SAFC ties second-most goals in club history
SAN ANTONIO (March 18, 2026) – San Antonio FC cruised into the second round of the U.S. Open Cup Wednesday with a 6-0 victory over ASC New Stars at Toyota Field.
Alexis Souahy kicked off a busy night for the SAFC offense, finishing a curling cross from Nelson Flores Blanco in the 15th minute. Curt Calov went on to double the advantage in the 37th minute, blasting a ball in from the top of the box.
Christian Sorto buried a penalty kick in the 59th minute to put SAFC up 3-0, while Dmitrii Erofeev followed with a goal of his own just five minutes later. The two then combined for another goal in the 69th minute as Sorto weaved through a trio of New Star defenders to secure a brace.
Just six minutes after subbing onto the pitch in his club debut, forward EJ Johnson tapped in a block shot to score his first goal for the club and give San Antonio the 6-0 lead.
Scoring Summary:
SA: Alexis Souahy (Assisted by Nelson Flores Blanco) 15’
SA: Curt Calov 37’
SA: Christian Sorto (Penalty) 59’
SA: Dmitrii Erofeev 64’
SA: Christian Sorto (Assisted by Dmitrii Erofeev) 69’
SA: EJ Johnson 73’
Next Up
San Antonio FC returns to league play this Saturday, March 21, hosting New Mexico United in a rematch of last year’s Western Conference Quarterfinal. Kickoff from Toyota Field is set for 7:30 p.m., and the match will be broadcast on ESPN+. The 2026 season is presented by Toyota.
Postgame Notes:
- SAFC picks up its first Open Cup win since 2023 and will now play in the second round on March 31 or April 1.
- San Antonio’s six goals are tied for the second-most in club history.
- All five scorers for SAFC netted their first goals for the club.
- Forward Christian Sorto recorded San Antonio’s first brace in competitive play this season and the third of his career.
- In addition to scoring his first competitive goal, Dmitrii Erofeev also assisted for the first time with the club.
- Goalkeeper Richard Sanchez saved a penalty kick to keep a clean sheet in his first start of the season.
- San Antonio has held its opponents scoreless through the run of play in its three first matches of the season.
- San Antonio’s second-round U.S. Open Cup draw will be announced live by US Soccer on Friday at 11 a.m. CT.
Attendance: 1,766
SAFC Starting XI: Richard Sanchez, Nelson Flores Blanco, Tiago Suarez, Mitchell Taintor (Captain) (Danny Barbir 46’), Alexis Souahy, Rece Buckmaster, Curt Calov, Mikey Maldonado (Dmitrii Erofeev 46’), Jorge Hernandez (Cristian Parano 46’), Luke Haakenson (EJ Johnson 57’), Christian Sorto (Emil Cuello 70’)
Substitutions Not Used: Joey Batrouni, Akeem O’Connor-Ward
Quotes:
Head Coach Carlos Llamosa
(On the multiple goal scorers…)
“A lot of those guys responded to the call tonight. We have EJ, first time after two weeks of training. I think he did well. He set up and basically created the penalty kick play, and then he scored a goal, which is good. I told the guys it doesn’t matter who you play, who you’re playing against. It doesn’t matter who do you have in front of you. You just play your game. You have to create chances, and if you have those chances, make sure you put those away.”
(On holding onto the lead at halftime …)
“Something we talked about was that 2-0 wasn’t enough. Let’s say that we have the ball for probably 75-80% of the first half, we need to create more chances. We need to score more goals. Two-zero wasn’t enough, and then when they had the penalty kick, something we said at half time was make sure this doesn’t come back in the game. Make sure they don’t get confident in the game. Fortunately for us, I think Richard did well stopping that PK, and that gave us a boost to come back and score more goals.”
Defender Alexis Souahy
(On multiple players scoring…)
“Yeah, I mean the way we train, we want to score in many ways, whether it’s on the buildup play, whether it’s on a counter or whether it’s on a set piece. We want to be champions whether it’s in the league or in the Cup, you want to be the best at everything, so we train and we work out for that way, and we saw tonight, we can score in different ways.”
Forward Christian Sorto
(On the team’s second consecutive clean sheet …)
“Yeah, I think we’ve been very solid in the back. As you know, we have two clean sheets in three games, so that’s a positive, and you know, Richard [Sanchez] was able to come up big and save us from conceding a goal, so I feel like we’re all on the same page when it comes to the defensive side.”
(On changes made at halftime …)
“I think us as players, we could feel that maybe we’re a little dull in the first half with our movements and just playing really simple instead of trying to really penetrate their back line and create more opportunities, and I think we did that in the second half and the score reflects that.”
