North Texas Soccer Club kicked off its season with strong 3-2 victory over the Chatanooga Red Wolves at Toyota Stadium Saturday night.
Ricardo Pepi continued his goalscoring run, recording the USL League One's first ever hattrick.
In the 13th minute, Pepi jumped on a through ball, fighting over a Chatanooga defender and poking it past keeper Alex Mengels to give NTSC an early 1-0 lead.
Pepi added his second goal in the 62nd minute. Winger Oscar Romero broke free and played a ball in the middle, forcing Red Wolves defenders to slide at the ball. Pepi latched onto the free ball, tapping it in on the open net to push it to 2-0.