Greenville Triumph SC (12-9-7) travels to Texas to face regular-season champions, North Texas SC (17-6-5), in the inaugural USL League One Final.
A Look Back: North Texas has dominated every team in the league at some point – Greenville being the exception. The season series sits at 1W-1D-1L, with Triumph SC outscoring North Texas 4-1. Back in July, Greenville became the first League One team to defeat North Texas at Toyota Stadium, handing the eventual regular season champs a lopsided 4-0 defeat. The matched featured Jake Keegan scoring two goals, Aaron Walker and Edmundo Robinson tallying one a piece and a solid Greenville defense that would go on to become the league’s best back line. The two clubs haven’t met since the 10-v-11 Greenville victory, so it’s likely to be a more competitive match up that will take 90+ minutes of hard work and focus.
Playing to Win: It’s easy to get wrapped up in preparing for a particular opponent – especially when that opponent has been at the top of the league for entire season. But Head Coach John Harkes has been preaching to his club this week that it’s not about what other teams can do or the way other teams play. Sure, certain players must be dealt with and certain in-game adaptations can set teams up for more success; however, at the end of the day, Greenville Triumph SC has gotten to the League One Championship because of the way they have performed. That’s the philosophy that has seen a Greenville side come from four wins in four months to the first ever League One final. And that’s the mentality that each player is taking to Texas this weekend – we deserve to be here, and we’re playing to win.
Opposites Attract: The North Texas SC – Greenville Triumph SC match-up is a perfect example of this cliche phrase; but in the world of sports, opposites make for an extremely exciting game. As is known this late in the season, Greenville’s defense is beyond elite with only 22 goals conceded in an eight-month span. However, North Texas SC boasts a dynamic, movement-oriented attack that has scored 55 goals to Greenville’s 33. Additionally, much of the Texas attack is created off the dribble (350 successful dribbles to Greenville’s 250), where as Greenville is extremely successful combining on the flanks (68 successful crosses to N. Texas’s 45) and creating opportunities from the outside in. NTSC is also a team that has played together for quite a number of years as a development team under the umbrella of MLS side, FC Dallas. Greenville, on the contrary, has been built from the ground up in less than 12 months. Despite their infancy though, Greenville has peaked into a unified and collective unit that is ready to accept the challenge ahead.
Come Watch With Us! Greenville Triumph SC staff will join the Reedy River Riot at Growler Haus in West Greenville for the final watch party of the season, starting at 6:00pm Saturday ahead of the 7:00pm kickoff. Don’t wait until game time to show up because the first 50 fans receive one free beer ticket and all fans wearing Triumph gear will receive 10% off their purchases.
Match Info:
Kickoff: October 19th | 7:00 PM EDT
Where: Toyota Stadium | Frisco, TX
Kickoff Weather: 82 degrees, 0% chance of rain
Watch: ESPN+ / YouTube (internationally)
Stats: USL League One Match Center
Fan Send Off: Join us at our training facility at Bob Jones University on Friday at 1:00 pm to send the team off & wish them good luck as we look to bring a championship back to the Upstate!
Watch Party: Growler Haus (12 Lois Ave, Greenville, SC) | 7:00 PM
