San Antonio FC tied Arizona United SC 1-1 at Toyota Field on Sunday night, placing the club in a playoff position in the USL Western Conference. A goal from Carlos Alvarez earned the club an important point at home.
“All in all, to come out with a point puts us in a position back into the playoff spots,” SAFC Head Coach Darren Powell said. “That’s something that we wanted to maintain, and we’re still controlling our own destiny at this point towards that goal.”
Arizona United opened the scoring in the ninth minute when forward Long Tan found the end of a through-ball and slotted the ball into the back of the net. San Antonio FC responded just before the halftime whistle when midfielder Carlos Alvarez buried a shot from inside the box to level the score 1-1.
The goal was Alvarez’s third goal this season, and came after the midfielder tallied his team-leading sixth assist on Wednesday at Swope Park Rangers. Defender Max Gunderson also tallied his first assist of the season in his ninth appearance for the club.
The second half remained scoreless despite both teams creating quality chances on the attack. One of San Antonio’s most dangerous chances came in the closing minutes of the match when Shawn Chin collected a rebound following a save by Arizona goalkeeper Carl Woszcynski, but his shot went wide.
San Antonio FC now find themselves in eighth place in the league standings with four matches remaining in the season. SAFC will return to action on Sept. 10 as they host Saint Louis FC at Toyota Field.
Scoring Summary:
AZU: 0-1, Long Tan ‘9 (Tyler Blackwood assist)
SAFC: 1-1, Carlos Alvarez ’43 (Max Gunderson assist)
Disciplinary Summary:
SAFC: Yellow Card (Max Gunderson ’56)
AZU: Yellow Card (Long Tan ’72)
AZU: Yellow Card (Julian Ringhof ’75)
SAFC: Yellow Card (Matt Cardone ’79)
Attendance: 5,569
SAFC Starting XI: GK: Matt Cardone; D: Max Gunderson, Sam McBride, Biko Bradnock-Brennan, Greg Cochrane; M: Danny Garcia (Shawn Chin ’73), Rafa Castillo (c) Carlos Alvarez, Miguel Salazar, Taylor Morgan (Fejiro Okiomah ’62); F: Franck Tayou (Jason Johnson ’83)
Substitutions Not Used: Lee Johnston, Austin Dunker, Diego Garcia, Jacques Francois
Postgame Notes:
- San Antonio FC earned a 1-1 draw against Arizona United on Sunday…San Antonio finishes the year 1-1-1 against Arizona…SAFC are now unbeaten in their last three matches at Toyota Field (2-0-1)
- San Antonio FC midfielder Carlos Alvarez scored his third goal of the season, which is tied for third-most on the club…Alvarez has now scored two goals in his last three home games at Toyota Field…Alvarez led the team with four shots on the night and leads the team with six assists this season
- SAFC defender Max Gunderson started, played 90 minutes and recorded his first assist of the USL season…Gunderson has started six straight matches since defender Milton Palacios suffered a concussion on 8/6 at Sacramento Republic FC
- SAFC are now 0-7-4 when conceding the first goal in a match…SAFC 2-6-3 when being outshot by their opponents after Arizona took nine cracks at goal compared to eight by the Alamo City club
- After the draw against Arizona United SC, San Antonio FC are still unbeaten on Sundays (2-0-2)…Also on Sundays, SAFC defeated Sounders FC 2 on 4/3, tied OKC Energy FC on 5/15 and beat Roughnecks FC on 7/3.
San Antonio FC tied Arizona United SC 1-1 at Toyota Field on Sunday night, placing the club in a playoff position in the USL Western Conference. A goal from Carlos Alvarez earned the club an important point at home.
“All in all, to come out with a point puts us in a position back into the playoff spots,” SAFC Head Coach Darren Powell said. “That’s something that we wanted to maintain, and we’re still controlling our own destiny at this point towards that goal.”
Arizona United opened the scoring in the ninth minute when forward Long Tan found the end of a through-ball and slotted the ball into the back of the net. San Antonio FC responded just before the halftime whistle when midfielder Carlos Alvarez buried a shot from inside the box to level the score 1-1.
The goal was Alvarez’s third goal this season, and came after the midfielder tallied his team-leading sixth assist on Wednesday at Swope Park Rangers. Defender Max Gunderson also tallied his first assist of the season in his ninth appearance for the club.
The second half remained scoreless despite both teams creating quality chances on the attack. One of San Antonio’s most dangerous chances came in the closing minutes of the match when Shawn Chin collected a rebound following a save by Arizona goalkeeper Carl Woszcynski, but his shot went wide.
San Antonio FC now find themselves in eighth place in the league standings with four matches remaining in the season. SAFC will return to action on Sept. 10 as they host Saint Louis FC at Toyota Field.
Scoring Summary:
AZU: 0-1, Long Tan ‘9 (Tyler Blackwood assist)
SAFC: 1-1, Carlos Alvarez ’43 (Max Gunderson assist)
Disciplinary Summary:
SAFC: Yellow Card (Max Gunderson ’56)
AZU: Yellow Card (Long Tan ’72)
AZU: Yellow Card (Julian Ringhof ’75)
SAFC: Yellow Card (Matt Cardone ’79)
Attendance: 5,569
SAFC Starting XI: GK: Matt Cardone; D: Max Gunderson, Sam McBride, Biko Bradnock-Brennan, Greg Cochrane; M: Danny Garcia (Shawn Chin ’73), Rafa Castillo (c) Carlos Alvarez, Miguel Salazar, Taylor Morgan (Fejiro Okiomah ’62); F: Franck Tayou (Jason Johnson ’83)
Substitutions Not Used: Lee Johnston, Austin Dunker, Diego Garcia, Jacques Francois
Postgame Notes:
- San Antonio FC earned a 1-1 draw against Arizona United on Sunday…San Antonio finishes the year 1-1-1 against Arizona…SAFC are now unbeaten in their last three matches at Toyota Field (2-0-1)
- San Antonio FC midfielder Carlos Alvarez scored his third goal of the season, which is tied for third-most on the club…Alvarez has now scored two goals in his last three home games at Toyota Field…Alvarez led the team with four shots on the night and leads the team with six assists this season
- SAFC defender Max Gunderson started, played 90 minutes and recorded his first assist of the USL season…Gunderson has started six straight matches since defender Milton Palacios suffered a concussion on 8/6 at Sacramento Republic FC
- SAFC are now 0-7-4 when conceding the first goal in a match…SAFC 2-6-3 when being outshot by their opponents after Arizona took nine cracks at goal compared to eight by the Alamo City club
- After the draw against Arizona United SC, San Antonio FC are still unbeaten on Sundays (2-0-2)…Also on Sundays, SAFC defeated Sounders FC 2 on 4/3, tied OKC Energy FC on 5/15 and beat Roughnecks FC on 7/3.