SAN ANTONIO (Sept. 8, 2026) – San Antonio’s Prinx Tires USL Cup run came to a close in the semifinals with a 0-0 (8-7 PK) shootout loss Tuesday night at Toyota Field.
SAFC once again looked promising on the attack, peppering the visiting defense with 22 shots, but was unable to find an breakthrough goal to advance before the final whistle.
The teams headed straight to a shootout following a scoreless regulation, with each side trading strikes in an exciting 10-round penalty shootout before Louisville City scored its final attempt to punch its ticket into the final.
Penalty Summary: LOU wins 8-7
SA: Mitchell Taintor (saved)
LOU: Sean Totsch (missed)
SA: Mikey Maldonado (scored)
LOU: Evan Davila (scored)
SA: Emil Cuello (scored)
LOU: Jansen Wilson (scored)
SA: Lilian Ricol (scored)
LOU: Quenzi Huerman (scored)
SA: Jorge Hernandez (scored)
LOU: Taylor Davila (scored)
SA: Cristian Parano (saved)
LOU: Aiden McFadden (saved)
SA: Danny Barbir (scored)
LOU: Jake Morris (scored)
SA: Akeem O’Connor-Ward (scored)
LOU: Tola Showunmi (scored)
SA: Alex Crognale (scored)
LOU: Brandon Dayes (scored)
SA: Luke Haakenson (saved)
LOU: Amadou Dia (scored)
Next Up
San Antonio FC takes a visit to Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC this Friday, Sept. 11. Kickoff is set for 9 p.m. CT, and the match will be broadcast on ESPN+. The 2026 season is presented by Toyota.
Postgame Notes:
- The shootout loss eliminates San Antonio from the 2026 Prinx Tires USL Cup, finishing with a 4-0-2 record (7-1-3 all-time).
- SAFC put up 22 shots in the match, its second-highest total across all competitions this year.
- San Antonio FC posted back-to-back clean sheets for the first time since July.
- Goalkeeper Joey Batrouni earned his seventh shutout across all competitions, also making a save in the sixth round of the penalty shootout.
- Forward Lilian Ricol made his first USL Cup appearance, subbing on in the 63rd minute.
Attendance: 4,757
SAFC Starting XI: Joey Batrouni, Emil Cuello, Alex Crognale, Mitchell Taintor (Captain), Danny Barbir, Akeem O’Connor-Ward, Mikey Maldonado, Nicky Hernandez (Luke Haakenson 82’), Jorge Hernandez, Cristian Parano, Christian Sorto (Lilian Ricol 63’)
Substitutions Not Used: Lucio Berron, Curt Calov, Nelson Flores Blanco, Brian Guevara, Daniel Namani, Santiago Patiño, Leo Urrutia
Disciplinary Summary:
SA: Yellow Card (Mikey Maldonado) 42’
LOU: Yellow Card (Evan Davila) 70’
LOU: Yellow Card (Aiden McFadden) 78’
SA: Yellow Card (Mitchell Taintor) 90+19’
Quotes:
Head Coach Carlos Llamosa
(On the team creating chances the last few games…)
“The most important thing for me, as a coach, is that we’re getting in a good rhythm. We’re controlling the game, which is a positive thing. It’s different than those games that we lost in the past. We gave up the possession. We gave up a lot of chances, but right now, the last couple games we played very good teams, good contenders, and as I said, it’s a matter of one guy putting in back of the net to change the destiny of the game.”
(On facing Colorado Springs on Friday…)
“We don’t look at the score, whether they win or they lose. Still a derby, like the table in the West is very tight. It’s very compact, so as I said, it’s a game that we need to not lose. We’re going to Colorado to try to get the three points and make sure we put ourselves in the top three on the table, but they’re in the same mode as well. They played Friday and tonight, and they’re traveling back home, so it’s going to be an interesting game, and both teams are chasing points.”
Defender Akeem O’Connor-Ward
(On the team’s USL Cup run…)
“We’re just gutted, honestly. Just reflecting on the whole thing, I thought we handled the Cup really well from start to finish. It’s very difficult playing these games midweek and managing injuries and things like that, and so I think we managed it really well, and then earned ourselves a spot in the semifinal and just couldn’t put away the chances that we had. I think we were very dominant tonight, but penalties is a very cruel game, and so definitely think we were the better team, but football had other ideas tonight.”
(On having the chance to rebound quickly on Friday…)
“I know to be in the back of the heads of guys. It’s going to linger. It’s not just going to go away, but yes, the nature of it, being able to have another opportunity very soon, it will definitely add to the hunger of going hunting and winning trophies. We really wish we had it tonight, but I think it’ll be good for us to get back up on the horse. We’ll see what the guys in the group are made of. I know we have a bunch of resilient guys, and [Colorado Springs] had the same schedule as us, so there’s kind of no excuses. We never really put excuses out there, so no matter what, we’re going there to get three points.”
(On recovering from an emotional match…)
“I wouldn’t use the word recover because I think this was good for us. My friend and I have a kind of a phrase: “Losses are lessons, and lessons are learned,” and so I think this was really important for us to go through this now. Yes, we want to win the trophy, but we’re looking ahead now to hopefully getting a home playoff match and the playoffs and being able to use this experience that we’ve gained now to go win trophies, so yes, the result was not what we wanted, but we have a good group of guys that are going to stay together and mentally, I think we’ll be fine. We have a good core group, good leadership, and so I think the ship’s still going the way it’s always been, going forward.”
Goalkeeper Joey Batrouni
(On resetting mentally after a shootout…)
“We’re all pros. At this level, I think everybody is able to deal with that pressure, and especially me being my second year, it’s been tough, but I’ve had some of the older guys to lean on, and they take me under their shoulder and kind of just guide me … I think this week it’ll give us time to reset. We have three or four days till the next game, and I think that’ll be good.”
(On gaining shootout experience…)
“Yeah, I think this was good for everybody, not just me, like the other takers, the guys that missed and with the guys that made it. Louisville was able to get a shootout before us against Tampa, so they had a little bit more experience when it came to the shootout. Not saying that’s the reason we lost, but definitely I think it’ll help us in terms of the mental and physical sides and just the experience of taking them.”
