A 10-day trip to Vancouver, Seattle and Portland would be an ideal vacation for many, but a stressful calendar for San Antonio FC coach Darren Powell.
Three matches in seven days, 2,000 miles from home with a much different climate, turf fields, travel and overpriced coffee in between.
SAFC has returned from the Pacific Northwest, and they’ve returned victorious.
The team remained unbeaten and picked up three wins, staying at the top of the USL standings in the process.
They began in Canada with a 2-1 win against Vancouver Whitecaps 2 on April 22, followed with a 3-2 win at Seattle Sounders 2 on April 25, and a 4-0 victory against Portland Timbers 2 on Friday.
“We knew it was going to be a tough week with short rest for each game,” Greg Cochrane said. “The fact that we were able to come away with maximum points is pretty special. If you told me before the trip we were going to get seven points, I would take it.”
Cochrane was one of two SAFC players who played every minute of the three-game trip, which was marked more by the way it was a complete team effort.
When goalkeeper Matt Cardone suffered an injury in the second half against Vancouver, Diego Restrepo stepped in and went on to record his first clean sheet against Portland.
Aly Alberto Hassan, AJ Ajeakwa, Zachary Herivaux and Devin Vega also recorded their first goals of the season on the trip.
“We used 19 players last week,” Powell said, “and the hunger and desire of all these players was very, very high.”
A 10-day trip to Vancouver, Seattle and Portland would be an ideal vacation for many, but a stressful calendar for San Antonio FC coach Darren Powell.
Three matches in seven days, 2,000 miles from home with a much different climate, turf fields, travel and overpriced coffee in between.
SAFC has returned from the Pacific Northwest, and they’ve returned victorious.
The team remained unbeaten and picked up three wins, staying at the top of the USL standings in the process.
They began in Canada with a 2-1 win against Vancouver Whitecaps 2 on April 22, followed with a 3-2 win at Seattle Sounders 2 on April 25, and a 4-0 victory against Portland Timbers 2 on Friday.
“We knew it was going to be a tough week with short rest for each game,” Greg Cochrane said. “The fact that we were able to come away with maximum points is pretty special. If you told me before the trip we were going to get seven points, I would take it.”
Cochrane was one of two SAFC players who played every minute of the three-game trip, which was marked more by the way it was a complete team effort.
When goalkeeper Matt Cardone suffered an injury in the second half against Vancouver, Diego Restrepo stepped in and went on to record his first clean sheet against Portland.
Aly Alberto Hassan, AJ Ajeakwa, Zachary Herivaux and Devin Vega also recorded their first goals of the season on the trip.
“We used 19 players last week,” Powell said, “and the hunger and desire of all these players was very, very high.”
With a record of 6-0-1, SAFC is still without a loss on the season, and four points ahead of second place Real Monarchs in the West (Monarchs has played one fewer game.)
The stats are staggering in the early going:
· SAFC leads the league in goal differential with 14, while no other team has a goal differential higher than 8.
· SAFC has scored the most goals in the USL with 18.
· It also is tied for the league lead with four clean sheets.
· Both Billy Forbes and Cesar Elizondo rank in the top five in the league in goals and assists. Forbes is tied for first with six goals and tied for third with three assists, while Elizondo is tied for fifth with four goals and third with three assists.
For his efforts, Elizondo was named the USL Player of the Week on Tuesday.
“This only lights up the good work that the team is doing,” Elizondo said. “Something like this is a team effort, and I’m proud to be a part of it.”
SAFC has only trailed once all season, giving up an early goal to the Colorado Springs Switchbacks in their 1-1 tie. Midfielder Kris Tyrpak kept the unbeaten streak alive by scoring a beautiful equalizer in the 79th minute, collecting a Shawn Chin pass off his chest, then volleying in the shot off a bounce from 18 yards out.
Powell said he saw the team begin to click in preseason, and having the first full offseason in club history surely helped.
Cochrane noted the team’s weeklong trip to Florida in March as a team-bonding experience that has been a catalyst for SAFC’s quick start.
“There are a lot of new players this season, but some players were already familiar from other teams,” Powell said. “And we saw players who came into an organization like SAFC and understood that it’s important that you embrace that culture and understand that you’re playing for a bigger cause.”
With a record of 6-0-1, SAFC is still without a loss on the season, and four points ahead of second place Real Monarchs in the West (Monarchs has played one fewer game.)
The stats are staggering in the early going:
· SAFC leads the league in goal differential with 14, while no other team has a goal differential higher than 8.
