FRISCO—North Texas SC faces Orlando City B on Saturday, April 27 in its third home match in a row to open the inaugural USL League One season. The match is the second of four doubleheaders with FC Dallas games this season and kickoff is set for 4:50 PM—just a few minutes after the conclusion of FC Dallas vs. San Jose Earthquakes.
Current Form
North Texas won its second match of the season two weeks ago when Forward Madison FC visited Frisco. The game was influenced greatly by the heavy rain and swirling winds and it looked to be heading for a scoreless draw until Brandon Servania was fouled in the box in the 94th minute. Sixteen-year-old Ricardo Pepi stepped up to the penalty spot and calmly slotted the ball past Ryan Coulter in net to score his league-leading fourth goal of the season to give North Texas all three points.
The Opponent
Orlando City B have experienced a less than ideal start to the season and currently sits at the bottom of the USL League One table with a record of 0-3-1. Discipline has also been an issue for the young team, having been issued 14 yellow cards and two red cards over the first four games. Despite the tough start, Orlando recorded a stronger performance in its most recent game with Forward Madison. Orlando out-passed Madison 427 to 295—good for 59% possession—and took the lead in the first half through a Christopher Osei-Wusu penalty in the 36th minute. Despite the promising start, Orlando was unable to close out the game and eventually lost 2-1 to give Forward Madison its first victory in club history.
The Matchup
Saturday’s game with Orlando City B will be North Texas SC’s first matchup against a fellow MLS-affiliated team. It will be a battle between two relatively inexperienced squads considering the average age of North Texas’ starting XI last game was 19.3, and Orlando’s was only slightly older at 20.3-years-old. The play styles of the clubs are also similar; each team prefers to have a majority of possession (North Texas has averaged 64% possession in its first two games and Orlando has had 54%) and will look to create chances through build up play rather than sitting deep and counter attacking. Considering North Texas makes more passes per 90 minutes than Orlando—571 to 427 respectively—and that it will have home field advantage, it’s likely that Eric Quill’s side will win the possession battle this game. The true test will be whether they will be able to turn that possession into clear cut chances and goals—a problem they faced last game against Forward Madison.
Players to Watch
The player to watch for Orlando City is captain and leading scorer Christopher Osei-Wusu. The Ghanaian midfielder has two goals from just four total shots and three key passes. Although he lined up in the midfield in a 4-3-3 formation, his average position last game was on the right wing. Osei-Wusu’s tendency to drift into a wide right position means that he’s also the most prolific crosser on the team this season with four total crosses.
North Texas’ player to watch is Gambian midfielder Alfusainey Jatta. Although he doesn’t grab the headlines like leading scorer Ricardo Pepi, Jatta’s midfield presence has been central to Eric Quill’s possession system. Playing as box-to-box midfielder, Jatta is the key to linking North Texas’ midfield to its attack. So far, Jatta is the second highest passing midfielder and has made four key passes as well as having two shots on target—second to only Ricardo Pepi. Considering North Texas is likely to have the majority of the possession on Saturday, Jatta’s ability to find incisive passes into the forward players will be crucial if Eric Quill’s team is able to break through Orlando City’s defense.
