San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Club riding a historic start
Looking around the San Antonio FC locker room for the final time, goalkeeper Matt Cardone had never felt more confident in his team’s commitment to an identity.
As the San Antonio native and longest-tenured player in SAFC history followed through on his preseason plan of retiring at the year’s midway point to enroll in law school at SMU, a new dynamic made walking away even more difficult. Through Cardone’s seven seasons with the club, SAFC has never been this good.
At the halfway mark of the year, San Antonio FC (13-3-1, 40 points) is off to the best start in club history, sitting atop the USL Championship and positioning the club for a push toward its first title.
“The spirit and the resilience of this team is the best I’ve ever seen,” Cardone said. “That’s what’s made the difference this year.”
San Antonio is on pace for the most successful regular season in club history, ahead of the 2017 group that finished 17-4-11 for 62 points. No SAFC team has posted a better start through 17 matches, as this year’s club eclipsed the 10-1-6 mark for 36 points to open 2017.
San Antonio FC is among the favorites to win the USL Championship, with statistical analysis site FiveThirtyEight listing SAFC as the most likely club to win the title at 21 percent. Louisville City ranks second at 19 percent.
“This is a fantastic group. Their mentality for me has been so consistent,” SAFC coach Alen Marcina said. “Great teams are consistent in their behaviors, and this team has been consistent. That, to me, is incredibly encouraging.”
San Antonio’s hardcharging, straight-ahead style has the club ranked in the top 10 of the USL Championship with 28 goals scored and tied for second in the league with just 14 goals allowed.
Marcina’s philosophy centers on applying pressure, skipping slow builds for a vertical passing threat. San Antonio is last in the league in passing accuracy at 68 percent and
has completed the fewest total passes in the USL at 4,801 — more than 1,000 behind the next-lowest total.
“We’re definitely confident, but it’s more confident in the group we have and how well we fight for one another and just our mentality,” forward Justin Dhillon said. “We’ve shown no matter who plays where or what’s going on, the system takes over and we have the mentality monsters come through.”
The success comes even as San Antonio has been forced to cycle through roster combinations, starting a different lineup in all 17 matches. Injuries have led to 14 players missing a combined 55 games.
When Santiago Patino scored the opening goal of last week’s 2-0 win against Charleston Battery, he turned and signaled to a ball boy, who handed Patino a jersey. During the celebration, Patino unfurled the shirt to show the No. 10 of teammate David Loera, who Marcina said will miss a large chunk of the season after undergoing surgery.
Most of the other injuries are not expected to be as severe. Dhillon said he is excited to see usual starters forward Elliot Collier and defender Carter Manley return during the second half.
“It’s just going to allow everyone to come in really
fresh,” Dhillon said. “Mind fresh and really concentrated on the second half of the season and what the goal is, which is to win a championship.”
Because SAFC’s aggressive system taxes the players’ legs, Dhillon said the group will benefit from the “well-deserved break” of two weeks ahead of a home meeting with Atlanta United 2 at 8 p.m. July 16.
Marcina said the players will profit from the mental reprieve, adding that he, too, planned to hide his phone for a couple of days to enjoy time with his wife and children before shifting focus to Atlanta.
“We’re very optimistic, very excited,” Marcina said. “We know we’re going to get better. We’re hungry as a team. The mentality of these guys, we preached it from the preseason, and it’s something we’ve preached over three years. It’s been fantastic.”
Marcina stressed that players and coaches “still have some work to do.” He highlighted a need to improve pressing forward, becoming sharper with opportunities to penetrate defenses or connect passes that break opposing lines.
SAFC is also looking to add another goalkeeper, as Cardone’s retirement, combined with the unexpected March retirement
of opening-night starter Cristian Bonilla, leaves the club with just one proven keeper in Jordan Farr.
Dhillon is anticipating that SAFC will “have to be even stronger in the second half,” as the club will be a target for the rest of the league.
“We know when teams are coming to play us, they’re going to bring that extra bit of energy,” Dhillon said. “You need to have a little something special when it comes to playoff spots and playoff time.”
San Antonio reached the Western Conference final for the first time in club history last year and pushed eventual league champion Orange County SC to penalty kicks, losing 5-3 in the shootout.
Sidelined by a late-season injury, Cardone was forced to watch the 2021 playoff run from the bench. He plans to catch a few more games and as much of the playoffs as possible as a spectator this season, dreaming of the group advancing one step further.
“I’ll be there in spirit, and hopefully I’ve left a little mark to help inspire them and keep them pushing forward,” Cardone said. “I’d love to see them lift a trophy here at the end of the year.”