Diogo Pacheco nets for SAFC in first start back from injury
SAN ANTONIO (August 2, 2025) – San Antonio FC fell in its return to league play Saturday, dropping a 1-3 result to Sacramento Republic FC at Toyota Field.
The visitors jumped on top first with a goal in the 33rd minute.
SAFC immediately answered with some crafty combo play in a give-and-go goal, as Jorge Hernandez sent a backheel pass to Diogo Pacheco, who paced past a group of defenders for the finish to even things up a minute later.
Sacramento pulled back ahead with a goal in the 82nd minute, sealing its victory with another score at the beginning of stoppage time.
Scoring Summary:
SAC: Lee Desmond (Assisted by Jack Gurr) 33’
SA: Diogo Pacheco (Assisted by Jorge Hernandez) 34’
SAC: Khori Bennett 82’
SAC: Cristian Parano (Assisted by Rodrigo Lopez) 90+1’
Next Up
San Antonio FC heads back to the road, visiting Las Vegas Lights FC Saturday, Aug. 9. Kickoff is set for 9:30 p.m. CT, and the match will be broadcast on FanDuel Sports Network and ESPN+. The 10th anniversary season is presented by Toyota.
Postgame Notes:
- SAFC drops to 8-6-3 on the season, now in 3rd place in the Western Conference standings with 27 points.
- Forward Diogo Pacheco scored his second goal of the campaign, with midfielder Jorge Hernandez recording his second assist.
- Hernandez’s assist was the 21st of his SAFC career, the most all-time in club history.
- Pacheco and Hernandez made their first starts back from injury, having also subbed in last Saturday’s contest against New Mexico.
- San Antonio has scored in its last 19 USL Championship home games.
- Goalkeeper Richard Sanchez made his first appearance back from injury since July 4, while defender Mohamed Omar made his first appearance back from injury since May 17.
Attendance: 5,494
SAFC Starting XI: Richard Sanchez, Alex Crognale, Mitchell Taintor (Captain), Rece Buckmaster (Abdi Salim 86’), Harvey Neville, Almir Soto (Mohamed Omar 72’), Lucio Berron, Luke Haakenson, Jorge Hernandez (Dmitrii Erofeev 86’), Diogo Pacheco (Jake LaCava 60’), Juan Agudelo (Jimmy Medranda 72’)
Substitutions Not Used: Dyllan Mendoza, Daniel Namani, Alexis Souahy, Landry Walker
Disciplinary Summary:
SA: Yellow Card (Mitchell Taintor) 13’
SA: Yellow Card (Luke Haakenson) 31’
SA: Yellow Card (Almir Soto) 62’
SAC: Yellow Card (Blake Willey) 64’
SAC: Yellow Card (Jared Timmer) 75’
SAC: Yellow Card (Rodrigo Lopez) 84’
Quotes:
Head Coach Carlos Llamosa
(On the result…)
“What we saw out there, we went from a good first half to a terrible second half. I don’t know why we changed so much. I don’t think Sacramento changed. They kept the same formation. They kept pressing the same way with a 5-2-3 formation, and we started playing long balls suddenly in the second half … We looked flat, no bite, no competition, so as I said, it looked like they wanted it more than us.”
(On Sacramento’s second goal…)
“I remember that goal well because there was a clearance from the back, and we didn’t fight enough to win that second ball. We let him drop the ball on the ground and then – credit to the guy who saw the space – he played that ball behind our back line, and we were flat-footed facing the ball. We weren’t ready to play … As I say, second balls are important. The first half we were doing that. We had control of the game. We had 68% to 32% possession and on second balls, shots on goal, we overplayed them, and then suddenly the second half, everything changed.”
Midfielder Lucio Berron
(On the difference between the first and second halves…)
“I think we did so much good stuff in the first half to win the game, and then we show up the second half without the desire to play this game that we had in the first half. I think I feel like that’s why it’s disappointing because we set the bar so high in the first half, and then we didn’t manage to achieve the goals that we wanted for this game … I feel we have a team with such experienced guys and so many good players, playing like we played in the second half, it surprised me a lot, but it’s good that it happens now in the middle of the season, and we can work from this and get better. We talked after the game today, and everything was said, and we all said to get better from here.”
(On what to focus on preparing for Las Vegas next week…)
“I think we gotta work harder, of course, and don’t let us get loose. We need to keep working hard as a team and keep the standard high. I think we had a few good games. We won four in a row, and we dropped the standard a little bit, so now in practice, I think the goal is to keep our standards high and work harder.”
