SAN DIEGO — San Antonio FC kicked off their California road trip with a 2-2 draw against the San Diego Loyal (6-4-5) at Torero Stadium on Wednesday night in the final matchup between the two clubs this season.
The Story: The result sees San Antonio pick up a point for the third straight game and score a total of five goals against the Loyal in the 2023 season.
- In their last five games, SAFC has a 1-1-3 record, earning six points out of a possible 15.
- Sam Adeniran scored his fourth goal of the season and second in the last two matches.
- Carter Manley’s goal in the 67th minute was his first of the season.
“Our pressing actions were fantastic,” SAFC Head Coach Alen Marcina said. “San Diego’s a team that wants to move the ball side to side, we didn’t allow that to happen. We created some big opportunities, scored a couple of goals, and outshot the opponent. Yes, we try to fight for the three, but we’ll take the point.”
Diving in: San Antonio FC’s defense was a staple in the 2022 season, leading the club to its first USL Championship title in club history. However, it has been a different story so far in 2023.
- San Antonio has given up a late goal for the third straight game, which saw them pick up just three out of nine possible points.
- SAFC has just three clean sheets on the season through 15 games.
- In their three straight draws, all three saw SAFC give up leads late in a flashback to the Darren Powell era.
“We understand we’ve got to find a way to turn the draws into wins,” Marcina said. “We’ve reflected as a team and these individual, lack of focus in key moments we have to improve.”
The bigger picture: Despite the draws, San Antonio is still in the thick of it in the Western Conference, trailing both the El Paso Locomotive and Sacramento Republic FC by four points after Wednesday’s match. The club faces both Sacramento and El Paso in the next few weeks.
- San Antonio had draws against both Locomotive FC and Republic FC in matches at Toyota Field earlier in the season.
“The standard is high,” SAFC defender Connor Maloney said. “We want three points, every single game. The reality is it’s not going to happen. We’ve had a couple of tough games here in a stretch here but we take away the positives and move on.”
UP NEXT: San Antonio FC is now 6-2-7 (25 points) on the season and will return to the pitch next Saturday to face Sacramento Republic FC (8-1-5) at 10 pm from Heart Health Park.
