A compact schedule for San Antonio FC continues this Saturday when the club hosts FC Tulsa for their fifth match in 14 days. It should come as no surprise at this point that the 2020 USL Championship season is unique, but quick recovery and a logjam of matches is a relatively new development for coaches and players to have to navigate. SAFC continues to prepare one game at a time as they look to continue the eight-match unbeaten run.
The shortened season is officially at its halfway point and SAFC has compiled a 5-0-3 record so far. Along with strong and impressive play on the pitch, SAFC players and coaches point to the team culture that has really helped continue the run. In a perfect world, you need both the on-field and off-field dynamics clicking, and SAFC seems to be off to a great start on both.
“It’s the total buy-in to the team culture,” SAFC Head Coach Alen Marcina said regarding the keys to their success. “This is the work of many people from the front office and technical staff to the players. It’s about the total buy-in to the team culture that we have put forth.”
“We work really hard on and off the ball,” SAFC forward Luis Solignac added. “We know there are games where we aren’t going to be good on the ball, but we still fight until the end…I think that is our identity, to fight all the time. I think that is the key to why we are unbeaten – we are really hard to beat, and we work really hard.”
SAFC welcomes Tulsa this weekend after earning its biggest win of the season on Wednesday. San Antonio defeated OKC Energy FC 4-0 thanks to goals from Solignac, PC, Taintor and Di Renzo. With the four different scorers, SAFC has now had nine different goalscorers over the course of the eight matches played in 2020. In addition to the big offensive output, SAFC also kept its fifth clean sheet in eight matches, while goalkeeper Matthew Cardone recorded his 16th shutout of all time, tying the SAFC record.
The occasion was made even more special when Leo Torres made his league debut, becoming the first full-time SAFC Pro Academy player to earn regular season minutes. The moment marked a milestone in the progression of the impressive academy.
Saturday’s visitors, FC Tulsa, come after playing to a home 2-2 draw against group rivals Austin Bold FC last Wednesday. Despite giving up two different leads in the match, Tulsa continues to be hard to beat and is one of just four remaining unbeaten sides in the league alongside SAFC, Orange County SC and the Tampa Bay Rowdies. Tulsa currently sit in second place in group D.
The last time these two sides faced, SAFC and FC Tulsa played to a 0-0 draw in Oklahoma just 10 days ago. San Antonio has compiled a 5-2-3 record against Tulsa all-time since the club’s inception in 2016.
Following the match on Saturday, San Antonio FC will finally have some time to rest before traveling to RGV FC to take on their rivals on ESPN Deportes on Friday, Aug. 28 at 7 p.m.
A compact schedule for San Antonio FC continues this Saturday when the club hosts FC Tulsa for their fifth match in 14 days. It should come as no surprise at this point that the 2020 USL Championship season is unique, but quick recovery and a logjam of matches is a relatively new development for coaches and players to have to navigate. SAFC continues to prepare one game at a time as they look to continue the eight-match unbeaten run.
The shortened season is officially at its halfway point and SAFC has compiled a 5-0-3 record so far. Along with strong and impressive play on the pitch, SAFC players and coaches point to the team culture that has really helped continue the run. In a perfect world, you need both the on-field and off-field dynamics clicking, and SAFC seems to be off to a great start on both.
“It’s the total buy-in to the team culture,” SAFC Head Coach Alen Marcina said regarding the keys to their success. “This is the work of many people from the front office and technical staff to the players. It’s about the total buy-in to the team culture that we have put forth.”
“We work really hard on and off the ball,” SAFC forward Luis Solignac added. “We know there are games where we aren’t going to be good on the ball, but we still fight until the end…I think that is our identity, to fight all the time. I think that is the key to why we are unbeaten – we are really hard to beat, and we work really hard.”
SAFC welcomes Tulsa this weekend after earning its biggest win of the season on Wednesday. San Antonio defeated OKC Energy FC 4-0 thanks to goals from Solignac, PC, Taintor and Di Renzo. With the four different scorers, SAFC has now had nine different goalscorers over the course of the eight matches played in 2020. In addition to the big offensive output, SAFC also kept its fifth clean sheet in eight matches, while goalkeeper Matthew Cardone recorded his 16th shutout of all time, tying the SAFC record.
The occasion was made even more special when Leo Torres made his league debut, becoming the first full-time SAFC Pro Academy player to earn regular season minutes. The moment marked a milestone in the progression of the impressive academy.
Saturday’s visitors, FC Tulsa, come after playing to a home 2-2 draw against group rivals Austin Bold FC last Wednesday. Despite giving up two different leads in the match, Tulsa continues to be hard to beat and is one of just four remaining unbeaten sides in the league alongside SAFC, Orange County SC and the Tampa Bay Rowdies. Tulsa currently sit in second place in group D.
The last time these two sides faced, SAFC and FC Tulsa played to a 0-0 draw in Oklahoma just 10 days ago. San Antonio has compiled a 5-2-3 record against Tulsa all-time since the club’s inception in 2016.
Following the match on Saturday, San Antonio FC will finally have some time to rest before traveling to RGV FC to take on their rivals on ESPN Deportes on Friday, Aug. 28 at 7 p.m.
