Lucas Silva and Juan Agudelo find first goals of the regular season
SAN ANTONIO (March 9, 2024) – San Antonio FC opened the 2024 regular season with a 2-2 draw against Loudoun United FC Saturday.
Lucas Silva netted the first goal of the year for San Antonio, taking a pass from Jorge Hernandez and threading a far-post finish to put SAFC up 1-0 in the 14th minute. Loudoun pulled back even in the 18th minute, but a red card in the 29th minute would give SAFC an extra-man advantage for the rest of the match.
SAFC wasted no time getting ahead out of the break, with Juan Agudelo spinning around a defender and burying a strike in the 49th minute. Jorge Hernandez assisted on the goal once again, marking his fourth multi-assist match with the club. The visitors scored a late equalizer in the final minutes to split points on the night.
Next Up
San Antonio FC will take the road to take on the Tampa Bay Rowdies Saturday, March 16. Kickoff from Al Lang Stadium is set for 6:30 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on ESPN+. The 2024 season is presented by Toyota.
Scoring Summary:
SAFC: 1-0, Lucas Silva (Assisted by Jorge Hernandez) 14’
LDN: 1-1, Zach Ryan (Assisted by Kalil Elmedkhar) 18’
SAFC: 2-1, Juan Agudelo (Assisted by Jorge Hernandez) 49’
LDN: 2-2, Florian Valot 90’+4
Postgame Notes:
- Both SAFC scorers tonight also netted goals in preseason. Lucas Silva and Juan Agudelo both scored in the team’s last win against Austin FC II, while Agudelo also scored in the first game against Houston Dynamo 2.
- After setting the SAFC single-season record for assists last season, Jorge Hernandez continued his offensive production with two on the night.
- San Antonio remains undefeated in home openers, going 6-0-3 all-time in first matches at Toyota Field.
- Eight different players made their SAFC debuts tonight (Sisniega, Burks, Silva, Mulato, Omar, Haakenson, Lambert, Agudelo)
- Goalkeeper Pablo Sisniega made four saves to preserve the draw.
Attendance: 7,263
SAFC Starting XI: Pablo Sisniega, Shannon Gomez, Mitchell Taintor (captain), Kendall Burks, Carter Manley, Lucas Silva (Jose Mulato 80’), Mohammed Abu (Mohamed Omar 61’), Luke Haakenson (Trova Boni 87’), Kevon Lambert, Jorge Hernandez, Juan Agudelo
Substitutions Not Used: Kendall McIntosh, Richard Windbichler, Bura Nogueira, Kameron Lacey, Eduardo Fernandez, Gio Padilla
Disciplinary Summary:
LDN: Yellow Card (Erlandson) 24’
LDN: Red Card (Francois) 29’
LDN: Yellow Card (Leerman) 75’
SAFC: Yellow Card (Silva) 76’
LDN: Yellow Card (Skundrich) 90+5’
Quotes:
Head Coach Alen Marcina
(On the team’s performance…)
“I felt it was pretty clear we controlled the game but had a couple errors unfortunately. A couple errors and got punished but we did a lot of good things. I think we attempted over 600 passes, which is probably an accumulation over 10 games last year, so there’s growth in that area. Decision-making still needs work on the ball, but it will come with time. I’m confident in this group.”
(On Hernandez’s performance…)
“It’s a great boost of confidence. I believe he had an assist in every preseason game as well, so that’s a lot in a short period of time. I believe he’s the best two-way number 10 in this league. He does the work with and without the ball, and there’s very few out there that do that.”
(On Agudelo’s debut…)
“Obviously, Agudelo was fantastic. There were a lot of questions about how Agudelo fits in our game model. Agudelo also had a couple goals in preseason and a goal tonight. I mean, he was dominating, so I think that silenced a lot of critics out there. I think he’s going to do very, very well for us.”
Midfielder Jorge Hernandez
(On the team’s evolved style…)
“I’ve felt like it’s going good. You know, we had three preseason games, and every game we got better and feel like that today too. We’re getting better as every game goes on. I like it, you know, everybody’s buying in, so as long as that’s happening, we will have a good season.”
Forward Juan Agudelo
(On his overall thoughts of the match…)
“I’m a bit frustrated. I think our fans deserved a show tonight. We’re playing up a man. Our fans deserve like five goals tonight, and we weren’t able to provide that. It’s a little disappointing because I know the team that we have, and it’s a very good team. We got to get a point but overall, a bit disappointed.”
(On playing at Toyota Field…)
“Honestly, it was beautiful. Like I’ve played in big stadiums. It was loud. The field’s beautiful, the stadium is amazing. It felt like an MLS atmosphere, and I’m very excited to play here again. I wish we could play every single game of the season here, but I’m just happy for everybody that came out, and they definitely brought some noise.”
(On establishing his early connection with Hernandez…)
“Since I’ve been here in preseason, he’s impressed me. I’ve played with very good tens. Jorge’s left foot is actually a dream to play with actually as a nine and soon as I scored, I said, “First of many, bro,” because I know he’s gonna put it in. And I’m very hopeful he stays healthy because when he’s on the field, I’m gonna get chances, or whoever’s up there is gonna get chances.”