Yet another crucial piece of the San Antonio FC inaugural squad is set to return in 2017. Defender Stephen McCarthy will return to the club next season after a successful campaign that was ended prematurely due to injury. After spending time playing for clubs in top leagues such as Major League Soccer and the Veikkausliga (Finland), McCarthy looks forward to continuing to build a bright future with San Antonio FC.
A big factor in McCarthy’s decision to stay in the Alamo City was staying close to friends and family in his home state of Texas. Furthermore, the 28-year-old saw the opportunity to continue working with the club and its parent organization, Spurs Sports & Entertainment, to reach their aspirations to become an MLS club.
“San Antonio FC has all the resources to make it to the top league,” McCarthy said. “Having played in MLS, I can attest to that first-hand. I also think San Antonio will be able to make that jump because there are so many good people working at the organization, and that’s important.”
McCarthy has been a prominent figure in the club since its early days. The center-back was the first defensive player to ever sign for SAFC, and started in all 19 of his appearances in 2016, tallying two goals and recording one assist before suffering an arm injury that kept him out for the last eight matches of the season.
Despite his prominence in the lineup and the team’s solid performances throughout their inaugural campaign, McCarthy isn’t shy about admitting that there’s plenty of room for improvement. One of his top objectives for the team in 2017 is to capitalize on opportunities and not let results slip away.
“As a group we need to win, that’s really all it comes down to,” McCarthy said. “There were a lot of games last year where we should have taken more points than we did, and we would’ve had a pretty successful year had we done so, so I think this year is about getting the job done.”
Another reason McCarthy is determined to get better results next year is to repay the affection that SAFC fans showed for the club in its inaugural year. After experiencing supporter groups in the top leagues of American and Finnish soccer, McCarthy truly appreciates the love and passion that San Antonio fans bring to Toyota Field, and he feels the team should respond with positive results.
“The fans here are incredible,” McCarthy said. “No matter what happened, even if we lost games, they always had our backs. That’s not true of supporters in all other places, so it’s very important to me and the whole team to feel the love from the stands. It was incredible, there were a few games that were close to selling out, and we had people’s support no matter what. I love the fans.”
McCarthy previously spent three years playing for the New England Revolution, where he was named the Revs’ Best Defender in 2012 as voted by the team’s media. In Finland, he played for Kuopion Palloseura (KuPS), a historical five-time champion club in the country’s premier league who holds the record for most consecutive years in the top-flight.
The defender opted to move back to Texas in 2016, which led him to San Antonio FC ahead of the club’s inaugural season. Since then he has adopted a leadership role in the squad, with his experience aiding him to lead his teammates by example. McCarthy’s prominence in the game even earned him a place in one of the four player banners that hang on the west side of the stadium, along with inaugural season teammates Rafa Castillo, Fejiro Okiomah, and Michael Reed.
With the 2017 season quickly approaching, McCarthy is focused on getting fit and preparing for the year two in the club’s history. Including him, San Antonio FC has now announced nine players on next season’s roster, and McCarthy is looking forward to beginning a new chapter in the club’s history.
“It’s incredible and I’m very excited for the upcoming season,” McCarthy said. “There are so many good players on the roster already. We’re going to win games next year, and we want to bring a championship to San Antonio.”
Yet another crucial piece of the San Antonio FC inaugural squad is set to return in 2017. Defender Stephen McCarthy will return to the club next season after a successful campaign that was ended prematurely due to injury. After spending time playing for clubs in top leagues such as Major League Soccer and the Veikkausliga (Finland), McCarthy looks forward to continuing to build a bright future with San Antonio FC.
A big factor in McCarthy’s decision to stay in the Alamo City was staying close to friends and family in his home state of Texas. Furthermore, the 28-year-old saw the opportunity to continue working with the club and its parent organization, Spurs Sports & Entertainment, to reach their aspirations to become an MLS club.
“San Antonio FC has all the resources to make it to the top league,” McCarthy said. “Having played in MLS, I can attest to that first-hand. I also think San Antonio will be able to make that jump because there are so many good people working at the organization, and that’s important.”
McCarthy has been a prominent figure in the club since its early days. The center-back was the first defensive player to ever sign for SAFC, and started in all 19 of his appearances in 2016, tallying two goals and recording one assist before suffering an arm injury that kept him out for the last eight matches of the season.
Despite his prominence in the lineup and the team’s solid performances throughout their inaugural campaign, McCarthy isn’t shy about admitting that there’s plenty of room for improvement. One of his top objectives for the team in 2017 is to capitalize on opportunities and not let results slip away.
“As a group we need to win, that’s really all it comes down to,” McCarthy said. “There were a lot of games last year where we should have taken more points than we did, and we would’ve had a pretty successful year had we done so, so I think this year is about getting the job done.”
Another reason McCarthy is determined to get better results next year is to repay the affection that SAFC fans showed for the club in its inaugural year. After experiencing supporter groups in the top leagues of American and Finnish soccer, McCarthy truly appreciates the love and passion that San Antonio fans bring to Toyota Field, and he feels the team should respond with positive results.
“The fans here are incredible,” McCarthy said. “No matter what happened, even if we lost games, they always had our backs. That’s not true of supporters in all other places, so it’s very important to me and the whole team to feel the love from the stands. It was incredible, there were a few games that were close to selling out, and we had people’s support no matter what. I love the fans.”
McCarthy previously spent three years playing for the New England Revolution, where he was named the Revs’ Best Defender in 2012 as voted by the team’s media. In Finland, he played for Kuopion Palloseura (KuPS), a historical five-time champion club in the country’s premier league who holds the record for most consecutive years in the top-flight.
The defender opted to move back to Texas in 2016, which led him to San Antonio FC ahead of the club’s inaugural season. Since then he has adopted a leadership role in the squad, with his experience aiding him to lead his teammates by example. McCarthy’s prominence in the game even earned him a place in one of the four player banners that hang on the west side of the stadium, along with inaugural season teammates Rafa Castillo, Fejiro Okiomah, and Michael Reed.
With the 2017 season quickly approaching, McCarthy is focused on getting fit and preparing for the year two in the club’s history. Including him, San Antonio FC has now announced nine players on next season’s roster, and McCarthy is looking forward to beginning a new chapter in the club’s history.
“It’s incredible and I’m very excited for the upcoming season,” McCarthy said. “There are so many good players on the roster already. We’re going to win games next year, and we want to bring a championship to San Antonio.”