Matadors Fighting Strong: Lubbock’s International Underdogs on a Run
The Lubbock Matadors – amateur cinderellas through to the Open Cup Third Round with players from 12 different countries – are showing a West Texas-caliber fighting spirit.
Fearless champions ever be.
Stand on heights of victory.
Strive for honor evermore.
Long live the Matadors!
The words made famous by Texas Tech University’s fight song rang true in both the First and Second Rounds of the 2024 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Lubbock Matadors SC, officially entering their third year of existence in Texas’ Hub City, notched a first-ever upset of a professional team in their tournament debut and followed up with a 2-0 win over fellow Texas amateurs FORO SC.
And they did all this with a squad of young players from all corners of the globe, coming together to represent the non-traditional soccer hotbed of Lubbock, Texas. “There's a special drive, a special fight,” said Ryan Shelburne, head of the local supporters group, The Mozos – who did their part and then some to push the amateurs on to victory as both games were played at home at LCU.
“Whenever [players, from all over the world] come out to West Texas, we make sure that they know that there's a special spirit out here,” he added.
Matadors Rage in Red
The Matadors went into the First Round as heavy underdogs against NISA pros Arizona Monsoon. A sellout crowd at Lubbock Christian University’s LCU Soccer Field, officially announced at 2,258, watched on as their National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) side battled – ending the game with three times as many shots registered as their opponents.
Even so, the win required late fireworks from the home side.
“I saw my teammate Shuma [Sasaki] get the ball wide. I knew he was going to dribble past the defender and just like he does, he was going to cross the ball to me and I knew I had to be in the box to score,” Salvador Martinez remembered of the goal that tied the game one-all in the 83rd minute.
The Matadors walk out for their Second Rounder against FORO SC
Lifting his left leg up, Martinez redirected Sasaki’s cross on goal. While keeper Jose Cortez Cruz got a hand to it, the force of the ball bent his arm backwards. The shot hit the back netting to make it 1-1. “Scoring the tying goal was an incredible moment for both myself and the team,” added Martinez. “I think it provided a sense of relief in what had been a really tight game.”
The winner came with virtually the last kick of overtime from Toufik Najem.
“It's a never-give-up attitude whether you're ahead or even, or whatever it might be. There's just no quit,” said Shelburne, President of the Mozos, about those important moments when games are decided. “That's just not something that West Texans do.”
Lucca Motta perfectly squared the ball into the center of the box for Najem. The native of Morocco, who’d only entered the game in the 96th minute, shot low, sneaking the ball past the keeper for an eventual 2-1 win.
Not bad for someone who’d been observing Ramadan for the entire day, only breaking out dates and water as soon as the sun set over the West Texas horizon.
“Everybody is expecting you to do something and with the crowd supporting and everything, that put me under a lot of pressure,” said Najem. “I wanted to do something but I was not expecting it to be like that, scoring a goal in the 118th minute.”
The drama wasn’t quite as heady in the Second Round, played on the very same field and in front of those same frenzied Mozos. Sasaki again had a huge influence on proceedings as he assisted another Martinez match-winner early in the second half before adding his own insurance goal in stoppage time to seal a 2-0 win over the Dallas-area FORO.
“They sacrificed and made history,” Coach Paul Gilbert said of his players – an assessment that fit both the First and Second Round wins. “Now we get to go to the Third Round!”
International Brigade
Officially, the only American on the Lubbock roster that took down Arizona Monsoon FC and FORO was Gilbert. Every other player was an international.
The scene at Lubbock Matadors games is always fun
“This is the first time that we met together and we had only a short period of time, like only three days to practice together and to know the way how we're gonna play,” said Najem – one of a group of Matadors players from Kentucky’s University of the Cumberlands. “The formation and everything. It wasn't easy actually, but I'm so glad that we did it.”
The players have roots in twelve different countries. Even so, Shelburne couldn’t help but note that every player wearing black and red exemplified that never-give-up attitude of West Texas. And in return, he and his Mozos wanted to embrace the player’s backgrounds too.
“We make sure that we have flags up on the fence,” said Shelburne. We make sure that we have the right flags, the flag for each country represented by the boys on our pitch.”
Lubbock is not a traditional soccer hotbed. Five hours west of Dallas, Texas, the college city is mostly known for Texas Tech University. With stars like three-time Super Bowl champion (and Sporting Kansas City co-owner) Patrick Mahomes coming from the school, or a NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament final only five years ago, soccer can get lost in the shuffle.
All smiles after the First Round upset of the Monsoon
That’s where lower-league soccer impresario Michael Hitchcock comes in. He fell in love with the community when his daughter attended Tech. He understood that the best way to capture that passion was to emulate the spirit of the university.
“We…created a brand that, while separate from the university, we have the same colors as Texas Tech has, which are very popular colors in Lubbock,” said Hitchcock, the former FC Dallas (MLS) general manager who’s affiliated with a number of lower league Open Cup head-turners of recent years – Appalachian FC among them.
“The name Matadors has a connection to Texas Tech,” he added. “The old school football teams of Texas Tech, and even the fight song of Texas Tech, is an ode to the matadors.”
The Third Rounder against New Mexico United will be a massive challenge
What these Matadors have brought to Lubbock is a club embedded in its community. A mascot (a big bull who holds up a More Noise sign) turns up at local events and club-specific beer, Dos Doctores, is sold across the city.
It's a set-up designed for players not to stick around too long – and not to come back once they’ve left. Much like how Tech gives credit to its students for interning there, hoping that leads to better things, many around the team – including fans and organizers – want players to move on and land in greener pastures.
Matadors Moving On
That was the case with goalkeeper Sam Gomez, who last month signed a professional contract with St Louis CITY2 of MLS NEXT Pro. Even Coach Gilbert announced he’ll be leaving the team following the conclusion of this year’s Open Cup run.
“We know that the best thing that could possibly happen for our boys is for them to not come back next year,” said Shelburne, the club’s super-fan. “[What we want is] for them to have the opportunity in Lubbock to have eyeballs on them so that they get a bigger and better opportunity to go on and do bigger and better things.”
Finding a road to the future is important for these Lubbock Matadors, but right here and right now they’re looking to keep up a magical run in the Open Cup. Next up: 2019 Quarterfinalists New Mexico United – the outstanding Division II pros from Albuquerque – on the road in Rio Rancho.
It will take all the support, belief (and luck) the Matadors can muster. But it’s the Cup, after all, where anything can happen.
Michael Battista is an award-winning journalist and regular contributor to TheCup.us, Hudson River Blue, & New York Sports Nation. Follow him at @MichaelBattista on X/Twitter.