Houston Dynamo 2 continued their hot start to the season, but defended it late in a 3-2 win over North Texas SC to earn all three points. Tacoma Defiance forward and Seattle Sounders homegrown Alfonso Ocampo-Chavez scored his fifth goal of the season while Roberto Avila kept pace with his fifth for Dynamo Dos. Columbus Crew 2 won their fourth straight match, MNUFC2 ended CITY2’s unbeaten season and in four shootouts from the spot over the weekend, the home team earned the second point three times.
Here’s your MLS NEXT Pro week five recap by the numbers.
5 games, 5 wins, 15 points
Houston Dynamo 2 continued their incredible start to the inaugural MLS NEXT Pro season, winning their fifth straight match in league play in the Texas Derby against North Texas SC. An 84th-minute winner from Week 3 hat trick hero Roberto Avila saw Dynamo Dos take it late, winning 3-2.
North Texas SC was the first team to put two goals past them this season, but for the third straight game, Dynamo Dos overpowered their opponent by putting in three goals.
Avila’s winner and fifth goal of the season came in clutch and added to five being Dynamo Dos' magic number last week.
1,645 Days: League play returns to Rochester
RNY FC played its home-opener at Monroe Community College Saturday against NYCFC II. While the away side claimed all three points in a 3-2 victory, those in attendance were treated to an action-paced and historic game. The freshly-rebranded Rochester side's MLS NEXT Pro home opener will always stand as a day to remember.
The Rochester Rhinos franchise folded in 2017, but there is still a clear demand for soccer in the city. RNY FC is a rebrand of the organization and joined MLS NEXT Pro as the first and (for now) only independent team in the league.
35 goals scored
Week 5 saw a whopping 35 strikes find the back of the net in regulation, headlined by Sunday's Chicago Fire II - Philadelphia Union II six-goal thriller at SeatGeek Stadium.
MNUFC2 and Whitecaps FC 2 netted four goals each to share the honor of the week's highest-scoring side.
2 games, 2 four-nil wins for MNUFC2
MNUFC2 is flying high after knocking off CITY2 on the road Sunday to end the hosts' early unbeaten run. Back-to-back 4-0 wins headline MNUFC2's three-game winning streak and show off a steadfast improvement from opening the season with a two-game losing streak.
Justin McMaster scored his fourth of the season while MNUFC2 winger Diogo Pacheco recorded three assists in the first half of the match against CITY2.
4 shootouts
Week 5 of the MLS NEXT Pro season saw four matches end in a regulation tie and head to a shootout with the valuable extra point on the line. In those shootouts, three of the four matches ended in favor of the home side.
Timbers2, Orlando City B, Chicago Fire II and Tacoma Defiance all earned a second point over the weekend, with the Defiance standing as the only away side to do so.
5 for Ocampo-Chavez and Avila
Tacoma Defiance and Seattle Sounders homegrown forward scored his fifth goal of the season in a 2-2 draw against Earthquakes II. He opened the scoring in the 8th minute of the match after making a great central run in the box, finding himself wide-open for a header into the back of the net.
As mentioned above, Houston Dynamo 2 forward Roberto Avila added his fifth of the season in clutch fashion to secure all three points for Dynamo Dos with the winner against North Texas SC.
The duo are tied for the Golden Boot heading into Week 6.
4 straight wins for Crew 2
Columbus Crew 2 are on the rise. A 2-1 win over TFCII in week five placed them atop the Eastern Conference.
During the four-game winning streak, Crew 2 has managed to keep three clean sheets and outscored their opponents 6-1.
