Rio Grande Valley (5 wins, 5 draws, 8 losses) is currently in 15th place in the USL Championship Western Conference, with 20 points from 18 games. That’s 15 points and 14 places behind Rising in 1st (10 wins, 5 draws, 2 losses).
The two sides have already met once this season. In a Dollar Beer Night matchup, Rising took a three goal lead with a goal from James Musa and a brace from Adam Jahn, before Maalique Foster secured a consolation goal for the visitors.
Despite their poor league position, RGV is a tough team to break down at H-E-B Park. They’ve lost just two of their nine home matches so far this season, and have only conceded 9 goals. The two home defeats were against Fresno (0-2) on the opening day of the season and Austin Bold (0-1) on June 23.
While not overtly looking like an MLS B team, the Toros effectively are one. All matters on the field are controlled by Houston Dynamo, leading to the standard roster uncertainty that accompanies such teams.
RGV has scored ten of their fifteen home goals this season in the second half.
However, the Toros are almost most likely to concede in the second half, letting in seven of their nine goals at H-E-B Park in 2019.
Expect RGV to start tonight’s game in a 4-2-3-1 formation. It’s been their formation of choice in all nine USL games at H-E-B Park in 2019, and in eight of their nine games on the road.
The Curse of Edinburg
As pointed out by the Red Fury on Twitter, Rising has never picked up all three points in Edinburg.
Last season, the two sides played out a goalless draw at H-E-B Park, following two games of plentiful goals against Vegas and Tulsa.
The season before, Ivan Magalhães cruelly denied Phoenix the three points as he scored an equalizer deep into stoppage time. Not long prior to that goal, Rising was reduced to 9 men, with both Amadou Dia and Doueugui Mala seeing red.
In the first ever meeting between the sides, back when Rising was still Arizona United, it also finished 1-1. That time, Tyler Blackwood’s second half strike rescued a point for the visitors, cancelling out a goal from Eric Bird.
Interestingly enough, while Rising has drawn every game played in Edinburg, it’s also won every game played in Arizona.
Last Time Out
Last weekend, Rio Grande Valley hosted Tacoma Defiance. The game ended scoreless.
Michael Nelson was in goal for RGV in their last outing. He also started against Rising back in May, but is constantly in and out of the RGV squad. In fact, he’s yet to feature in the matchday squad (as a starter or on the bench) in two consecutive league games for the Toros all season. On loan from Houston, Nelson has made six appearances this season and conceded 13 goals. His save success rate isn’t too impressive either, at 58.1%.
Sam Junqua started at left back position last week, making his sixth appearance of the year. It was his first appearance for Rio Grande Valley since mid-May, having been called up to sit on the Houston Dynamo bench. Junqua’s a solid tackler out wide (80% success rate), and established himself during his college career as an option to take corners. He was Houston’s top pick in this year’s SuperDraft, being taken 8th overall.
Kyle Adams is a regular name at the heart of defence. The New Zealander has made 15 appearances for RGV this season, and worn the captain’s armband for nine of them. He’s been a safety-first defender all season, but that part of his game has become more prominent as the season continues. From the last game against Rising onwards, he’s completed almost two more clearances per game (5.7) than he did prior (3.9). Adams was briefly called up to Houston for the Open Cup matches, but didn’t make it off the substitutes bench.
Adams’ partner last week was Erik McCue. The 18-year-old has made three appearances this season, and still doesn’t look completely comfortable at the back, winning less than half of his duels (46.2%). While McCue is considered a homegrown player for Houston, and came up through the ranks of the Dynamo academy, he was born in Sweden and has also lived in Asia. As such, he’s eligible to play for both the U.S. and Sweden in international competition.
Dynamo academy product and right back Zach Jackson also made his third appearance of the season against Defiance. Jackson has proven reliable at the back, winning 75% of tackles and 71.4% of duels. However, he rarely provides much of a threat pushing forward, attempting only three crosses this season.
Romilio Hernandez was picked to play in the middle of the park for his 14th appearance of the year. This is his first season of regular USL-level football, having featured only three times for RGV last year, and only twice for Phoenix Rising the year before. Hernandez has represented both El Salvador and the U.S. in age-level competition. A battler in midfield, he’s won over half of his attempted tackles, duels and aerial duels. Hernandez is a competent passer, too, with an 82.1% completion rate. He will have to be careful, though, as he’s just one yellow card away from a suspension.
Hernandez was replaced in the 79th minute by Nico Lemoine, who made his 12th appearance against Defiance. The 19-year-old has a goal and an assist to his name in 2019, after impressing last year with Houston’s Development Academy side. Lemoine was originally from California, and a part of the San Jose setup. That saw him spend some time training with their USL-affiliate, Reno 1868; but in 2018 he emulated the original Earthquakes franchise by heading east to Texas.
