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Western Conf. Notes – Saint Louis Rewarded for Persistance

By NICHOLAS MURRAY - nicholas.murray@uslsoccer.com, 07/30/18, 11:15AM EDT

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Small makes big difference for Toros; T2 pleased with reaction after early setbacks

RENO, Nevada – With Saint Louis FC on a five-game winless streak as it entered its contest against Reno 1868 FC on Saturday night, going down a goal just before halftime despite holding a man advantage since the 15th minute was far from ideal for the visitors at Greater Nevada Field.

In the end, though, Saint Louis’ persistence paid off as Sam Fink’s stoppage-time goal gave the side a 2-1 comeback victory and a massive boost to its hopes of reaching the USL Cup Playoffs.

“It’s a huge three points for us,” said STLFC Head Coach Anthony Pulis. “We completely dominated the game and it was a deserved win in my opinion. Credit to Reno for the way they defended and made it difficult for us to break them down. I’m extremely proud of the guys for the persistence they showed and not giving in right to the end.”

Saint Louis is still in tough to make the postseason for the first time as it sits five points back of eighth-place San Antonio FC, but with home games against Las Vegas Lights FC and Seattle Sounders FC 2 next on the slate the chance to gain ground is at least there for the side.

On the flipside, the end of Reno’s 16-game undefeated streak in such fashion was a tough pill for the hosts to take as it was unable to hold on despite a valiant effort throughout after Eric Calvillo’s sending off early in the contest.

“It was disappointing to go down a man early on, but we did enough to get a result out of that,” said 1868 FC defender Zach Carroll. “To give one up right at the end is frustrating and a lot of the guys in the locker room feel that way. Now it’s time to bounce back.”

SMALL COMES UP BIG: It’s been a work in progress for recent Rio Grande Valley FC addition Carlos Small to work his way into the Toros’ lineup as he works to gain fitness, but in his debut for the side in its 1-0 victory against Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC the Panamanian showed what he’s capable of in a neat 23-minute display.

Small recorded three shots overall, two total, but also played a role in the Toros’ late game-winner as his battle with two Switchbacks defenders in the right side of the penalty area resulted in the ball dropping to teammate Pablo Aguilar, who buried a low finish into the left corner of the net.

“First of all, I give thanks to God for the opportunity,” said Small after the game. “It was a very physical game but thankfully things went my way. I’m very excited and happy to make my debut with the Toros and I hope more opportunities present themselves.”


Rio Grande Valley FC forward Carlos Small battles past Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC defenders at H-E-B Park in his debut for the Toros. | Photo courtesy Christian Inoferio / Rio Grande Valley FC

The Toros are now undefeated in their last six games, including taking victory in two of the past three, which may not see the side contend for the postseason but could make life difficult for others who are set to visit H-E-B Park down the stretch. Small could be a good part of that on loan from Arabe Unido, with the 23-year-old bringing the sort of attributes that will test opposing defenses.

“He’s so strong. He’s got pace. He’s got some experience,” said Toros Head Coach Gerson Echeverry. “Obviously, we need to bring him along a little slowly. We need to improve his level of fitness. But he’s very dynamic in just the small time that he went in, he helped change the game.”

T2 PLEASED WITH REACTION: Conceding a pair of goals in the opening 15 minutes was far from an ideal start for the Portland Timbers 2 in its visit to the LA Galaxy II on Saturday afternoon, but T2 Head Coach Cameron Knowles was pleased with the reaction his side produced to end up on the right end of a 4-3 victory in another high-scoring affair between the clubs.

“It was a very good win for the team,” said Knowles. “After the slow start, for the team to have the ability and the mental fortitude to get themselves back in the game on a couple of occasions is very, very encouraging. Aside from slow start, I thought it was a very good performance. There was a lot of hard work from a lot of guys, especially at the end to weather the storm a little bit.”

With the attacking talent on display for both clubs and the history between the two over the past two seasons it was no surprised that the forward lines had the better of the contest. T2 and Los Dos have combined for 22 goals over their past three meetings, with Foster Langsdorf’s brace in the second half giving him five goals individually in the season series after a hat trick the last time the teams met.

All three points also gave Portland a little more breathing room in the race for the USL Cup Playoffs as it moved into sixth place in the Western Conference.

“You can look at a number of guys that played well, and I think that’s reflected in the result,” said Knowles. “When you’ve got a lot of guys playing well then more often than not you’ll get a positive result. I thought the performances were very good.”

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