Bravos fall 3-1 on the road against Sockers
MIDLAND - Rio Grande Valley Bravos FC suffered a 3-1 road loss against the West Texas United Sockers on Friday night in Premier Development League action at Grande Communications Stadium in Midland.
The Sockers (5-3-1) sit in the top spot ahead of Dallas by two points in the Mid-South division. The match was tied at 1 at halftime and the Sockers pulled away in the second half.
"The trip (to Midland) tired us out," Bravos coach Juan de Dios Garcia said. "We were competitive with them in the first half, but in the second half, our players just didn't have enough legs. The trip and not having enough hours of sleep hurt us."
The Bravos (2-3-3) drew first blood as Juan Nava scored on a free kick on the right side of the box to take a 1-0 lead at the 28-minute mark.
But West Texas United answered 32 minutes into the game as Juan Muñoz punched it on the right side of the post after Junior Hernandez crossed it over from the left side. The ball deflected off of one of the Bravos’ players as it went into the net.
Rio Grande Valley had a chance to retake the lead as Ruben Ruelas’ header at the 52-minute mark hit the right side of the crossbar.
The Sockers took the 2-1 lead as Ben Everson scored on a shot on goal with an assist by Muñoz in the 66th minute. Dominic Furness scored three minutes later on a rebound, giving the Sockers a 3-1 lead.
The Bravos were coming off a 1-1 tie with the Sockers at Brownsville Sports Park on June 10. The Bravos next game is at 8 p.m. tonight against the Dallas-Fort Worth Tornados.
Bravos FC Services also contributed to this report.
