San Antonio FC beat Saint Louis FC 2-0 at World Wide Technology Soccer Park on Saturday night. Goals from Sebastien Thuriere and Rafa Castillo along with an impressive performance by goalkeeper Matt Cardone gave the Alamo City club their third consecutive win.
“I thought today was a very tight game that had playoff implications for both teams,” said SAFC Head Coach Darren Powell. “Fortunately for us tonight we took our chances in key moments of the game. The guys fought bravely, defended well and put their bodies on the line to preserve the clean sheet. I’m very proud of the way the team performed tonight.”
The first goal of the match came in the 12th minute when SAFC midfielder Sebastien Thuriere stole the ball from a Saint Louis defender and curled it from distance into the back of the net. The goal was Thuriere’s first for the club in 19 appearances.
San Antonio FC widened the gap just before the halftime whistle when midfielder Carlos Alvarez played captain Rafa Castillo towards the edge of the box, where the Colombian chipped the ball back-post to earn the visitors the 2-0 lead. The goal was Castillo’s fifth this season, making him the club’s leading-scorer while assists-leader Alvarez tallied his fifth in USL play.
The second half of the match remained scoreless despite both squads creating plenty of chances. SAFC goalkeeper Matt Cardone delivered a stellar performance, making seven saves in the match and denying a penalty to earn his third shutout for San Antonio FC. Cardone has now tallied 28 saves in eight appearances for the club.
“These are three huge points for us, it’s always tough to win on the road,” said Cardone. “We got two early goals and we defended well during the game. I thought we showed good fighting spirit to win on the road.”
The win marked three in a row for SAFC, tying their season-high winning streak after beating Arizona United and Seattle Sounders FC 2 last week. The team will now travel to Kansas City to face Swope Park Rangers on Wednesday, Aug. 31.
Scoring Summary:
SAFC: 0-1, Sebastien Thuriere ‘12
SAFC: 0-2, Rafa Castillo ’45 (Carlos Alvarez assist)
Disciplinary Summary:
STLFC: Yellow Card (Sam Fink ’28)
SAFC: Yellow Card (Max Gunderson ’60)
STLFC: Yellow Card (Patrick Doody ’88)
SAFC: Yellow Card (Rafa Castillo ’90)
Attendance: 5,262
SAFC Starting XI: GK: Matt Cardone; D: Max Gunderson, Sam McBride, Biko Bradnock-Brennan, Greg Cochrane; M: Rafa Castillo (c), Sebastien Thuriere (Jason Johnson ’85), Carlos Alvarez (Danny Garcia ’72), Miguel Salazar, Taylor Morgan (Fejiro Okiomah ’60); F: Franck Tayou (Manolo Sanchez ’89)
Substitutions Not Used: Lee Johnston, Austin Dunker, Shawn Chin
Postgame Notes:
- San Antonio FC recorded their third consecutive win, beating Saint Louis FC 2-0 on Saturday…marks the second time the club has recorded three straight wins and first since SAFC won three straight from 6/18 to 7/3
- San Antonio FC kept their sixth clean sheet of the season, which marked the second time this season the club has recorded back-to-back clean sheets in USL play (also 7/9 and 7/16)…SAFC also pitched a shutout last Saturday vs. Seattle Sounders FC 2
- SAFC goalkeeper Matt Cardone was named the SWBC Man of the Match after keeping his third clean sheet on the season (also 7/16 vs. Whitecaps FC 2; 8/20 vs. Seattle Sounders FC 2)…Cardone made seven total saves, which marks his second-highest save total on the season (nine, 7/30 at Swope Park Rangers)…Cardone saved his second penalty kick of the season in stoppage time
- SAFC midfielder Rafa Castillo scored his fifth goal in USL play to double the SAFC lead at the end of the first half…Castillo now leads the club in goals and has recorded two assists in 1,900 minutes this year
- San Antonio FC are now 9-2-2 when scoring first in a match and recorded their second win when being outshot by their opponents…SAFC are now 5-8-3 when allowing more than 10 shots by the opposition after allowing 12 to Saint Louis tonight
- SAFC midfielder Carlos Alvarez collected his team-leading fifth assist of the season in the first half…Alvarez surpasses his assist total from last season when he collected four with the Charlotte Independence in 22 appearances
- SAFC won their first match of the season in a game where they did not record at least 10 shots…San Antonio tallied a total of eight shots and recorded their first win on the season when taking 6 to 9 shots in a single game
- San Antonio FC midfielder Sebastien Thuriere scored his first goal of the season to give San Antonio an early first half lead…Thuriere recorded his first assist for the club last week on 8/17 vs. Arizona United SC
San Antonio FC beat Saint Louis FC 2-0 at World Wide Technology Soccer Park on Saturday night. Goals from Sebastien Thuriere and Rafa Castillo along with an impressive performance by goalkeeper Matt Cardone gave the Alamo City club their third consecutive win.
