SAN ANTONIO — Fresh off their first loss of the season, San Antonio FC returned to Toyota Field to face Phoenix Rising FC, playing to a 1-1 draw in front of 7,585 fans.
The result is the second draw for San Antonio in the last three matches and keeps their home winning streak alive at 22 matches, with the last loss coming over a calendar year ago.
“We dominated, from start to finish,” SAFC Head Coach Alen Marcina said. “Outshot them 19-3, that’s clear domination. They had no solutions for our press. We’re not a team that cares for possession, and we out-possessed them. It’s a meaningless stat to us, but even that – dominated in every facet.”
Here are three standout moments from the match:
Dominate first half
San Antonio dominated the opening 45 minutes with possession and shots. SAFC had several shots go on target but could not find the back of the net. Meanwhile, defensively, SAFC was suffocating and did not allow a shot from Phoenix until the 42nd minute.
“19-3. Dominated. Dominant, dominant,” Marcina said. “But we want three points. And we’ve got to be more clinical, we understand that. But the only thing we can do is continue to focus on what we can control.”
Fighting back
Phoenix opened the scoring in the second half with a goal from Danny Trejo in the 48th minute. San Antonio answered back 10 minutes later when Cristian Parano converted a penalty after he was tackled inside the box.
SAFC nearly took the lead later in the half with three consecutive chances but those were either blocked or parried away by the Rising keeper.
“Obviously I think our strikers are trying to make the best of the opportunities that they had, and they’re not falling right now but I know that giving them confidence and always being behind them, and keeping them upbeat, I think those chances will fall in games and we’ll be able to take full control of the game,” SAFC defender Shannon Gomez said.
Slow start?
San Antonio is 0-1-2 in their last three matches, scoring just one time in that span. Saturday’s match not only was similar to 2022 but brought up old habits and concerns. However, SAFC striker Niko Hansen said the club will be fine in the end.
“Of course it doesn’t feel as good, a loss and a draw, draw before that as well. But, wins are coming,” he said. “Those are good teams. I think we would like to win against those good teams for sure because then … we get more points, but it is what it is with that. That’s … the schedule, and we have to move forward.”
UP NEXT:
San Antonio FC is now 3-1-3 (12 points) on the season and will return to the pitch on Wednesday night for a mid-week US Open Cup matchup against MLS side Nashville SC.
(Photos courtesy of Raz Sink/Moments By Raz)
