For The Town FC, Friday night’s home opener at Saint Mary’s College felt like a victory despite losing to Houston Dyanmo II in a penalty kick shootout.
Although the home side conceded a tying goal to Dynamo II in the last minute of second-half stoppage time, a few thousand fans packed the grandstands, end lines, and grassy berm supporting The Town FC during their first-ever game in Moraga.
“Obviously, we’re pretty bummed about that late winner,” Town’s forward Riley Lynch said after the game. “It’s the second time it’s happened this season. So we’ll have to learn from that and move on, but I wanted to say thank you to all the fans. Unbelievable atmosphere. It was amazing to play in front of them, and we will bounce back from it.”
Despite the large crowd and energy in the stadium, The Town started the game slowly and was unable to really put the pressure on a Dynamo II side stuck at the bottom of the Western Conference standings.
“We had the fans, so there was no excuse to come out a little bit flat like we did,” said Lynch, who also played collegiately on the same field for Saint Mary’s men’s soccer team.
However, after the halftime break, Town came out with more attacking force and was rewarded in the 53rd minute when Lynch took matters into his own hands to set up The Town’s goal.
After finding himself out wide just outside the Dynamo box, Lynch wrong-footed his defender and sent over a looping cross to the far post. TTFC teammate Roka Tsunehara headed it home for the 1-0 advantage.
In the later stages of the second half, Houston ratcheted up the pressure on The Town goal. With one minute left in extra time, Dynamo II’s Diego Gonzalez found himself with space about 25 yards from the goal and unleashed a shot that rocketed just under the crossbar to tie the game.
“We got the momentum towards the middle of the game, which was really good,” noted defender Sean Bilter. “I think that towards the end, the discipline, closing out and having the right mindset, was definitely lacking.”
In MLS Next Pro, if a game ends tied, it is decided by a penalty kick shootout. Fans lined the endline behind the goal as they watched TTFC defender Casey Walls have his PK saved by Dynamo II keeper Xavier Valdez. Houston made all five of its kicks to claim the two points.
Afterward, fans interacted and posed with players from The Town and Dynamo II, signing autographs and posing for photos.
“I’ve played a few times here in college, we’ve never had this kind of atmosphere,” said Bilter, a Hillsborough native who played for UC Davis collegiately. “So it’s nice having all the families and a lot of kids that are really passionate about our team.”
The Town now has nine days off before their next game, which is on Sunday, May 12th, also at Saint Mary’s. Kickoff is at five p.m.