· SAFC has scored the most goals in the USL with 18.
· It also is tied for the league lead with four clean sheets.
· Both Billy Forbes and Cesar Elizondo rank in the top five in the league in goals and assists. Forbes is tied for first with six goals and tied for third with three assists, while Elizondo is tied for fifth with four goals and third with three assists.
For his efforts, Elizondo was named the USL Player of the Week on Tuesday.
“This only lights up the good work that the team is doing,” Elizondo said. “Something like this is a team effort, and I’m proud to be a part of it.”
SAFC has only trailed once all season, giving up an early goal to the Colorado Springs Switchbacks in their 1-1 tie. Midfielder Kris Tyrpak kept the unbeaten streak alive by scoring a beautiful equalizer in the 79th minute, collecting a Shawn Chin pass off his chest, then volleying in the shot off a bounce from 18 yards out.
Powell said he saw the team begin to click in preseason, and having the first full offseason in club history surely helped.
Cochrane noted the team’s weeklong trip to Florida in March as a team-bonding experience that has been a catalyst for SAFC’s quick start.
“There are a lot of new players this season, but some players were already familiar from other teams,” Powell said. “And we saw players who came into an organization like SAFC and understood that it’s important that you embrace that culture and understand that you’re playing for a bigger cause.”
Then again, it’s less than a quarter of the way through the USL season. The Texas heat hasn’t hit yet, and SAFC players and coaches are quick to note that they haven’t really won anything yet.
A tough test to their unbeaten record comes on Saturday, when SAFC is back at Toyota Field to host Sacramento, which finished at the top of the Western Conference in the 2016 regular season.
“This start breeds confidence but the team is not playing as well as it can yet, and we’re still striving every day,” Powell said. “Nothing’s going to change. We’re going to have the process we believe in.”
Powell points to Friday’s 4-0 victory against Portland as an example of the thin margins of soccer. It was a tie for the largest victory in club history, matching a 4-0 win two weeks ago against Reno 1868.
While it may have been a rout on the scoresheet, SAFC was ahead 2-0 in the 85th minute when Portland hit the post on a shot. A goal there, Powell said, and Portland could have had momentum for an equalizer that could have made for a much different flight home.
“That’s the game of soccer,” Powell said. “We know that sometimes those bounces and those plays that come down to inches will balance out in a season, sometimes it balances out in a couple weeks.”
Then again, it’s less than a quarter of the way through the USL season. The Texas heat hasn’t hit yet, and SAFC players and coaches are quick to note that they haven’t really won anything yet.
A tough test to their unbeaten record comes on Saturday, when SAFC is back at Toyota Field to host Sacramento, which finished at the top of the Western Conference in the 2016 regular season.
“This start breeds confidence but the team is not playing as well as it can yet, and we’re still striving every day,” Powell said. “Nothing’s going to change. We’re going to have the process we believe in.”
Powell points to Friday’s 4-0 victory against Portland as an example of the thin margins of soccer. It was a tie for the largest victory in club history, matching a 4-0 win two weeks ago against Reno 1868.
While it may have been a rout on the scoresheet, SAFC was ahead 2-0 in the 85th minute when Portland hit the post on a shot. A goal there, Powell said, and Portland could have had momentum for an equalizer that could have made for a much different flight home.
“That’s the game of soccer,” Powell said. “We know that sometimes those bounces and those plays that come down to inches will balance out in a season, sometimes it balances out in a couple weeks.”
Aside from the positioning in the USL standings, Powell isn’t taking much stock in the team’s hot start, with the playoffs still five months away.
The results are there and confidence is building, but the most important takeaway from April when the USL playoffs begin in October may be how clear it is that Powell likes the team he’s got.
“When you look at the players since they arrived, they’ve been hungry and humble and want to work hard every day,” Powell said. When you have that application, you hope to see the rewards. We’ve had those early, but there’s a long, long way to go. There’s only one champion at the end.”
Aside from the positioning in the USL standings, Powell isn’t taking much stock in the team’s hot start, with the playoffs still five months away.
The results are there and confidence is building, but the most important takeaway from April when the USL playoffs begin in October may be how clear it is that Powell likes the team he’s got.
“When you look at the players since they arrived, they’ve been hungry and humble and want to work hard every day,” Powell said. When you have that application, you hope to see the rewards. We’ve had those early, but there’s a long, long way to go. There’s only one champion at the end.”
