PORTLAND, Ore. – Playing the first game of two matches in five days, T2 earned a 1-1 draw on the road against Rio Grande Valley FC Toros Wednesday night at H-E-B Park.
With the result, T2 (2-18-4, 10pts) finish the season undefeated (1-0-1) against Rio Grande Valley (7-11-7, 28pts) and improved their record to 3-0-1 against the Toros in four all-time matches.
Scoreless in stoppage time, T2 took the lead in the 92nd minute following a free kick on the right edge of the penalty area. Midfielder Jack Barmby crossed the ball into the box, picking out defender Lamar Batista, whose header was blocked by a Rio Grande Valley defender. Defender Bill Tuiloma was first to the loose ball inside the six-yard box and headed past Toros goalkeeper Borja Angoitia. The goal was Tuiloma’s second of the season in his fourth appearance of 2017.
RGVFC equalized two minutes later when defender Kai Greene got on the end of defender Justin Bilyeu’s headed pass inside the six-yard box, and nodded the ball into the back of the net in the 94th minute.
Starting the second half on the front foot, T2 threatened when defender Marco Farfan’s cross from the left wing picked out midfielder Russell Cicerone inside the penalty area. Cicerone took a touch and fired his shot over the crossbar in the 47th minute. In space from about 35 yards out, Barmby’s left-footed effort missed the target in the 86th minute.
Midfielder Renzo Zambrano made his T2 and USL debut, playing the full 90 minutes and finishing the match with a team-high 92.5 percent pass accuracy.
Next up, T2 will return home to host Tulsa Roughnecks FC at Providence Park on Sunday, Sept. 3.
Postgame Quote Sheet
T2 head coach Andrew Gregor
On earning a point on the road…
“I was very pleased with how the team played tonight, minus the last two minutes. We dominated possession for the majority of the game. We played the way we wanted to play. We defended well. I was pleased with it. I think it’s obviously a deserved point, but I felt like we had three points slip out of our hands there at the end of the game.”
On Sunday’s match at home against Tulsa Roughnecks FC…
“I expect the same sort of mentality that we had tonight with the fact that we’re playing at home. I want to be a little bit more aggressive in what we do. We were playing away from home and the conditions tonight were difficult. It was warm out. We’re coming back home and we’ll be a little bit more aggressive and put some pressure on Tulsa coming into our place. We’re looking for those three points. If we’re able to get four points at the end of the week out of a potential six points, then that’s a pretty good week.”
T2 (2-18-4, 10pts) vs. Rio Grande Valley FC Toros (7-11-7, 28pts)
Aug. 30, 2017 – H-E-B Park (Edinburg, Texas)
Goals by Half 1 2 F
T2 0 1 1
Rio Grande Valley 0 1 1
Scoring Summary
POR: Tuiloma, 90+2
RGV: Greene (Bilyeu), 90+4
Misconduct Summary
POR: Mohamed (Caution), 74
RGV: Magalhaes (Caution), 84
RGV: Magalhaes (Caution), 90+1
Lineups & Stats
POR: GK Hamilton, D Hanson (Ornstil, 62), D Tuiloma, D Batista, D Farfan (Bjornethun, 59), M Zambrano, M Granitto, M Cicerone, M Barmby ©, M Mohamed, F Williams
Substitutes Not Used: GK Herrera, D Amick, M Lowe, M Anguiano, M Bijev
TOTAL SHOTS: 5 (Five players tied, 1); SHOTS ON GOAL: 2 (Batista, Tuiloma, 1); FOULS: 10 (Zambrano, 3); OFFSIDES: 3; CORNER KICKS: 2; SAVES: 0
RGV: GK Angoitia, D Greene, D Magalhaes, D Hunter, D Bilyeu, M Wharton, M James, M Casner, M Bird ©, M Murphy (Pungo, 70), F Luna (Lucatero, 46)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Kirk, D Ayala, D Sagel, D Garza, M Garcia
TOTAL SHOTS: 10 (Bilyeu, Casner, 1); SHOTS ON GOAL: 1 (Greene, 1); FOULS: 7 (Three players tied, 2); OFFSIDES: 3; CORNER KICKS: 7; SAVES: 0
Referee: Wilfredo Mejia
Assistant Referees: Francisco Bermudez, Israel Lara
4th Official: Jesus Moya
Attendance: 6,443
Weather: Partly cloudy, 98 degrees
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial.
