The Final Push - Texoma's Fight for Playoffs
Texoma Match Reviews, Playoff Picture, and What's Next?
Setting the Stage
08/23/25 - With 10 games left in the season, Texoma FC faced off against Greenville Triumph SC at Paladin Stadium. The Stadium is home to the Furman Paladins University Football Team, so it was painted for football. They painted soccer lines over in a neon yellow, however, at least on broadcast, the lines were nearly imperceptible.
Screenshot Credit to Greenville Triumph, Instagram.
It is to note, that the Triumph are building their own namesake stadium set to open in 2026.
While Greenville dominated this match-up on paper, having twice as many shots than Texoma, and 3 times as many shots on target, they failed to connect with any of them. This was in thanks to Javier Garcia, Texoma's top goalkeeper, who had a record-breaking 7 saves in this game. Previous record being 5 saves.
Texoma didn’t try to do anything fancy against the former champions, they played confident but safe. In the eighth minute, to the astonishment of all, Greenville defender Brandon Fricke carelessly passed the ball in the back third, allowing CAM Philip Spengler to seize the opportunity and deliver a remarkable shot just outside the box that resulted in a stunning goal. This would be the only goal of the game. Greenville had several chances to equalize but fell short when it was most critical.
Image Credit to Texoma FC, Facebook
The Final 9
08/27/25 - Texoma FC’s first season ends in only 9 games, they face the team in second to last, Forward Madison FC. Texoma appeared to approach this game with excessive confidence. Their cautious play and reluctance to aggressively advance ultimately proved detrimental to their performance.
Image Credit to Texoma FC, Facebook
Striker Dourado-Pereira scored 2 goals for Madison early in the first half, one at 17’ and one at 28’ minute. Aside from that, the game was quite dull until the second half. At about the 51’ minute, Striker McManus for Texoma, got a questionable red card. This situation compelled Texoma to operate beyond their comfort zone. They deviated from the formation and struggled to create meaningful scoring opportunities. Texoma formation this game was different as they played 4-2-3-1 (Last 4-2-3-1 Texoma played was 7/16 Vs Chattanooga). This formation really tries to maximize midfield and offsensive pushes. Unfortunately, Texoma fell apart quick after going down 2-0 and struggled to maintain their shape, which is a common occurance this season. Even though Texoma carried the possession percentage this game, they couldn’t capitalize, and then off a deflection, which was credited to Striker Nico Brown rather than who the ball was deflected off of, meant Texoma went down 3-0. Texoma made an effort to stage a comeback from the overwhelming deficit; however, they faced further challenges as McCormick received a red card in the 95th minute, which was upgraded from a previous yellow card. Firther cementing Texoma's defeat.
What’s Next?
Texoma heads to Nebraska to compete against Union Omaha on SAT 9/6 and then back down to Sherman to host Spokane Velocity. Both will be pretty tough for Texoma, but a result is needed nonetheless.