San Antonio FC (10-3-3) fell to Austin Bold (5-3-7) 1-2 at Bold Stadium on Sunday night. A goal from Jordan Perruzza wasn’t enough to earn the club points on the night as they concluded the 2020 regular season and begin to focus on the USL Championship Playoffs. 

“When we win, tie or lose it’s about learning,” said SAFC Head Coach Alen Marcina. “We will learn from areas we did well and the areas where we need to improve. We need to put this match behind us. Now, it’s about playoff mode, playoff mentality and playoff scripts. We have to change the mindset and now we are focused on putting up a good performance against New Mexico, who are a very strong team. We need to make sure we put our best foot forward and put on a show for our fans in the first round of the playoffs.”

SAFC opened the scoring in the 30th minute after Perruzza finished off a corner from midfielder PC with a header to beat goalkeeper Diego Restrepo. The hosts struck just before halftime after midfielder Billy Forbes slotted a ball past Matthew Cardone following chaos in the box to equalize.

The second half was a back and forth contest between the clubs until the Bold scored their second of the night by way of midfielder Ema Twumasi to make it 1-2.

SAFC concluded the regular season at the top of Group D after clinching both its second playoff berth in franchise history as well as the top seed in their group on Sept. 16. The club’s 2020 regular season was highlighted by 10 wins as well as an 11-game unbeaten streak, which marked the second-longest in franchise history.

Following results around the league, San Antonio FC will now host New Mexico United at Toyota Field in the first round of the playoffs on Saturday, Oct. 10 at 8 p.m. SAFC last hosted New Mexico in 2019 in a 5-0 thriller, which featured a brace from midfielder Cristian Parano and still marks the biggest win in franchise history.

Scoring Summary:

SAFC: 1-0, Jordan Perruzza (PC assist) 30’

ABFC: 1-1, Billy Forbes (Ema Twumasi assist) 42’

ABFC: 1-2, Ema Twumasi 77’

Disciplinary Summary:

SAFC: Yellow Card (Juan Lamadrid) 45’

ABFC: Yellow Card (Xavi Baez) 73’

ABFC: Yellow Card (Jermaine Taylor) 90’

SAFC Starting XI: GK: Matthew Cardone; D: Connor Maloney, Callum Montgomery, Mitchell Taintor, Blake Smith (Kai Greene 35’); M: Jose Gallegos, Hunter Gorskie (c), PC; F: Gonzalo Di Renzo (Cristian Parano 60’), Jordan Perruzza (Ethan Bryant 79’), Ignacio Bailone

Substitutions not used: Carlos Mercado, Joshua Yaro, Liam Doyle, Leo Torres

Postgame Notes:

• SAFC concluded the 2020 regular season with a 10-3-3 record and a first-place finish in Group D…SAFC also secured the third best record in the Western Conference while scoring 30 goals and conceding 14…the club’s +16 goal difference is the second-highest in club history behind the +21 difference set in 2017…SAFC tallied a 7-0-1 record at home and a 3-3-2 record on the road over the course of the season…SAFC also compiled an 11-game unbeaten streak to start the season, marking their second longest in team history behind the 14-game streak to start the 2017 season
• San Antonio FC will play in the 2020 playoffs, marking just their second playoff berth in club history and first since 2017…after securing the best record in both Groups C and D, SAFC will host two home playoff matches should they advance…SAFC progressed to the Western Conference Semifinals before being eliminated in 2017
• SAFC will host New Mexico United in the first round of the playoffs at Toyota Field on 10/10 at 8 p.m…due to the 2020 season format, SAFC and NMU did not face off in 2020, however SAFC tallied a 1-1-0 record against New Mexico in 2019...SAFC defeated NMU 5-2 at home on 8/24/19, scoring the most goals in a single match in team history
• San Antonio finishes the season with a 2-1-1 record against the Bold, taking the all-time record to 3-2-1 since the start of the 2019 season
• SAFC forward Jordan Perruzza scored his third goal for the club despite making just his fifth appearance since joining on loan…Perruzza’s 18 shots rank sixth on the club in 2020…midfielder PC recorded his second assist and 24th key pass for SAFC in the match
• SAFC season leaders for 2020: Goals (Luis Solignac-8), Assists (Cristian Parano-4), Shots (Luis Solignac-29), Shots on Target (Luis Solignac-14), Key Passes (PC-24), Saves (Matthew Cardone-29), Clearances (Mitchell Taintor-61), Interceptions (Connor Maloney-34), Tackles (Connor Maloney-44)