Goalkeeper Joey Batrouni ties career-high four saves
IRVINE, Calif. (April 8, 2026) – San Antonio FC dropped its first result of the regular season Wednesday, falling to Orange County SC 2-0 on the road.
SAFC conceded its first two goals from open play this season, with the hosts striking first in the 11th minute and going on to double their advantage in the 34th minute. San Antonio pushed offensively, holding 64.2% possession, but ultimately couldn’t find a goal to cut into the deficit.
Scoring Summary:
OC: Lyam MacKinnon (Assisted by Marcelo Palomino) 11’
OC: Yaniv Bazini 34’
Next Up
San Antonio FC returns home to face Miami FC this Saturday, April 11. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. CT, and the match will be broadcast on CBS Sports Golazo Network. The 2026 season is presented by Toyota.
Postgame Notes:
- SAFC falls to 3-1-2 on the season with 11 points, moving into 2nd place in the Western Conference standings.
- San Antonio’s shutout streak was snapped at four matches, last conceding a penalty kick in the season opener.
- SAFC posted 64.2% possession and an 86.1% passing accuracy, its second-highest totals of the season.
- Goalkeeper Joey Batrouni made four saves in the match, tying his career-high from March 21 against New Mexico United.
SAFC Starting XI: Joey Batrouni, Emil Cuello (Nelson Flores Blanco 78’), Mitchell Taintor (Captain), Danny Barbir, Alex Crognale, Akeem O’Connor-Ward (Christian Sorto 80’), Dmitrii Erofeev (Curt Calov 46’), Mikey Maldonado, Jorge Hernandez (EJ Johnson 46’), Cristian Parano, Santiago Patino (Tiago Suarez 83’)
Substitutions Not Used: Luke Haakenson, Richard Sanchez
Disciplinary Summary:
SA: Yellow Card (Jorge Hernandez) 40’
SA: Yellow Card (Akeem O’Connor-Ward) 49’
SA: Yellow Card (Mitchell Taintor) 75’
OC: Yellow Card (Chris Hegardt) 76’
OC: Yellow Card (Tom Brewitt) 83’
SA: Yellow Card (Nelson Flores Blanco) 86’
Quotes:
Head Coach Carlos Llamosa
(On the result…)
“We’re disappointed. We had a good game tonight. For moments, we controlled the ball and we moved the ball to the attacking half, but we weren’t clean or aggressive in the final third. We had a lot of crosses and most of those crosses, their defenders won those challenges, so we need to do better in that part. In moments where we were bad as a team, that’s when they scored the two goals, so that’s the game. When they were having a bad moment, we should’ve capitalized our chances, but we didn’t, so we need to be better next game.”
(On what the team can take away from the match…)
“Learning to fight more. As a team, we could have a good game or bad game, but when we’re having a bad game, that’s when we need to stay together, stay strong and make sure to keep the goal on zero. At the end of the day, especially playing away, the goal is not to lose, so we need to do better.”
Defender Akeem O’Connor-Ward
(On the loss…)
“It’s just kind of the performance where there were good moments, good chances, good opportunities, but as a team, after the game, we spoke about it. We decided it wasn’t how we wanted to play and embody how we’ve been playing all year and the identity of the team, so the biggest letdown is that we didn’t play how we wanted to play and dictate the game, and obviously, the result didn’t go our way either.”
(On bouncing back to face Miami on Saturday …)
“Now it’s 48 hours, so it’s just rest and recover. We travel here soon, so it’s really kind of just letting this one go at the moment. We don’t want to be too high after a win and too low after a loss, so it’s just recognizing what we did wrong with our mistakes, getting back in front of our fans and getting three points. It’s really important to get back up on the horse. I think with really good teams, it’s about how they react after moments like this, so we’ll really see who we are as a team and hopefully Saturday, it’s three points. That’s what we’re hunting for. That’s what we want.”
