Rio Grande Valley FC Toros

Rio Grande Valley FC
Full name Rio Grande Valley
Football Club
Nickname(s) Toros
Founded July 15, 2015 (2015-07-15)
Stadium H-E-B Park
Stadium
capacity		 9,400
Owner Rio Grande Valley Vipers
Head Coach Junior Gonzalez
League USL
2016 2nd, Western Conference
Playoffs: Conference Quarterfinals
Website Club website

The Rio Grande Valley FC is an American professional soccer team based in Edinburg, Texas operated by Lone Star, LLC. They joined the United Soccer League in the 2016 season. Lone Star has the same ownership team as the Rio Grande Valley Vipers[1] of the NBA Development League with Alonzo Cantu as majority owner.

The team will serve as a hybrid affiliate of the Houston Dynamo of Major League Soccer.[1] Chris Canetti, Houston Dynamo president, called the relationship "an important and necessary step." The hybrid affiliation, a first for the USL, means that the Dynamo will be responsible for the tactical part of the club - selecting players and coaching staff. The ownership group, Lone Star, will be responsible for operations and day-to-day management of the club.[1][2]

History

In September 2014, Dynamo officials met with USL officials about creating a USL team and announced their intention to have a USL team in place for the 2016 season.[3][4]

In March 2015, Bert Garcia announced that the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA D-league had been awarded a franchise pending concrete plans for a stadium and a name[5] and confirmed a report[6] on MLSSoccer.com that the Houston Dynamo would likely be the MLS affiliate for the USL team in the Rio Grande Valley.

In December 2015, the Houston Dynamo signed Dynamo Academy product Juan "Charly" Flores as the first player of the Toros.

Year by year

Year Division League Regular Season W-T-L Playoffs Avg. Attendance
2016 3 USL 2nd, Western: 14-9-7 Conference Quarterfinals 1,994

The club has a 9,400-seat soccer-specific stadium in Edinburg, Texas for the team. It was set to open after the Toros played three games at the soccer complex at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley to start the 2016 USL Season.[7]

The stadium was never completed for play in 2016 and the team now has ambitions to begin the 2017 season at their new complex. Construction of the H-E-B Park was completed during the first quarter of 2017 and the Toros played C.F. Monterrey from Mexico on March 22, 2017 to inaugurate their new stadium.[8] The Toros lost their exhibition match against Rayados 0-3.[9] The Toros won their first home game at H-E-B Park on April 12, 2017 against the Colorado Springs Switchbacks. Their current home record attendance is 7,820 which was set on April 29, 2017 against the Oklahoma City Energy.[10]

Players and staff

Current roster

Where a player has not declared an international allegiance, nation is determined by place of birth. Squad correct as of February 27, 2016.

No. Position Player Nation
1 Goalkeeper Angoitia, BorjaBorja Angoitia  Spain
2 Defender Greene, KaiKai Greene  United States
3 Defender Garza, VictorVictor Garza (on loan from UANL)  United States
4 Defender Sagel, RobbyRobby Sagel  United States
5 Defender Magalhães, IvanIvan Magalhães  Brazil
6 Midfielder James, JorginhoJorginho James (on loan from Harbour View)  Jamaica
7 Midfielder Monroy, CamiloCamilo Monroy (on loan from América de Cali)  Colombia
8 Midfielder Ward, CharlieCharlie Ward ([A])  England
9 Forward Luna, RubénRubén Luna  Mexico
10 Midfielder Bird, EricEric Bird  United States
11 Forward Casner, T. J.T. J. Casner  United States
12 Defender Bilyeu, JustinJustin Bilyeu  United States
13 Midfielder García, EmilioEmilio García (on loan from Pachuca)  Mexico
14 Midfielder Wharton, ToddTodd Wharton  United States
15 Forward Pungo, FranciscoFrancisco Pungo (on loan from Sarmiento Lora)  Colombia
16 Midfielder Lucatero, ChristianChristian Lucatero ([A])  United States
17 Midfielder Rodriguez, MemoMemo Rodriguez ([A])  United States
18 Defender Remick, DylanDylan Remick ([A])  United States
19 Forward Murphy, KyleKyle Murphy  United States
20 Defender Ayala, LeoLeo Ayala  United States
22 Defender Garcia, KevinKevin Garcia ([A])  United States
23 Midfielder Escalante, JoséJosé Escalante ([A])  Honduras
24 Goalkeeper Brown, CalleCalle Brown ([A])  United States
25 Defender Ochoa, AlexAlex Ochoa  United States
26 Defender Hunter, TaylorTaylor Hunter ([A])  United States
27 Midfielder Garcia, JuanJuan Garcia  United States
28 Defender Ontiveros, OmarOmar Ontiveros  United States
30 Goalkeeper Kirk, MichaelMichael Kirk  United States
38 Midfielder Holland, JoeJoe Holland ([A])  England
40 Defender Botero, CamiloCamilo Botero  Colombia
42 Midfielder Ortiz, JessieJessie Ortiz ([B])  United States
99 Goalkeeper Carducci, MarcoMarco Carducci  Canada
  1. ^ Signed to first team contract with MLS affiliate Houston Dynamo.
    2.
  2. ^ Houston Dynamo academy player.
    3.

Staff

United States Junior Gonzalez - Head Coach
United States Brett Uttley - Assistant Coach
United States Patrick Mannix - Fitness Coach
United States Rohan Sachdev - Performance Analyst

References

  1. 1 2 3 Houston Dynamo reach affiliate agreement to start USL club: "It’s an important and necessary step", MLSoccer.com, July 15, 2015
  2. ↑ RGVFC awarded the USL's newest franchise, Houston Dyanamo, July 15, 2015
  3. ↑ Houston Dynamo brass meet with representatives in McAllen, Texas, about creating USL PRO team, MLSSoccer.com, September 9, 2014.
  4. ↑ Houston Dynamo GM: McAllen One of Many Possible Locations for USL-Pro Team, PlayingFor90.com, September 14, 2014
  5. ↑ USL PRO awards Vipers professional soccer franchise, The Monitor, March 30, 2015
  6. ↑ Lovell, Darrell (March 24, 2015), Houston Dynamo partnering with NBA D-League franchise to form USL team for 2016 season, MLSsoccer.com
  7. ↑ USL soccer stadium to be completed by March (Press Release), Action 4 News, August 11, 2015.
  8. ↑ RGV FC Toros Take on C.F. Monterrey at H-E-B Park’s Inauguration Game (Press Release), RGVFC, February 13, 2017.
  9. ↑ RGV FC Toros open H-E-B Park with exhibition loss to C.F. Monterrey Rayados (News), The Monitor, March 22, 2017.
  10. ↑ http://www.uslsoccer.com/rio-grande-valley-fc
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