Rio Grande Valley FC Toros

Rio Grande Valley FC, also known as RGVFC or Rio Grande Valley FC Toros, is an American professional soccer team based in Edinburg, Texas operated by Lone Star, LLC. They joined the USL Championship in the 2016 season.

Rio Grande Valley FC
Full nameRio Grande Valley
Football Club
Nickname(s)Toros, RGVFC
FoundedJuly 15, 2015 (2015-07-15)
StadiumH-E-B Park
Edinburg, Texas
Capacity9,735
OwnerRio Grande Valley Vipers
Head coachWilmer Cabrera
LeagueUSL Championship
20239th, Western Conference
Playoffs: DNQ
WebsiteClub website

The team served as a hybrid affiliate of the Houston Dynamo of Major League Soccer.[1] Chris Canetti, Houston Dynamo president, called the relationship "an important and necessary step." The hybrid affiliation, a first for the USL, means that the Dynamo will be responsible for the soccer operation of the club, selecting players and coaching staff. The ownership group, Lone Star, will be responsible for operations and day-to-day management of the club.[1][2]

History

In September 2014, Dynamo officials met with USL officials about creating a USL team and announced their intention to have a USL team in place for the 2016 season.[3][4]

In March 2015, Bert Garcia announced that the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA D-league had been awarded a franchise pending concrete plans for a stadium and a name[5] and confirmed a report[6] on MLSSoccer.com that the Houston Dynamo would likely be the MLS affiliate for the USL team in the Rio Grande Valley.

In December 2015, the Houston Dynamo signed Dynamo Academy product Charly Flores as the first player of the Toros.

In December 2020, RGV FC Toros separated from the Houston Dynamo and became an independent soccer club.[7]

Record

Year–by–year
Year Division League Regular season W-T-L Playoffs US Open Cup Avg. attendance
2016 3 USL 2nd, Western: 14–9–7 Conference Quarterfinals Not eligible (MLS Reserve Team) 1,994
2017 2 USL 11th, Western: 9–8–15 Did not qualify Not eligible (MLS Reserve Team) 7,067
2018 2 USL 13th, Western: 8–14–12 Did not qualify Not eligible (MLS Reserve Team) 4,650
2019 2 USLC 13th, Western: 11–8–15 Did not qualify Not eligible (MLS Reserve Team) 3,812
2020 2 USLC 13th, Western: 0–3–9 Did not qualify Not eligible (MLS Reserve Team) N/A
2021 2 USLC 4th, Western, Mountain Division: 13-8-11 Conference Semifinals Cancelled due to COVID-19 2,506
2022 2 USLC 6th, Western: 14-7-13 Conference Semifinals Third Round 4,074
2023 2 USLC 9th, Western: 10-13-11 Did not qualify Second Round 4,506

Head coaches
  • Includes USL Regular season, USL Play-offs and Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup
CoachNationalityStartEndGamesWinDrawLossWin %
Wilmer Cabrera  Colombia December 2, 2015 October 28, 2016 31 14 8 9 045.16
Junior Gonzalez  United States December 15, 2016 November 8, 2017 32 9 15 8 028.13
Gerson Echeverry  Colombia December 6, 2017 November 6, 2020 80 19 36 25 023.75
Wilmer Cabrera  Colombia February 11, 2021 present 91 30 27 34 032.97

Stadium

The club has a 9,400-seat soccer-specific stadium in Edinburg, Texas for the team. It was set to open after the Toros played three games at the soccer complex at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley to start the 2016 USL Season.[8]

The stadium was never completed for play in 2016. Construction of the H-E-B Park was completed during the first quarter of 2017 and the Toros played C.F. Monterrey from Mexico on March 22, 2017 to inaugurate their new stadium.[9] The Toros lost their exhibition match against Rayados 0–3.[10] The Toros won their first home game at H-E-B Park on April 12, 2017 against the Colorado Springs Switchbacks. Their current home record attendance is 7,820 which was set on April 29, 2017 against the Oklahoma City Energy.[11]

Players and staff

Roster
As of June 16, 2023[12]
No. Pos. Player Nation
1 GK Tyler Deric  United States
2 DF Jonathan Ricketts  United States
3 DF Wahab Ackwei  Ghana
4 DF Érik Pimentel  Mexico
5 MF Juan David Cabezas  Colombia
6 DF Gabriel Benítez  Venezuela
7 MF José Francisco Torres  United States
8 MF Taylor Davila  United States
9 FW Frank López  Cuba
10 FW Christian Pinzón  United States
11 FW Juan Galindrez  Colombia
12 DF Ricky Ruiz  United States
14 MF Michael Knapp  United States
15 DF Frank Nodarse  Cuba
16 DF Robert Coronado  United States
17 MF Ian Cerro  United States
19 DF Eric Kinzner  United States
20 DF Tomás Ritondale ([A])  United States
21 GK Carlos Merancio  Mexico
22 FW Jose Luna ([A])  United States
23 FW Christiano François  Haiti
24 FW Dylan Hernandez ([A])  United States
25 DF Diego Rivera ([A])  Mexico
26 GK Alberto Yanez ([A])  United States
27 MF Kevin Orduy ([A])  Colombia
28 MF Edwin Orduy ([A])  Colombia
29 FW Cole Frame (on loan from North Carolina FC)  United States
  1. ^
    Rio Grande Valley FC academy player
    2.

Staff[13]

References
  1. Houston Dynamo reach affiliate agreement to start USL club: "It’s an important and necessary step", MLSoccer.com, July 15, 2015
  2. RGVFC awarded the USL's newest franchise, Houston Dyanamo, July 15, 2015
  3. Houston Dynamo brass meet with representatives in McAllen, Texas, about creating USL PRO team, MLSSoccer.com, September 9, 2014.
  4. Houston Dynamo GM: McAllen One of Many Possible Locations for USL-Pro Team, PlayingFor90.com, September 14, 2014
  5. USL PRO awards Vipers professional soccer franchise, The Monitor, March 30, 2015
  6. Lovell, Darrell (March 24, 2015), Houston Dynamo partnering with NBA D-League franchise to form USL team for 2016 season, MLSsoccer.com
  7. Reichard, Kevin (December 24, 2020). "Houston Dynamo, RGVFC scale back relationship". Soccer Stadium Digest. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
  8. USL soccer stadium to be completed by March (Press Release), Action 4 News, August 11, 2015.
  9. RGV FC Toros Take on C.F. Monterrey at H-E-B Park’s Inauguration Game (Press Release), RGVFC, February 13, 2017.
  10. RGV FC Toros open H-E-B Park with exhibition loss to C.F. Monterrey Rayados (News), The Monitor, March 22, 2017.
  11. "Rio Grande Valley FC Home | uslsoccer.com". www.uslsoccer.com. Retrieved 2018-06-03.
  12. "Roster". rgvfc.com. Rio Grande Valley FC Toros. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
  13. "Staff Directory". rgvfc.com. Rio Grande Valley FC Toros. Retrieved January 6, 2023.


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