TACOMA, WASH. – Tacoma Defiance (1-0-0, 3 points) on Friday earned its first victory of the 2019 campaign in the opening match of the season, defeating Rio Grande Valley FC (0-1-0, 0 points) 1-0 in Tacoma. Forward Alec Diaz tallied the lone goal of the match, while goalkeeper Trey Muse made two saves to record the shutout in his first career professional contest. Tacoma Head Coach Chris Little earns a win in his USL Championship coaching debut, leading Sounders FC’s USL side to three points in front of 3,432 fans at Cheney Stadium.
In the 49th minute, Danny Leyva played a ball into the area and Marlon Vargas found Shandon Hopeau, whose header hit the goal post. Diaz pounced on the loose ball and put it past Rio Grande Valley goalkeeper Ben Willis. The 17-year-old Diaz has now recorded three goals and two assists in six career USL games. Leyva last season became the youngest player in club history to make his professional debut at 15 years old, playing a full 90 minutes on Friday night. Hopeau led the club with four shots and two shots on goal in Friday’s victory.
Nine players under the age of 20 saw action for Tacoma tonight, and five players made their first career USL Championship starts for Tacoma: Muse, Jonathan Campbell, Matt Nance, Modou Ndow and Danny Robles.
Tacoma Defiance returns to action on Saturday, March 16 vs. LA Galaxy II (7:00 p.m. PT / ESPN+) at Cheney Stadium. The club then travels to Tulsa on Saturday, March 23 to take on Roughnecks FC in its first road match of the season (1:00 p.m. PT / ESPN+).
MEDIA RESOURCES
PHOTOS – IMAGES FOR MEDIA USE: https://sndrs.com/lg6cs
VIDEO – HEAD COACH CHRIS LITTLE POST-MATCH MEDIA SCRUM: https://sndrs.com/w25tj
VIDEO – FORWARD ALEC DIAZ POST-MATCH MEDIA SCRUM: https://sndrs.com/xwjb7
VIDEO – MIDFIELDER DANNY LEYVA POST-MATCH MEDIA SCRUM: https://sndrs.com/del3y
VIDEO – GOALKEEPER TREY MUSE POST-MATCH MEDIA SCRUM: https://sndrs.com/zpx3u
AUDIO – DOWNLOADABLE POST-MATCH SOUNDBYTES: http://sndrs.com/audio
MATCH SUMMARY
Tacoma Defiance I 1-0 I Rio Grande Valley FC
Friday, March 8, 2019
Venue: Cheney Stadium I Tacoma, Washington
Referee: Alejandro Mariscal
Assistants: Baboucarr Jallow, Christian Clerc
Fourth Official: Liam Leonard
Weather: 37 degrees and clear
Attendance: 3,432
SCORING SUMMARY
TAC – Alec Diaz 49’
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
TAC – Josh Atencio (caution) 68’
RGV – Robert Coronado (caution) 77’
TAC – Modou Ndow (caution) 84’
LINEUPS & STATS
TAC – Trey Muse; Saad Abdul-Salaam, Jonathan Campbell, Modou Ndow, Matt Nance; Danny Leyva, Alex Roldan (Josh Atencio 67’); Shandon Hopeau, Danny Robles (Alfonso Ocampo-Chavez 89’), Marlon Vargas (Azriel Gonzalez 75’); Alec Diaz
Substitutes not used: Sam Fowler, Blake Malone, Enrique Montana, Jesse Daley
Total shots: 12
Shots on goal: 5
Fouls: 10
Offside: 2
Corner-kicks: 4
Saves: 2
RGV – Ben Willis; Andrew Samuels, Robert Castellanos, Kyle Adams, Robert Coronado; Isidro Martinez, Brad Dunwell, Wilmer Cabrera (Andres Arcila 66’); Camilo Monroy (Kevin Rodriguez 74’), Carlos Small, Maalique Foster
Substitutes not used: Osmar Chavero, Zach Jackson, Carlos Viveros, David Cabrera, Brandon Morales
Total shots: 17
Shots on goal: 2
Fouls: 14
Offside: 1
Corner-kicks: 7
Saves: 4
