The Bull & Its Horns: RGVFC Eliminated From Playoff Contention

Split Points With Swope Park

The Toros were able to get ahead 2-0 by the 64th minute, but finished level when the final whistle blew. Justin Bilyeu, who has been impressive going forward since he signed with the club midseason, found Joseph Holland in the area. The Dynamo midfielder’s left footed shot beat the Swope Park goalkeeper. RGV’s lead would double when a long ball from Omar Ontiveros found Kyle Murphy, who controlled a defender’s mishit and knocked a shot home.

Unfortunately, the next goal scored by an RGVFC player counted for Swope Park. Kevin Garcia put the ball in his own net trying to prevent Kharlton Belmar from getting on the end of a pass. Belmar would score a goal of his own to equalize in second half stoppage time. His initial attempt was deflected by Borja Angoitia, but Belmar softly headed home the loose ball. It was a disappointing finish to the Toros’ 2017 home slate of matches.

Ballin’ Bulls

Dynamo Theory’s Man of the Match Borja Angoitia: Against a very dangerous side, the Spanish keeper made four massive saves for RGV. He was only beat by an own goal and a rebound finish by Kharlton Belmar.

Kyle Murphy: The most consistent finisher for most of the season, Murphy added another goal to the Toros’ lead. He made a good run and cleaned up a defensive miscue with a calm finish.

Joseph Holland: The Houston Dynamo man was impressive again with the Toros. He put home a left footed shot to open the scoring.

Talkin’ Toros

Ivan Magalhaes’ message to supporters of the Toros:

“I want to thank all the fans for this incredible season and for all the unconditional support, we feel very honored to have had the opportunity to play in front of the most amazing fans in this league. Unfortunately, we did not make it to the playoffs this year which is what the fans deserved, but the atmosphere they produced in every single game was incredible and I'm sure that this is going to continue to be one of the Toros strengths for the future.”

The Good Guys: Rio Grande Valley FC (9-13-8)

Despite the draw vs. Swope, RGVFC will not be returning to the USL playoffs after results around the league this weekend. This season will be looked at as a huge step back for a club that finished second in the Western Conference last season. However, with the MASSIVE departure of talent (Wilmer, Charlie Ward, Memo Rodriguez, Kevin Garcia, Malki, Callum Irving, Dzenan Catic, and Taylor Hunter), the club was still in it until the end.

With two matches left, RGVFC will be playing for pride at this point and to play spoiler for Phoenix Rising FC and their rival San Antonio FC. Both matches are on the road.

In non-soccer news, the club unveiled a shiny statue at H-E-B Park this weekend!

The Bad Guys: Phoenix Rising FC (14-8-7)

Unlike RGVFC, Phoenix Rising has clinched a playoff position. They currently sit 5th, six points behind 4th and four points above 6th.

We all know they have legends Didier Drogba, Shaun Wright Phillips, and Omar Bravo, but they’re led in scoring by Jason Johnson with 10 goals. Alessandro Riggi and Chris Cortez also give them a boost offensively. They’ve won four of their past five and play Tulsa in a midweek fixture tonight. RGVFC and Rising FC finished level at 1-1 in their previous meeting this season in South Texas.

The Dirty Details:

10/7 at Phoenix Rising Soccer Complex

8:30pm CDT

Watch it live HERE.