Welcome to our continuing series of Meet the USASA features where we annually profile the clubs representing the United States Adult Soccer Association in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. Advancing from the four regional tournaments, these often unknown clubs have great stories to tell and each year, our goal is to allow fans to get to know them as they attempt to become this year’s Cinderella story.
North Texas Rayados hope to take a page from the playbook of fellow North Texas Premier Soccer Association (NTPSA) Division 1A member Dallas Roma FC from six years ago and make a run in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup this season.
Roma won a United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) record three matches in 2006 before losing in the fourth round to Major League Soccer’s Los Angeles Galaxy. A run like that, which included the first-ever USASA wins over a First Division club (1-0 vs. Miami FC) and an MLS team (0-0, 4-2 in PKs vs. Chivas USA)-0), could be a dream that NTX Rayados hopes to see happen.
The Dallas-based NTX Rayados lost 2-0 in the USASA Region III Open Cup championship to ASC New Stars on April 28, but finished
with a 2-1-0 record in group play to qualify for the US Open Cup for the first time. Wins over Florida’s Royal Eagles (4-0) and Oklahoma’s Boston Avenue Athletic Club (2-1) propelled the team to the tournament for the first time.
The team was formed in the summer of 2011 when former college teammates Tito Salas and Raul Herrera got a group of friends that had moved back home after finishing up college soccer careers.
“ wanted to play at the highest level possible,” said Herrera, who is the Rayados’ goalkeeper and is currently the goalkeeper coach at Richland College in the Dallas area. “The NTPSA is known to be the top league in the North Texas area”
The team takes its name from Mexican Primera Division side FC Monterrey. They were called just Rayados last summer, but added the “NTX” moniker to identify with the region they are from.
Herrera said it was difficult to convince a top-flight league like the NTPSA to allow a new team to start at the top division from the start.
“They thought we would get crushed by the teams in the league,” Hererra said. “We really wanted to play in the highest division because we knew if we did well there, we would be able to compete in the US Open Cup.”
Persistence paid off.
“After many references and recommendations, we finally got our chance,” Herrera said. “The league is very competitive. They have teams with players from different parts of the world and different styles of play which makes it very difficult to win each week.”
NTX Rayados won the NTPSA Division 1A in their first year, qualifying for the Region III tournament in the fall.
“We played with a chip on our shoulder, you can say, being the new guys on the block,” Herrera said.
As a unit, NTX Rayados has gone 20-1 in the league over two-plus seasons. The team consists of mainly former college players of various levels, with the core group being members of the 2006 National Junior College Athletic Association Division III national champions of Richland College. Richland is a powerhouse in NJCAA men’s soccer, winning national titles in 2002, ’03, ’04, ’06 and ’07 while finishing as runner-up in ’05 and ’09.
Along with Salas and Herrera, Alberto Rodriguez and Efren Castillo were also on the 2006 championship squad, which defeated Herkimer County Community College (N.Y.) 3-1. Many of the players went on from Richland to play for NAIA and NCAA schools.
The Rayados finished 6-1-0 in NTPSA play during the spring, tying for the league title with Legends FC, a three-time qualifier in the US Open Cup (2004, ’06, ’10).
| 2012 NTX Rayados season |
| North Texas Premier Soccer Association Feb. 26 – Win, 1-0 vs. Legends FC Mar. 4 – Win, 4-1 vs. AfricaUnited.org Mar. 18 – Win, 4-2 vs. Dallas Roma FC Mar. 25 – Loss, 1-3 vs. Santos Apr. 1 – Win, 3-2 vs. United Apr. 22 – Win, 3-1 vs. Agnew FC Apr. 29 – Win, 3-2 vs. Liverpool FC USASA Region III Open Cup tournament Apr. 27 – Win, 2-1 vs. Boston Avenue AC (OK) Apr. 28 – Win, 4-0 vs. Royal Eagles (FL) Apr. 28 – Loss, 0-2 vs. ASC New Stars (STX) |
“We don’t really have a coach on a daily basis,” Hererra said. “Tito and I run the practices and do as much as we can on our own.
“Humberto Rodriguez is a mutual friend and coach from a previous local team we played for and he is the person who helps out financially and with his time.”
NTX Rayados will face the El Paso Patriots of the USL Premier Development League in the First Round on Tuesday, May 15. If they win, they will join Dallas Roma FC as the second USASA team from the state of Texas to advance to the Second Round.