Nyagurungo’s Brace Leads Nona FC to Back-to-Back Wins

WINTER PARK, Fla. – Brandon Nyagurungo scored twice to make the difference as the Longhorns topped Brooke House FC, 2-1, on Saturday morning at Showalter Field.

The Black and Orange entered the match searching for victory as they looked to keep pace with league-leaders Sporting Club JAX.

 Nona FC (4-3-0, Southeast Division) looked to ride the momentum from the victory against Brooke House FC (3-3-2, Southeast Division) only three days prior, starting off the match on the front foot. In the 12th minute, Nyagurungo received a chipped pass on the left wing from Andre Navas and cut inside to shoot. His effort was blocked, and the deflection fell to Paulo Alves, who spun around and delivered a shot that Brooke House goalkeeper Chema Preciado reacted to quickly to parry away.

Only six minutes later, Jemone Barclay dashed down the left wing bypassing his defender before putting in a dangerous cross that Preciado punched out. Christian Acevedo pounced on the loose ball firing a rocket shot on goal, but Preciado once again kept Brooke House in the match.

Just before the halftime break, the Black and Orange put together one more attacking move looking to score. Barclay took advantage of a poor touch from Brooke House midfielder Finlay Prain before exchanging passes with Abdou Mane, who bounced Barclay’s pass back to him with a back-heel flick. The Jamaican winger then passed the ball across the penalty area to find captain Paulo Alves, who unleashed a powerful strike that forced another acrobatic save out of Preciado.

The Longhorns finally broke the deadlock in the 56th minute, thanks to the first of two Nyagurungo strikes. Andre Navas received the ball in the middle of the field before lofting a pass to Nyagurungo, who wrong-footed his defender and sent the ball past Preciado into the bottom-right corner to open the scoring for Nona.

However, Brooke House FC responded just 15 minutes from time, when brothers Kobie and Karson Vazquez linked up to score the equalizing goal.

Karson Vazquez received the ball on the left wing before finding Kobie Vazquez with a cross into the box that he slotted into the right corner of the net.

As stoppage time grew closer, Nona had yet to find a winner, until the goalscorer came to the rescue. Barclay received a pass on the right side, who fed the oncoming Alex Ferenac. His shot was saved, before falling back to Barclay, who found Nyagurungo standing smartly onside near the left goal post to notch the go-ahead goal.

The late goal surpasses last week’s clincher for the latest game winning strike for Nona this season.

Nyagurungo’s brace is the second for the Longhorns this season, after Christian Kraus achieved the same feat against the same opponent earlier in the campaign. He became the seventh player in club history to score two goals in a game, joining Pedro Lucas (2022), Che Richards (2022), Tarik Pannholzer (2023), Danilo Seglio (2023), Christian Kraus (2024, 2025), and Gunnar Studenhofft (2024).

Barclay’s assist also moves him up the record lists, as he now moves into third place for the most assists of all-time for Nona FC with four.

He also became the first player this season to record a goal contribution in back-to-back games.

The victory helps the Black and Orange keep pace with league leaders Sporting Club JAX, and becomes the fourth time that a Nona FC team has beaten the same opponent three times in a season. Brevard SC in 2023, Gainesville KF in 2024, and Brevard SC in 2024 are the other three teams to suffer the same fate to Nona.

The contest also marks the first time that the Longhorns retook the lead after conceding since July 9, 2024 at Brevard SC, when Joshua Ramsey’s winning goal in the 73rd minute led to a 5-2 triumph.

Nona FC will now prepare for a pivotal matchup at Austin-Tindall Sports Complex when it hosts Brave SC in the second edition of the Rodeo Derby this season on June 25 at 7 p.m.

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