Alex Greive and Luke Haakenson net scores to give SAFC its third-straight win
OAKLAND, Calif. (March 22, 2025) – San Antonio FC earned its third consecutive win and first road victory of the season, defeating Oakland Roots SC 2-1 Saturday.
Alex Greive quieted the home crowd early with a quick strike through the Oakland defense to put SAFC up 1-0 in the 5th minute. San Antonio conceded its first goal of the season shortly after in the 7th minute as the Roots equalized with a bicycle kick to goal.
Luke Haakenson gave SAFC the lead back in the second half and floating it over the Oakland goalkeeper to send SAFC back home with all three points.
Scoring Summary:
SA: Alex Greive (Assisted by Jake LaCava) 5’
OAK: Justin Rasmussen 7’
SA: Luke Haakenson 69’
Next Up
San Antonio FC is back on the road to face USL Championship newcomer Lexington SC Saturday, March 29. Kickoff is set for 6:00 p.m. CT, and the match will be broadcast on CBS Sports Golazo Network. The 10th anniversary season is presented by Toyota.
Postgame Notes:
- SAFC improves to 3-0-0 on the season with 9 points, sitting atop the Western Conference standings in 1st place.
- San Antonio’s three consecutive wins to start the season ties a club-best three matches in, also done in 2022.
- SAFC remains undefeated against Oakland Roots all-time, leading the series 4-0-3.
- Forward Alex Greive scored his first goal for the club.
- Midfielder Luke Haakenson scored his second goal in as many matches, leading the team this season, and the fifth in his SAFC career.
- SAFC has scored in its last nine USL Championship matches dating back to last season.
- Greive and midfielder Juan Osorio made their first starts for the club, while midfielder Luke Haakenson made his first start of the season.
- Midfielder Dmitrii Erofeev made his SAFC debut in the match, subbing on for the final 13 minutes.
- San Antonio is undefeated in its last eight matches when scoring first.
SAFC Starting XI: Richard Sanchez, Mitchell Taintor, Alex Crognale, Jimmy Medranda (Lucio Berron 79’), Almir Soto, Juan Osorio (Alexis Souahy 77’), Nicky Hernandez (Rece Buckmaster 61’), Jorge Hernandez, Luke Haakenson, Jake LaCava (Dmitrii Erofeev 77’), Alex Greive (Diogo Pacheco 34’)
Substitutions Not Used: Juan Agudelo, Daniel Namani
Disciplinary Summary:
SA: Yellow Card (Juan Osorio) 15’
OAK: Yellow Card (Camden Riley) 28’
SA: Yellow Card (Diogo Pacheco) 38’
OAK: Yellow Card (Tyler Gibson) 45+1’
OAK: Yellow Card (Jose Sinisterra) 68’
SA: Yellow Card (Jorge Hernandez) 75’
OAK: Yellow Card (Jake Johnson) 83’
SA: Yellow Card (Richard Sanchez) 89’
Quotes:
Head Coach Carlos Llamosa
(On the team’s first road win…)
“This one was a big test for us, playing away first time of the year in a good, tough environment. Congratulations to Oakland Roots, had a great crowd out there, but we took the game in our favor. We dictated the tempo of the game, and for the most part, we controlled the game. When they tied the game, it was a play that we couldn’t control. Unbelievable goal – bicycle kick – that was out of our control, but I think the guys in the second half came out strong, put some passes together, and that’s when we scored the second goal. Obviously, the other coach brought a lot of guys up front, and then the game became a fight, and I think our guys responded to keep the lead.”
(On heading into the next week on the road…)
“Tonight, we’re enjoying this victory. On Monday, we’re going to start working on Lexington. That’s a great team and a great venue, so we have to do our work, turn the page, and get ready for Lexington.”
Defender Mitchell Taintor
(On the win…)
“It was a really tough environment, an amazing environment so all the congrats to the Roots organization … It was a really amazing experience for us to play in that environment and incredibly grateful to all the guys for the effort they put in, especially the guys coming in off the bench. It was a massive three points, overcame adversity, and I just couldn’t be happier with everyone tonight.”
(On the team’s mentality after giving up the equalizing goal…)
“A good recipe for winning is scoring first and hopefully getting a shutout. It was an incredible goal for them. We can’t really be mad at that. Obviously, if you want to be nit-picky, there’s some things we could’ve done to prevent it, but that’s the game. We bounced back and dealt with the adversity really well. No one put their heads down. We were brave in front of a massive crowd, so we’re all super happy to bounce back and stay perfect on the season.
Forward Alex Greive
(On the win …)
“Really good performance, I think maybe the first half, we didn’t play out as much as we would’ve liked, but to win anywhere away from home in this league, especially in front of 25,000 [fans], that’s a big result and one we’re really happy with. I think the boys were really excited all week, as soon as we knew it was a sellout, so really excited to play in that sort of artmosphere and I think we got out of the box really quick and unfortunately conceded straight after, but I think we managed it well and ultimately got the win.”
