FRISCO— First place North Texas SC visits tenth place Forward Madison FC in the third edition of the newly dubbed “El Plástico” derby match. The game kicks off on Saturday, June 22 at 7 PM at Breese Stevens Field in Madison.
Current Form
Saturday’s game with Madison will be the fourth and final match of North Texas’ longest road game stretch of the season. Over the previous three away games, Eric Quill’s team has experienced a win, a loss and a draw. In its previous match, North Texas showed its inexperience by letting a 3-0 lead slip against Toronto FC II, dropping two points with a last-minute Toronto goal. Despite the setback, NTSC has shown its ability to bounce back from negative results over the season and will look to do so once again against a familiar opponent on Saturday.
The Opponent
Forward Madison snapped a four-game losing run with a 2-1 win over FC Tucson at home last Saturday. Prior to the game, Madison hadn’t won since its 3-1 victory over Toronto FC II at the beginning of May. While still in last place, Saturday’s three points were crucial for Madison as it moved within one point of Orlando City B and the Richmond Kickers.
Players to Watch
North Texas’ player to watch is Ronaldo Damus. The forward scored just the second hat trick in League One history last game, putting three goals passed Toronto FC II within 27 minutes of kickoff. The feat brought the Haitian up to six goals on the season (just one behind teammate Ricardo Pepi in the Golden Boot race) and earned him League One Player of the Week. With six goals in his last six games, Ronaldo Damus is definitely a player to keep an eye on for Saturday.
Don Smart is Forward Madison’s player to watch. The Jamaican typically lines up as a wide midfielder but often finds himself in goal-scoring positions. So far, Smart has racked up two goals and two assists in League One, as well as grabbing a goal during Madison’s Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup run. Considering Smart has contributed in four of Madison’s 11 total goals in the league this season, he’s likely to be involved if they trouble North Texas’ backline on Saturday.
