After postponements, club eager for action
Virus caused long break during the playoff push
When San Antonio FC returned home last week following the first of two postponements in response to positive COVID-19 tests, coach Alen Marcina was forced to modify the club’s training schedule, shifting mostly to periods of “unopposed work.”
Goalkeeper Matt Cardone said SAFC is “moving in the right direction” this week, taking the pitch for training each day and beginning to restore a somewhat normal routine.
The COVID-19 tests left San Antonio with “a number of people” unavailable, Marcina said, adding that each recovery process has been different.
As San Antonio FC (6-5-6, 24 points) prepares to return to action against Mountain Division-leading El Paso Locomotive FC (12-1-5, 41 points) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Toyota Field, Marcina said the condition of the roster has not been finalized.
“We are getting some players back, some may be available for selection, but we’ll see where they’re at in terms of fitness and where they are in that particular moment,” Marcina said. “So we put our best foot forward against the No. 1 team in the league.”
SAFC traveled to Montclair, N.J., two weeks ago for a match against New York Red Bulls II, but it was postponed hours before the Aug. 14 kick
off after “multiple covered individuals” within San Antonio’s travel party tested positive for COVID-19.
The club also was slated for a home match against Real Monarchs SLC on Aug. 21, but SAFC announced the second postponement Aug. 18.
“It’s day to day,” Marcina said. “You have to assess where you are in the moment, and things progressed upon our return. The league made the right decision.”
Cardone said the past two weeks have “been a challenge to get through” but added that he believes SAFC is “on the other side of it” as this weekend’s match approaches.
“It’s difficult,” Cardone said. “You care about your teammates and the people around you, and you want them to be healthy and be able to play. But, at the same time, we also realize there’s lots of real world stuff going on.”
SAFC announced a pair of roster moves since the club last took the field Aug. 8, adding defender Kortne Ford on loan from Colorado Rapids of the MLS on Aug. 19 and defender Mitchell Taintor from Sacramento Republic FC on Wednesday.
San Antonio also sent midfielder Emil Cuello to Sacramento on loan. Marcina said SAFC lost “one of the best attacking players in the league” in Cuello but gains “a top defender in this league” with Taintor, calling the move “the best decision for everybody involved.”
Taintor played with SAFC last year and appeared in 15 of 16 regular season matches, setting up what the club hopes will be a “seamless transition” back into the system, Marcina said.
SAFC appeared to be on an upswing before the postponements, with wins in four of its past six matches.
The only setbacks were against El Paso, which has earned more points than any other club in the USL Championship.
While Cardone said SAFC has “no reason why we can’t pick up right where we left off,” Marcina was more dubious about the impact of a disrupted training schedule.
“That’s really difficult, based on what we went through the last couple of weeks,” Marcina said. “You need games, you need rhythm, you need continuity. Cohesion, we call it here. Without games, that’s difficult. Without full-team training sessions consistently, that’s pretty difficult. If there was a way, I would love to know. But that wasn’t priority in the moment.”
San Antonio enters the weekend in sixth place in the seven-team Mountain Division but trails second place by just five points.
Looking to advance to the playoffs in consecutive seasons for the first time in club history, SAFC is competing with Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC (29 points), Rio Grande Valley FC (29 points), Austin Bold FC (26 points) and New Mexico United FC (25 points) for three available playoff spots behind El Paso.
Because of the recent postponements, San Antonio
has played at least two fewer matches than the rest of the group.
“We have a lot of energy and enthusiasm to get back on the field, and we really want to continue the momentum we’ve had over the last little block of games,” Cardone said. “We just want to carry that through the end of the year and get into playoffs.”
Cardone said the open dates the past two weekends allowed players a chance to rest, and Marcina acknowledged the opportunity for injury recovery as a silver lining to a negative situation.
With both rescheduled matches falling during the next three weeks, SAFC is gearing up for a stretch of seven games in 22 days. Marcina said the period will be yet another challenge for the club, and Cardone said the players braced for the test through the past two weeks.
“We were just trying to stay engaged with the team however we could,” Cardone said. “We were away from each other for a few days to let things settle and make sure everyone was healthy. But staying in the right place mentally, getting a little rest and a little mental break. We’re energized to get back to it.”