If there is a lasting image from the first season of San Antonio FC, one from Saturday is an early contender:
If there is a lasting image from the first season of San Antonio FC, one from Saturday is an early contender:
Goalkeeper Matt Cardone, the latest to step up in SAFC’s six-game unbeaten streak, gets a bear hug from regular starting keeper Josh Ford after a 2-0 win against Vancouver on Saturday.
Ford’s pride in his teammate is as bright as his 100-watt smile, and the captain’s message is clear.
This team is together.
“We all knew there would be a point when everything would start to click,” Cardone said. “Especially a sport like soccer, where you have players coming from all over the world, it’s special to see everybody get on the same page.”
Momentum is building at Toyota Field, where SAFC is unbeaten in its last six games. The unbeaten streak includes Saturday’s win against Vancouver, which is currently tied for the USL’s Western Conference lead. SAFC also defeated third-place Colorado on June 18 and tied fifth-place OKC Energy on July 9.
By earning 14 of a possible 18 points in the past month, SAFC climbed from 13th in the standings to seventh.
The schedule doesn’t get easier for the home side, as SAFC hosts LA Galaxy II on Saturday. Galaxy II is tied with Vancouver at the top of the Western Conference table, and tickets are available at www.sanantoniofc.com
“You can feel the confidence building, can see the momentum picking up, and we couldn’t have picked a better time,” said forward Franck Tayou. “Hopefully, we can keep building on this. We want to bring a championship to this city.”
Tayou joined the team last month, and has scored three goals in five games. He said a major part of SAFC’s current run has been different players stepping up at different times.
Whether it was Cardone making his second start of the season and coming up with a penalty kick save and a clean sheet on Saturday or Tayou’s contributions off the bench, SAFC has had a string of contributions from every part of the pitch.
Twelve different players have scored goals this season, and no player has scored more than three.
“We’re not relying on individuals, and it’s healthy to see the way production is spread among our players” SAFC coach Darren Powell said. “I like to think for the opposition it is very unpredictable.”
For Powell, there’s still a long way to go. He began building the team in January, while other USL opponents already had much of their rosters set and were looking toward training camp.
While the team had a rocky start to the season, Powell maintained that the performances were there. If the team kept working and pushing, there would be a breakthrough.
Cardone said that Powell would often say in the locker room that the team was “right on the edge.” In soccer, where one breakdown or one missed touch could mean the difference between a win and a loss, “right on the edge” is a tough place to be.
“It’s very fine lines in soccer,” Powell said. “I felt earlier in the year we were playing very well, but the results weren’t necessarily going in our direction. I don’t see the performances changing a great deal, but I see the scores changing.”
The scores began to change with a 1-1 tie in Portland on June 18. SAFC flew home with a solid result and would host five of the next six games, in a crucial stretch against the conference’s top contenders.
The team has earned 14 points in six games, after earning 10 points in its first 11 matches. SAFC has scored 10 goals in the last six matches, after scoring 11 in the first 11.
“The belief is strong,” Powell said. “You have to believe in the process and draw on those experiences. When you’re close in every game or it’s one miss by a few inches or it’s a decision here or there, you have to believe that those things will balance over the course of the season.”
With 13 regular-season games remaining, Powell said the team is still a work in progress. The current unbeaten streak may be nice, but there’s room for improvement.
Three new players have signed in the last month, and Powell said the team isn’t settled on the best combination of players yet. But Powell said he is sure of one thing, that all the players share a common goal.
“We can see our goals at the end of the tunnel, and that’s great,” Tayou said. “But if you get focused on the end of the tunnel, you might miss a couple of steps you need along the way. Right now, we’re working on the journey.”
Goalkeeper Matt Cardone, the latest to step up in SAFC’s six-game unbeaten streak, gets a bear hug from regular starting keeper Josh Ford after a 2-0 win against Vancouver on Saturday.
Ford’s pride in his teammate is as bright as his 100-watt smile, and the captain’s message is clear.
This team is together.
“We all knew there would be a point when everything would start to click,” Cardone said. “Especially a sport like soccer, where you have players coming from all over the world, it’s special to see everybody get on the same page.”
Momentum is building at Toyota Field, where SAFC is unbeaten in its last six games. The unbeaten streak includes Saturday’s win against Vancouver, which is currently tied for the USL’s Western Conference lead. SAFC also defeated third-place Colorado on June 18 and tied fifth-place OKC Energy on July 9.
By earning 14 of a possible 18 points in the past month, SAFC climbed from 13th in the standings to seventh.
The schedule doesn’t get easier for the home side, as SAFC hosts LA Galaxy II on Saturday. Galaxy II is tied with Vancouver at the top of the Western Conference table, and tickets are available at www.sanantoniofc.com
“You can feel the confidence building, can see the momentum picking up, and we couldn’t have picked a better time,” said forward Franck Tayou. “Hopefully, we can keep building on this. We want to bring a championship to this city.”
Tayou joined the team last month, and has scored three goals in five games. He said a major part of SAFC’s current run has been different players stepping up at different times.
Whether it was Cardone making his second start of the season and coming up with a penalty kick save and a clean sheet on Saturday or Tayou’s contributions off the bench, SAFC has had a string of contributions from every part of the pitch.
Twelve different players have scored goals this season, and no player has scored more than three.
“We’re not relying on individuals, and it’s healthy to see the way production is spread among our players” SAFC coach Darren Powell said. “I like to think for the opposition it is very unpredictable.”
For Powell, there’s still a long way to go. He began building the team in January, while other USL opponents already had much of their rosters set and were looking toward training camp.
While the team had a rocky start to the season, Powell maintained that the performances were there. If the team kept working and pushing, there would be a breakthrough.
Cardone said that Powell would often say in the locker room that the team was “right on the edge.” In soccer, where one breakdown or one missed touch could mean the difference between a win and a loss, “right on the edge” is a tough place to be.
“It’s very fine lines in soccer,” Powell said. “I felt earlier in the year we were playing very well, but the results weren’t necessarily going in our direction. I don’t see the performances changing a great deal, but I see the scores changing.”
The scores began to change with a 1-1 tie in Portland on June 18. SAFC flew home with a solid result and would host five of the next six games, in a crucial stretch against the conference’s top contenders.
The team has earned 14 points in six games, after earning 10 points in its first 11 matches. SAFC has scored 10 goals in the last six matches, after scoring 11 in the first 11.
“The belief is strong,” Powell said. “You have to believe in the process and draw on those experiences. When you’re close in every game or it’s one miss by a few inches or it’s a decision here or there, you have to believe that those things will balance over the course of the season.”
With 13 regular-season games remaining, Powell said the team is still a work in progress. The current unbeaten streak may be nice, but there’s room for improvement.
Three new players have signed in the last month, and Powell said the team isn’t settled on the best combination of players yet. But Powell said he is sure of one thing, that all the players share a common goal.
“We can see our goals at the end of the tunnel, and that’s great,” Tayou said. “But if you get focused on the end of the tunnel, you might miss a couple of steps you need along the way. Right now, we’re working on the journey.”