Vaqueros end regular season with win

FORT WORTH _ The Vaqueros head into the 2019 playoffs on solid footing after a decisive 4-0 victory on Saturday against Katy 1895 FC at Farrington Field.

The Vaqueros (7-2-3, 24 points) begin the playoffs against the Diablos (9-3, 27 points) at 7:15 p.m. Thursday at the UNT Soccer Stadium in Denton.

Fort Worth finished third in the Lone Star Conference behind second place Denton. Midland-Odessa (9-1-2, 29 points) claimed first place and will host fourth place Dallas City FC (6-4-1, 19 points) on Thursday as well. Dallas City closes out the regular season on Sunday but cannot catch the Vaqueros even with a victory against Katy.

On Saturday the Vaqueros scored twice in each half to secure the victory. Captain Cameron Brown paced the Boys in Blue with a goal and an assist as well as some decisive play in midfield.

“I thought we were very good on the night. We started off very fast,” Brown said. “We were going at Katy from the beginning, which is something we hadn’t done the last four or five games. … I think it’s good for us. I think it’s good going into the playoffs for us to have that confidence.”

Winger Anthony Powell assisted Brown for the opening goal in the 16th minute. Powell added a second assist when he set up Flavio Guzman in the 22nd minute.

The Vaqueros continued to dictate play in the second half as defender Rio Ramirez fed J.J. Oteze for the third strike. Bobby Edet finished out the scoring in stoppage time as Brown aided on the final goal.

Looking ahead to Denton, the Vaqueros defeated the Diablos in two early season meetings but coach Nick Stavrou knows Denton has grown together since the beginning of conference play.

“We wanted to finish the season on a good note,” Stavrou said. “It was nice to get the shutout defensively; to score more than three goals was our goal and we got both of those done. Hopefully, we are back on track and ready for a real tough game in Denton on Thursday.”

The Vaqueros Family will receive a discount ticket price code for Thursday’s match prior to the game in Denton.