Four road games down, four wins on the bounce. MNUFC2 are absolutely flying right now, leading MLS NEXT Pro in points per game (3.00!) and doing it in style. With their extended road journey finally at an end, it’s time for Head Coach Jeremy Hall and the squad to start defending the freshly domeless confines of the National Sports Center Stadium, but with the defending MLS NEXT Pro champs coming to meet them, this weekend’s match will be anything but easy.
North Texas SC has been a thorn in MNUFC2’s side since MLSNP began in 2022, beating the Loons in 6 of their seven league meetings. Their regular-season finale in 2024 saw North Texas post an 8-2 win, leaving an understandably bad taste in the mouth of every MNUFC2 player heading into the offseason. The Loons’ lone triumph over NTSC came back in 2023, a 2-1 win in Blaine.
But that was then, and this is now; rosters are meant to change fairly frequently in this league from year to year, as players make the jump to MLS or move on to the next stop in their journey. FC Dallas signed six North Texas players to first-team contracts this offseason, effectively forcing them to refresh the squad left in MLS NEXT Pro.
While there’s little doubt they’ve replaced them with some talented youngsters, it’ll take time for this group to reach the heights of their predecessors, as evidenced by the three losses they’ve already suffered in eight games. It hasn’t been the dominant start that the defending champs would have hoped for, and with the Loons employing a new strategy this season, Friday’s game looks likely to be vastly different from the last meeting between these two teams.
Last season, the Loons dove headfirst into the development potential of MLSNP. They filled roster spots with promising young talents from the Academy, giving them valuable minutes at a higher level and preparing them for the next steps in their soccer careers. The occasional first-team player would log minutes, sometimes in groups, but the bulk of minutes were played by MNUFC2 and Academy players.
In 2025, a mixture of all three groups has seen the Twos strike what appears to be a perfect balance. The injection of quality from the first-team guys elevates the overall gameplay, while the spine of the MNUFC2 roster has provided a solid foundation for Academy players to learn from consistently. With a 4-0-0 start to the season to back them up, there’s clearly something going right with this MNUFC2 side at the moment.
Come Friday night, the Twos will be hoping to show that their road success was more than just a lucky start. Their first opportunity to play in front of friendly fans kicks off at 3:00 p.m. CT, so make your way to the NSC to make sure they’ve got plenty of support. If you’re not able to make it out, streaming will be available on Apple TV’s MLS Season Pass.
