LAS VEGAS (Oct. 3, 2026) – San Antonio FC battled Las Vegas Lights FC on the road Saturday night but ultimately fell 1-0 at Cashman Field.
The Lights scored in the final minutes of the first half, punching in a second-chance ball after the initial save that ended up being the difference maker.
SAFC continued to push for an equalizer in the second half, creating late pressure with nine shots but was unable to find the final touch as Las Vegas held on to secure the result.
Scoring Summary:
LV: Manuel Arteaga 45+3’
Next Up
San Antonio FC heads to California for its final road game of the regular season, facing Oakland Roots SC on Saturday, October 10. Kickoff is set for 9:00 p.m. CT, and the match will be broadcast on ESPN+. The 2026 season is presented by Toyota.
Postgame Notes:
- San Antonio falls to 9-7-11 on the season with 38 points, sitting in 8th place in the Western Conference standings.
- SAFC tied Las Vegas in shots with 14, while holding 53.9% possession in the match.
- Goalkeeper Joey Batrouni made six saves in the match, matching his career-high and San Antonio’s season-high.
SAFC Starting XI: Joey Batrouni, Emil Cuello, Alex Crognale, Mitchell Taintor (Captain), Tiago Suarez, Akeem O’Connor-Ward, Mikey Maldonado, Nicky Hernandez (Lilian Ricol 25’), Lucio Berron (Nelson Flores Blanco 70’), Cristian Parano (Diogo Pacheco 70’), Christian Sorto (Andres Paredes 46’ (Luke Haakenson 53’))
Substitutions Not Used: Danny Barbir, Daniel Namani
Disciplinary Summary:
SA: Yellow Card (Nicky Hernandez) 15’
SA: Yellow Card (Lucio Berron) 45+5’
LV: Yellow Card (Nyk Sessock) 59’
LV: Yellow Card (Triston Henry) 84’
SA: Yellow Card (Alex Crognale) 87’
Quotes:
Head Coach Carlos Llamosa
(On the loss…)
“It’s a tough result. We were playing against a direct opponent, a team who is behind us. Obviously, we were looking for the good result tonight, but we couldn’t get it. In the first half, we have a couple chances on set pieces. In the second half, also being down 1-0, we have like two or three chances, but we need to do better putting the chances away. We want to make playoffs and be a contender.”
(On lessons the team can take away from the match…)
“First of all, be compact. You know, make good decisions … It was kind of an even game. In the second half, it probably opened up a little bit when we start pushing the lines and pushing players higher to look for the attack, but in the first half we were very high, and then for a few seconds that we fell asleep, we gave up an easy ball.”
(On closing out the season…)
“We have to be confident. We have to have a good mentality, obviously knowing the responsibility that we need to win. We need to collect points. As I told the guys, we weren’t at the bottom trying to climb up the table, but little by little, the other teams are catching up, so we need to do our job, to perform better and try to get points in the last three games.”
Midfielder Lucio Berron
(On the result …)
“Of course, we’re disappointed. I think the group needs to realize now that we’re in a tough spot. We need to do better. It’s not good enough what we did tonight. We all know that it’s a good thing that there’s not getting lower than this. There’s just getting better from here and learn from what we did on the field, but we need to be our own critics and talk to ourselves and understand that what we did today is not enough. What we did against Tampa wasn’t enough, and from here on, we need to erase it. If not, we’re going to be out of playoffs, which would be a shame because we got a great team, and we represent San Antonio, and the standard is pretty high. We’re one of the best clubs in the league, and not making it to playoffs will be a great disappointment, not just for us, but for the city of San Antonio, so moving on, we need to understand as a group what’s on the line and step it up as fast as we can.”
(On the team’s mentality…)
“The thing giving us confidence is that there’s room for improvement. I think we need to understand where we are on the table. We can’t get comfortable. We gotta go to Oakland now and get the three points, and that should be the mentality the whole week of training to raise the standard, because again, what we did today wasn’t enough, and if we go to Oakland with the same mentality, with the same plan, I don’t think it’s gonna work out. We need to get in our heads and understand it’s do-or-die.”