Isidro Martinez is the only player to have featured in all 18 of RGV’s games this season. Like Hernandez, he’s not afraid to track down the ball, winning 71% of tackles, and recording a team-high 22 interceptions. Martinez is also challenging up the other end, leading the team with 41 chances created. This is his first year as a professional, and he’s playing for his local side. Martinez’s high school was just an hour away from Edinburg, and he attended college at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.
20-year-old Camilo Monroy started as an attacking midfielder last week. He is on a bizarrely long loan deal from Colombia’s America de Cali which saw him move to Texas in 2017. Monroy has made 11 appearances this season, and can cause trouble for the opponent’s defense with 14 key passes and an assist. However, he’s yet to record his first goal of the season.
Jesús Enríquez was on the left wing against Defiance. After missing RGV’s opener, and appearing off the bench in the subsequent match, Enríquez has been an ever-present in the Toros’ lineup. He can be dangerous going forward along the wing, creating 30 chances this season and supplying the highest number of successful crosses on the team. The 21-year-old from Santa Clara started his career with Tijuana’s B team, but moved to Texas ahead of the 2018 season.
Kevin Rodriguez was out on the right last week. He has featured in six RGV games in 2019, but is yet to go the full 90 minutes. In his first year out of college, Rodriguez hasn’t made the strongest of impressions, but he does typically make a key pass each match.
Eric Bird was Rodriguez’s replacement in the 56th minute. Bird first moved to Texas to play for RGV back in 2016, and fought his way up to a full contract with Houston. However, he’s struggled to break into the first team this year following an ankle injury, and has made only two USL appearances for the Toros in 2019, along with a 10 minute runout in the Open Cup. Bird has looked solid in those two games, delivering four key passes and a 50% crossing accuracy rate. He also boasts a respectable 79.1% passing completion. Nevertheless, the vast majority (79%) of his passes have gone sideways, rather than forwards or backwards. Bird was previously in a relationship with USWNT twice-World Cup winner Morgan Brian, having met at the University of Virginia.
Dynamo striker Ronaldo Peña started up front last week. The striker has made only two RGV appearances this season, as part of his rehabilitation from a knee injury. Peña hasn’t scored in either of those games, which is fairly consistent with the rest of his career – he’s found the net only six times in 47 professional appearances. He has featured at several age-levels for his native Venezuela. Peña was also called up to the senior squad last October, but was an unused sub for their friendlies against U.A.E. and the Basque Country.
Peña was replaced in the 74th minute against Defiance by Carlos Small. Up until last week, Small was the replacement of choice for Michael Salazar. He’d also been pretty successful with seven goals in his 14 appearances. All of those goals came in streaks, though. He scored three goals in three games starting in late April against Vegas, Los Dos and Timbers 2, and recorded back-to-back braces against Monarchs and Switchbacks about a month ago. Passing is one of Small’s biggest weaknesses – just 67.1% accuracy. Despite scoring one goal this season with his head, the Panamanian is also not the best in the air, winning just 43.8% of aerial duels. Small is currently on loan from Arabe Unido, and has been capped at full international level for Panama.
Other Players
The goalkeeper position has been a rotating door for RGV. The player with the most appearances in goal is Nico Corti. He has featured in seven games, conceding 12 and keeping a single clean sheet. Tyler Deric has also appeared, conceding seven in four games, as well as Ben Willis making a solitary appearance but conceding four goals.
While Rising fans look forward to Junior Flemmings and Kevon Lambert’s return, RGV will also welcome back someone from Jamaica duty – ‘the Caribbean Messi’ Maalique Foster, currently on loan from Costa Rican side Alajuelense. Expect Foster to regain a place on the wing. So far this season, he has three goals and four assists from 11 appearances. One thing that does stand out about Foster is his sub-par crossing – only three of his 23 attempted crosses have actually found their target.
Keeping it in the family are brothers David Cabrera and Wilmer Cabrera Jr. Their father, Wilmer Cabrera Sr., is the head coach of Houston Dynamo. Older brother David has made just one appearance this season, but he struggled to hold his own in midfield, winning just two out of nine duels, ands has been relegated to the Toros’ bench. Wilmer Jr., however, has been a familiar face just behind the lone striker in RGV’s 4-2-3-1 formation. So far, Wilmer Jr. has three goals in his 14 appearances, but despite 15 key passes, is yet to record an assist. If the 18-year-old starts, don’t expect him to last the full 90 minutes. Wilmer Jr. has done so only once this season.
Three of RGV’s most frequent defensive options – Andrew Samuels at right back, Conor Donovan at centre back, and Robert Coronado at left back – didn’t feature last weekend, although Samuels was on the bench. The most notable of these is Donovan, a player who impressed enough to earn a Houston contract last season. Donovan has captained RGV for all but one of the nine games that he’s played in this season.
The Toro’s top scorer is no longer with the side, underlining the inherent danger of having your players perform too well when you support an MLS second team. Belize international Michael Salazar had found the net eight times in his 12 games before being tapped up by Dynamo a month ago. He’s since made a few appearances off the bench for the MLS club.
From The Ashes Prediction: In a hard fought game, Rising come away on top.