Dallas Sidekicks Plan To Make a Comeback in Double Header Against Florida Tropics

by Mahonri Mendoza

Lakeland, FL (January 21, 2022) – Friday night, the Dallas Sidekicks (5-5) suffered a heavy loss resulting in a 15-4 win for the Florida Tropics (8-1) at the RP Funding Center.


Sidekicks’ goalkeeper Chase Coy featured for the North Texas side for the first time this season due to Juan Gamboa not making the trip. Gamboa will feature on goal for the Sidekicks on Sunday again versus the Tropics.


The Sidekicks conceded a goal early on the quarter after a good Tropics goalscoring effort to lead 1-0. Following a few attempts on both sides to score, the home side would double their lead with just a few minutes left into the first quarter making 2-0 in their favor.


After conceding back-to-back goals, the Sidekicks suffered a rocky start in the second quarter. Outshot and outscored, the Sidekicks conceded two more goals before scoring their first goal of the night with just seconds left in the second quarter. Sidekicks forward Luiz Morales scored his 11th goal of the season. The second quarter ended favorably for the home side leading 6-1 at the half.


The third quarter started positively for the Sidekicks. Within the first three minutes of the match, after an assist from Oscar Romero, Bradlee Baladez scored the Sidekicks’ second goal of the night. The Sidekicks conceded two more goals before scoring their third goal of the night to make it 8-3. The home side would get one more shot part Coy to increase their lead further before the end of the third quarter.


Like the beginning of the third quarter, the Sidekicks scored first after an excellent assist on the set-piece from Jamie Lovegrove to Sebastian Mendez scoring the fourth goal of the night for the visiting side. The Tropics again would score several goals extending their lead further, making it very difficult for the Sidekicks to level it during the match.


Sidekicks MASL debutant Chase Coy shared his experience going in goal for the first time:


"It wasn't the debut I was expecting," said Coy. "Coming into it, Florida was a really good team. I told myself before the game that all you can do is give it your all, no matter what the score of that game is, as long as you left it all on the field, you did what you could do."


Sidekicks captain Kristian Quintana shared his comments after Friday night’s loss:


"It's a tough match," said Kristian Quintana. "They (Florida Tropics) are already a really good team. We are coming from a couple of wins, but unfortunately, they were the best version. All we can do is go back, recuperate and come back on Sunday and perform better."


Following Friday night’s loss, the Sidekicks go against the Florida Tropics again on Sunday, January 23, 2022, at 2:05 pm CST.


"We need to go back," said Coy. "We need to hit the drawing board and see what we need to do to come back up strong on Sunday and look past this game, learn from our mistakes."


The Sidekicks return to the Credit Union of Texas Event Center on Saturday, February 5, 2022, against East Division side Harrisburg Heat (0-5) at 7:00 pm CST.