Sixteen-year-old Tarik Scott came off the bench to score an 11-minute brace and lead North Texas SC to their first-ever MLS NEXT Pro win in their inaugural match, defeating MNUFC2, 3-1, at Choctaw Stadium Saturday evening.
Scott, an FC Dallas MLS NEXT academy product, subbed on in the 73rd minute and had only 17 minutes to make an impact, but he found his groove right away.
“It’s really eye-opening just to be able to transition from the younger age groups to the semi-pro level (with MLS NEXT Pro),” Scott said after the match. “So I feel like it’s going to be a really good experience for me. I feel like there’s a lot more room for me to grow, but this is a great stepping stone.”
Scott found the back of the net in both the 79th and 90th minute to secure all three points for his side on his MLS NEXT Pro debut. The midfielder scored his first off a close-range header and followed it up 11 minutes later with a low-driven shot into the bottom-left corner of the net.
“I was able to get the goal and I was able to anticipate (seeing) the ball bouncing up and get my head around onto it,” he said. “It made me realize that this is no different than any other game I have played before.”
Midfielder Derek Waldeck broke the scoreless deadlock to put the home side up 1-0 in the 38th minute. A deadly counter-attack that saw MNUFC2 give the ball away in their own end of the pitch, and ultimately, suffering the consequences for it. It was Waldeck's first-ever professional goal.
The lone MNUFC2 goal came from winger Justin McMaster, Minnesota United’s first-round selection in the 2021 MLS SuperDraft, who brought his side level in the 64th minute.
North Texas SC coach Pa-Modou Kah said when MNUFC2 leveled the match “there was a 15-minute span” where they were under a lot of pressure, but he saw a lot of “growth” during those 15 minutes that made him incredibly proud of his squad.
“I’m happy for the boys, I think they’ve been waiting for, you know, six weeks now between playing preseason and game scrimmages, and tonight was the real deal,” Kah said. “To see them go out and perform the things that we worked on, the things we believe in and the way we want to play… I think it’s just a thing of beauty.”
