Jorge Hernandez records goal and assist for second straight match
SAN ANTONIO (Sept. 20, 2025) – San Antonio FC posted its second consecutive win with a 3-1 triumph over Orange County SC at Toyota Field Saturday.
Diogo Pacheco opened the scoring for SAFC in the 30th minute, taking a shot from outside the box and tucking into the low post to take a 1-0 lead.
Nicky Hernandez captured a through ball from Santiago Patiño to poke in his first goal of the season and double the team’s advantage.
Orange County got on the board shortly after with a score in the 54th minute, but Jorge Hernandez answered back with his second goal in as many matches, a bender off a free kick to put SAFC back up 3-1 minutes later.
With the win, SAFC improves to 9-8-6 on the season with 36 points, slotting into third place in the USL Championship Western Conference.
Scoring Summary:
SA: Diogo Pacheco (Assisted by Jorge Hernandez) 30’
SA: Nicky Hernandez (Assisted by Santiago Patiño) 47’
OC: Nico Benalcazar (Assisted by Bryce Jamison) 54’
SA: Jorge Hernandez 66’
Next Up
San Antonio FC hosts Birmingham Legion FC at Toyota Field on Saturday, Sept. 27. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. CT, and the match will be broadcast on FanDuel Sports Network and ESPN+. The 10th anniversary season is presented by Toyota.
Postgame Notes:
- SAFC improves to 10-8-6 on the season, moving up to 3rd place in the Western Conference standings with 36 points.
- San Antonio scored three goals at home for the third time this season.
- With the win, SAFC evens the all-time series with Orange County at 5-5-6, getting its first win over the California side since September 2023.
- Midfielder Nicky Hernandez became San Antonio’s 16th different scorer this year, while forward Santiago Patiño became the 14th player to record an assist.
- Jorge Hernandez’s 11 goals are tied for fourth-most in a single season in club history. The score also moves him into a tie for fourth place in the Golden Boot race with six matches remaining.
- SAFC is undefeated in 39 straight league matches when leading at halftime, going 34-0-5 in a streak dating back to October 2021.
- Jorge Hernandez moved into a two-way tie with Jimmy Medranda for most assists on the team after tallying his fourth of the year.
- Defender Alexis Souahy made his 150th USL Championship regular season appearance.
- Goalkeeper Richard Sanchez made five saves in the match.
Attendance: 5,970
SAFC Starting XI: Richard Sanchez, Nelson Flores Blanco, Alexis Souahy, Mitchell Taintor (Captain), Rece Buckmaster (Harvey Neville 77’), Almir Soto, Mohamed Omar (Landry Walker 84’), Nicky Hernandez (Kyle Linhares 77’), Jorge Hernandez, Diogo Pacheco (Abdi Salim 77’), Santiago Patiño
Substitutions Not Used: Juan Agudelo, Alex Greive, Jimmy Medranda, Daniel Namani, Leo Urrutia
Disciplinary Summary:
OC: Yellow Card (Pedro Guimaraes) 76’
OC: Yellow Card (Chris Hegardt) 90+8’
Quotes:
Head Coach Carlos Llamosa
(On the win…)
“That was a good performance by the team. I believe the group is getting in a good rhythm these last three matches. We played more together, with the ball and without the ball. Now we defended, especially at the end – it happened in Loudoun, happened tonight – we defended a lot with possession, with the ball. Tonight, we had a sloppy second half, but I was pleased that when we were playing our worst, even at that moment of the game, we scored the second goal with Nicky [Hernandez], sero that’s something that I’m very pleased with.”
(On the team’s performances the last two weeks…)
“Pretty good, pretty good. Still room to improve out there, but I think that we continue working. I’m very pleased because we were able to score eight goals in two games. That’s something that we were asking as coaches. We were asking the previous games that we would create the chances, but we didn’t score that many goals. You know, every game was one or two maximum, but in two games, we scored eight goals, and it could’ve been more goals tonight, and I’m very pleased with that. I’m happy with the last two games. Even though we lost against New Mexico, I was happy with the performance of the guys with a man down, so if we continue working like that, playing like that, I think we’re going to be a tough team at the end of the season.”
(On getting back to winning at home…)
“It’s our home, you know, our fans, our stadium, so we had to set the tone, not let the other team come here and control the game. We had to be in control of the game. We were playing a team who was desperate for points in the Western Conference, but those teams are really, really dangerous. They’re looking for points, especially away, so from kickoff, we had to be ready. We had to set the tone. We had to control. We had to create the chances and try to win the game early on.”
Forward Diogo Pacheco
(On the result…)
“I think for 90 minutes there were ups and downs, but I think overall, we played a really good game, really compact defensively and going forward. Especially in the first half, I think we did really well. Playing in their half we created really good chances, and I think the score could have been even more, but I think getting three goals at home was really positive, because obviously we’ve been struggling at home and coming from this last game with a win, and now at home, I think it was really good, especially for the fans too. They deserved it, and yeah, just really happy with the result tonight.”
(On the team’s mindset after two wins…)
“I would say for a few weeks, you could tell the confidence was pretty low overall. I’d say we were kind of afraid of making mistakes, so we were not really going for it, but we got to a point where you got to go for it, so I think it was kind of like a moment where we realized we got to take risks, and it’s been working, so you got to keep doing that, just going for it, more shots. I feel like the last games, we’ve been putting more shots on goal, and I think we got to keep doing that.”
(On improvements in the last two matches…)
“You know, there’s a lot of factors. That’s the beauty of this sport. I think there were definitely games where we played good and we lost, but, we kept fighting. We knew. There’s always bad phases during the season, and we definitely went through one. We went for like eight games without winning, but yeah, we stayed positive. The last weeks of training have been really good. The energy has been really good. Everyone has been working hard, and I think just we knew we would turn it around, and I think we’re finding our rhythm on the ball and as a team. I think the chemistry is getting better every week.”
Midfielder Mohamed Omar
(On the getting back on a winning streak…)
“Honestly speaking, I wouldn’t really say there’s been a change. A lot of us, we’ve been in this game long enough to know that there’s highs and lows, and the teams that deal with that the best are the ones that are the most successful, so I think the past, couple weeks, couple months, have probably been the lower point of the season for us as a team, but I think you’re seeing in recent weeks that football is a game of ups and downs, and once things start to click and the confidence builds back up in the group, we’re seeing it in training, seeing it in games. Now, you know this team can continue to go on and do something really special this year.”
(On the team’s fight on both ends of the pitch…)
“I think it’s guys just working for each other. We have a really, really strong group, the guys that are on the pitch, the guys that are on the bench, the guys that aren’t in the squad at the end of the day. If you guys saw what our training sessions looked like, I mean, it’s a dog fight, but that’s what makes us who we are come Saturday. That’s why we’re able to be sharp in the right moments come game time, is because it’s a full team effort. The reason why, for example, some of us on who are on the pitch are playing the way that we are, it’s iron sharpens iron at the end of the day, so it’s a full team effort.”