“I thought today was a very tight game that had playoff implications for both teams,” said SAFC Head Coach Darren Powell. “Fortunately for us tonight we took our chances in key moments of the game. The guys fought bravely, defended well and put their bodies on the line to preserve the clean sheet. I’m very proud of the way the team performed tonight.”
The first goal of the match came in the 12th minute when SAFC midfielder Sebastien Thuriere stole the ball from a Saint Louis defender and curled it from distance into the back of the net. The goal was Thuriere’s first for the club in 19 appearances.
San Antonio FC widened the gap just before the halftime whistle when midfielder Carlos Alvarez played captain Rafa Castillo towards the edge of the box, where the Colombian chipped the ball back-post to earn the visitors the 2-0 lead. The goal was Castillo’s fifth this season, making him the club’s leading-scorer while assists-leader Alvarez tallied his fifth in USL play.
The second half of the match remained scoreless despite both squads creating plenty of chances. SAFC goalkeeper Matt Cardone delivered a stellar performance, making seven saves in the match and denying a penalty to earn his third shutout for San Antonio FC. Cardone has now tallied 28 saves in eight appearances for the club.
“These are three huge points for us, it’s always tough to win on the road,” said Cardone. “We got two early goals and we defended well during the game. I thought we showed good fighting spirit to win on the road.”
The win marked three in a row for SAFC, tying their season-high winning streak after beating Arizona United and Seattle Sounders FC 2 last week. The team will now travel to Kansas City to face Swope Park Rangers on Wednesday, Aug. 31.
Scoring Summary:
SAFC: 0-1, Sebastien Thuriere ‘12
SAFC: 0-2, Rafa Castillo ’45 (Carlos Alvarez assist)
Disciplinary Summary:
STLFC: Yellow Card (Sam Fink ’28)
SAFC: Yellow Card (Max Gunderson ’60)
STLFC: Yellow Card (Patrick Doody ’88)
SAFC: Yellow Card (Rafa Castillo ’90)
Attendance: 5,262
SAFC Starting XI: GK: Matt Cardone; D: Max Gunderson, Sam McBride, Biko Bradnock-Brennan, Greg Cochrane; M: Rafa Castillo (c), Sebastien Thuriere (Jason Johnson ’85), Carlos Alvarez (Danny Garcia ’72), Miguel Salazar, Taylor Morgan (Fejiro Okiomah ’60); F: Franck Tayou (Manolo Sanchez ’89)
Substitutions Not Used: Lee Johnston, Austin Dunker, Shawn Chin
Postgame Notes:
- San Antonio FC recorded their third consecutive win, beating Saint Louis FC 2-0 on Saturday…marks the second time the club has recorded three straight wins and first since SAFC won three straight from 6/18 to 7/3
- San Antonio FC kept their sixth clean sheet of the season, which marked the second time this season the club has recorded back-to-back clean sheets in USL play (also 7/9 and 7/16)…SAFC also pitched a shutout last Saturday vs. Seattle Sounders FC 2
- SAFC goalkeeper Matt Cardone was named the SWBC Man of the Match after keeping his third clean sheet on the season (also 7/16 vs. Whitecaps FC 2; 8/20 vs. Seattle Sounders FC 2)…Cardone made seven total saves, which marks his second-highest save total on the season (nine, 7/30 at Swope Park Rangers)…Cardone saved his second penalty kick of the season in stoppage time
- SAFC midfielder Rafa Castillo scored his fifth goal in USL play to double the SAFC lead at the end of the first half…Castillo now leads the club in goals and has recorded two assists in 1,900 minutes this year
- San Antonio FC are now 9-2-2 when scoring first in a match and recorded their second win when being outshot by their opponents…SAFC are now 5-8-3 when allowing more than 10 shots by the opposition after allowing 12 to Saint Louis tonight
- SAFC midfielder Carlos Alvarez collected his team-leading fifth assist of the season in the first half…Alvarez surpasses his assist total from last season when he collected four with the Charlotte Independence in 22 appearances
- SAFC won their first match of the season in a game where they did not record at least 10 shots…San Antonio tallied a total of eight shots and recorded their first win on the season when taking 6 to 9 shots in a single game
- San Antonio FC midfielder Sebastien Thuriere scored his first goal of the season to give San Antonio an early first half lead…Thuriere recorded his first assist for the club last week on 8/17 vs. Arizona United SC