time and are glad we could finalize this loan,” said Houston Dynamo Assistant General Manager Nick Kowba. “He’s a young dangerous striker with good strength and speed who gives us a different look and can reinforce our attack.” 

Small has represented Panama at the Under-20 and Under-23 levels and with the full national team. He made his senior international debut on February 17, 2016 in a friendly match against El Salvador, and scored his first two international goals in a 5-0 victory over Grenada in a friendly on October 24, 2017.

“He is a player that we have been looking at a while. Fortunately, we were able to get him signed,” said RGV FC head coach Gerson Echeverry. “Offensively, our prowess hasn’t been where we would like it to be but we are excited to bring him in and hopefully he can contribute with some goals.”

With the addition of Small, RGV FC now has 25 players on the active roster.

The hybrid relationship between the Dynamo and RGV FC in which the Dynamo control all aspects of soccer operations, including employment of the technical staff and player selection, while RGV FC manages the business side of the club, was unique in MLS when RGV FC was launched in 2016 and has quickly been emulated by multiple MLS clubs over the past year.

TRANSACTION: Rio Grande Valley FC acquires FW Carlos Small on a six-month loan from Árabe Unido.

CARLOS SMALL BIO