Jake LaCava scores decisive early goal for SAFC
SAN ANTONIO (June 28, 2025) – San Antonio FC remained perfect in the USL Jägermeister Cup with its third straight win in the tournament, defeating Union Omaha 1-0 Saturday.
San Antonio took advantage of a miscue of an Omaha miscue in goal as Jake LaCava pounced on a rebounded shot to score the game-winning goal in the 9th minute.
In his first professional start, homegrown talent Joey Batrouni made three saves to post his first clean sheet and the team’s third in the competition.
SAFC closes out group-stage play on Saturday, July 26, when it hosts New Mexico United for a chance to move onto the knockout round.
Scoring Summary:
SA: Jake LaCava 9’
Next Up
San Antonio FC returns to league play next week, traveling to Copa Tejas rival El Paso Locomotive FC on Friday, July 4. Kickoff is set for 8:00 p.m. CT, and the match will be broadcast on ESPN+. The 10th anniversary season is presented by Toyota.
Postgame Notes:
- SAFC improves to 3-0-0 in the USL Jägermeister Cup, remaining in first place in the Group 2 standings.
- San Antonio evens the all-time series with Union Omaha at 1-1-0, avenging its loss in the U.S. Open Cup back in April.
- With a win or draw in regulation against New Mexico on July 26, SAFC will clinch Group 2 and move onto the knockout round of the Jägermeister Cup.
- Forward Jake LaCava bagged his second goal across all competitions this season, both being game-winning scores.
- Former Ricos SAFC Pro Academy member and San Antonio native Joey Batrouni made his first professional start and shutout.
- San Antonio outshot Omaha 14-11, leading the Owls in shots on target 6-2.
- SAFC is the only team in USL Championship and League One to not allow a goal in USL Jägermeister Cup play with a trio of clean sheets through its first three matches.
Attendance: 6,183
SAFC Starting XI: Joey Batrouni, Rece Buckmaster (Alexis Souahy 90’), Mitchell Taintor (Captain), Alex Crognale, Nelson Flores Blanco, Almir Soto, Lucio Berron, Nicky Hernandez (Jimmy Medranda 65’), Luke Haakenson (Juan Agudelo 82’), Andres Paredes, Jake LaCava (Dmitrii Erofeev 65’)
Substitutions Not Used: Shannon Gomez, Dyllan Mendoza, Angel Mercado, Daniel Namani, Abdi Salim
Disciplinary Summary:
SA: Yellow Card (Lucio Berron) 27’
OMA: Yellow Card (Max Schneider) 43’
OMA: Yellow Card (Charlie Ostrem) 51’
SA: Yellow Card (Nicky Hernandez) 56’
OMA: Yellow Card (Kwaku Owusu) 69’
OMA: Yellow Card (Patricio Botello-Faz) 72’
OMA: Yellow Card (Joe Gallardo) 83’
OMA: Yellow Card (Marco Milanese) 90+5’
Quotes:
Head Coach Carlos Llamosa
(On the win…)
“Happy with the result, we got another win. Some parts of the game were good. I believe we created chances. As I say always, you need to put those chances away. You know, at the end, could be 3-0, 4-0, but to finish that game 1-0 with the amount of opportunities that we created one-vs-one against their goalie that part, I think we need to be better, but I always told the guys, no matter how beautiful or how bad we play, make sure we walk off the field with the result, and tonight was one of those games. We don’t put our best performance out there, but we get the result.”
(On the team not conceding a goal in the tournament…)
“They’ve been more compact. I said this is more work teamwork, not only the back line of defenders. On Wednesday, Daniel [Namani] was great in goal. Everybody else, including the academy kids, defensively, they did well, and tonight, Joey was good in goal, and as a team, I think we were good, solid … We played against a good team in Omaha. They move the ball well and they create chances, but I think we defended well in front of the other goal.”
(On the academy players stepping up in the week…)
“The good thing here is we can have those kids on a daily basis with us, with the first team, so we make sure they know what we want to play, how we want to play, with the ball, without the ball, and I mean, they did their homework, because those guys, they’re not afraid to step in. You know, when they get the call of you’re playing, starting, or you’re playing in the second half, they’re ready to perform. They don’t look scared. They play like pros, and I’m happy with that part. I want to thank and congratulate the academy coaches, because they’ve been doing a tremendous job with those kids.”
Defender Mitchell Taintor
(On the team’s performance…)
“Yeah, I thought it was good. I thought there were a lot of positives. Again, we haven’t conceded a goal in the Jägermeister Cup, which is a great foundation to build on. It’s hard to lose games when you’re not giving up goals. We created a lot of really, really good chances. Hopefully next time, we can put those away, and the game would be much easier for us, but really happy that we’re creating a lot of chances, and I think defensively, we’ve been really tight in this tournament.”
(On playing with Joey Batrouni in goal…)
“Yeah, it was great. Honestly, I feel like we have a really good goalkeeper union. All the guys are great. They’re really motivated externally and internally, so it’s great to see all three goalies having success this year. I think it’s again, going back to the foundation that we want to build from the ground up, and it does start with them, so we have full confidence in those guys, and they have the same confidence in us, and, yeah, it’s a really good feeling that all three goalkeepers can make big saves when they need to play at their feet and get shout outs, and have that winning mentality, so that was huge.”
(On hosting New Mexico in the final Jägermeister Cup match …)
“To be honest, I know in the standings it looks like we have wiggle room, but we left that New Mexico game with a sour taste in our mouth, and we’re gonna be raring to go for that Jägermeister Cup game, and we want all three points.”
Goalkeeper Joey Batrouni
(On the win…)
“I think all around we were solid, you know, put chances away quickly, got a first goal really fast. We could have finished a lot more, but we got the job done, kept the clean sheet, got the three points and it was a good team effort.”
(On playing back home in front of friends and family…)
“You know, it hits close to home. You know, being from here, growing up in the academy, the coaches brought me up when I was a kid, and it’s been truly special. Being from the city as well, it’s something that I’ve always dreamed of to play for the first team, and not only play for the first team, get a win and get a clean sheet too in my debut.”
(On preparing for his professional debut…)
“We’ve been training pretty well these past few weeks. I was told that I was playing this game, so I was pretty well prepared … I have a great mentor. Coach Juan [Lamadrid], he’s prepared me since I was a little kid. He’s the one that brought me here to the academy and taught me everything I know, so he’s the big reason.
