Years of talks turned into months of building, as SAFC was awarded a USL expansion franchise in January for the 2016 season.
Coach Darren Powell and managing director Tim Holt built a playoff-ready club that spent the past few weeks training together as anticipation built. But years and months and weeks of planning provide no answer for how a team will fare on the field.
It took three minutes and a strike from the left foot of Jason Johnson for that answer:
San Antonio FC is ready.
Every seat in Toyota Field will be full at 7:30 p.m. Saturday when SAFC hosts Swope Park Rangers in the club’s inaugural home match. With SAFC coming off a 3-0 victory at Seattle Sounders 2 in the club’s first match, it hopes to carry the momentum home.
Standing room only and general admission tickets for Saturday are available at www.sanantoniofc.com.
“This is our opportunity to make a good first impression for our city,” Powell said.
Sunday’s debut in Seattle was the dream start for the franchise, with Johnson scoring twice in the first 10 minutes.
The first goal came as the result of strong team play, as touches by Bobby Moseley, Carlos Alvarez and Greg Cochrane set up Johnson in front of the net.
Johnson will forever hold the title of the first goal scorer in franchise history.
“First anything isn’t something that has hit me yet, but it’s a huge honor for me to be part of this club,” Johnson said. “This organization has been amazing and we want to be a club that is great for this city.”
In the 10th minute, Johnson capitalized off a bad bounce and then deftly faked out the Sounders 2 goalkeeper, burying a shot into the goal. Fejiro Okiomah added a goal in the 80th minute, giving SAFC three points.
For Johnson, the start was a giant confidence booster, and what he hopes is only the beginning of a strong season.
“We know we can do a lot better,” Johnson said. “To see that success in the first game and to see our togetherness is great, but it’s still the first game.”
Johnson was Houston’s first round pick in the 2013 MLS SuperDraft, playing with the Dynamo until 2015, when he was traded to the Chicago Fire. After scoring two goals in the 2015 season, the change of scenery has served Johnson well, matching that total in 10 minutes with San Antonio.
“He’s a really special player who has all the right gifts to be very dangerous, and he showed that,” defender Stephen McCarthy said. “He has the potential to be one of the best strikers in the league.”
-Lorne Chan
lchan@attcenter.com
Twitter:@lornechan
Years of talks turned into months of building, as SAFC was awarded a USL expansion franchise in January for the 2016 season.
Coach Darren Powell and managing director Tim Holt built a playoff-ready club that spent the past few weeks training together as anticipation built. But years and months and weeks of planning provide no answer for how a team will fare on the field.
It took three minutes and a strike from the left foot of Jason Johnson for that answer:
San Antonio FC is ready.
Every seat in Toyota Field will be full at 7:30 p.m. Saturday when SAFC hosts Swope Park Rangers in the club’s inaugural home match. With SAFC coming off a 3-0 victory at Seattle Sounders 2 in the club’s first match, it hopes to carry the momentum home.
Standing room only and general admission tickets for Saturday are available at www.sanantoniofc.com.
“This is our opportunity to make a good first impression for our city,” Powell said.
Sunday’s debut in Seattle was the dream start for the franchise, with Johnson scoring twice in the first 10 minutes.
The first goal came as the result of strong team play, as touches by Bobby Moseley, Carlos Alvarez and Greg Cochrane set up Johnson in front of the net.
Johnson will forever hold the title of the first goal scorer in franchise history.
“First anything isn’t something that has hit me yet, but it’s a huge honor for me to be part of this club,” Johnson said. “This organization has been amazing and we want to be a club that is great for this city.”
In the 10th minute, Johnson capitalized off a bad bounce and then deftly faked out the Sounders 2 goalkeeper, burying a shot into the goal. Fejiro Okiomah added a goal in the 80th minute, giving SAFC three points.
For Johnson, the start was a giant confidence booster, and what he hopes is only the beginning of a strong season.
“We know we can do a lot better,” Johnson said. “To see that success in the first game and to see our togetherness is great, but it’s still the first game.”
Johnson was Houston’s first round pick in the 2013 MLS SuperDraft, playing with the Dynamo until 2015, when he was traded to the Chicago Fire. After scoring two goals in the 2015 season, the change of scenery has served Johnson well, matching that total in 10 minutes with San Antonio.
“He’s a really special player who has all the right gifts to be very dangerous, and he showed that,” defender Stephen McCarthy said. “He has the potential to be one of the best strikers in the league.”
-Lorne Chan
lchan@attcenter.com
Twitter:@lornechan