Team to end road trip amid controversy
San Antonio FC concludes its two-game roadtrip on Saturday night when it travels to Albuquerque to take on New Mexico United.
New Mexico enters the game in ninth in the Western Conference with 28 points from eight wins and four ties. New Mexico United has lost nine games this season and its last two in a row, including a 2-1 loss at Hartford Athletic last week.
“They have a lot of quality players,” San Antonio coach Alen Marcina said. “Their attacking four are all very active. They are a team that like to move the ball side to side and when pressured like to go beyond. We have to be ready for the aerial balls and the second balls. We have to be at our best to collect those and immediately counterattack.”
San Antonio (11-4-7) enters the game with 40 points. Last week, SAFC came from behind to beat Phoenix Rising 2-1. But the game was not without controversy.
Phoenix Rising FC fan club Los Bandidos on Sunday posted on X, formally known as Twitter, alleging a racist remark made against fans by a San Antonio FC coach during the match Saturday in Phoenix. The Bandidos account did not specify which coach allegedly made the remarks but wrote that after Bandidos and SAFC players “said things to each other,” a coach yelled, “I'm going to call ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement).”
The USL told the Express-news that it is still investigating the incident and would not comment on the matter at this time.
When asked about the incident, Marcina told the Express-news he disapproved.
“I believe the incident in Phoenix was unfortunate for everyone involved, and the alleged actions don't align with the club's values,” Marcina said Thursday. “As a club, we have completed the internal investigations, and appropriate actions have been put into place. Racism doesn't belong in our sport; it is not tolerated at our club or organization level. That's all I have to comment.”
SAFC has scored a league-high 44 goals this season to 25 goals allowed to its opponents. Tani Oluwaseyi leads the club with 14 goals in his 13 appearances, his 14th goal of the season being the winner at Phoenix last week.
“As a striker, it's been incredible,” Oluwaseyi said. “The purpose of the game is to score goals, especially for me. I've been able to do that at a high level.
“I think the most important part is it's contributed to wins for my team and putting us in a good position going on in the season.”
Eight of Oluwaseyi's goals this season came in the month of July. That was one reason why Oluwaseyi was chosen on Thursday as the USL Championship player of the month for July. San Antonio's Jorge Hernandez was also named a finalist for the award.
“It's a credit to the work that's been put in, not just these past few weeks but the past few years,” Oluwaseyi said. “When you've put a body of work in you love to see the fruits of that labor. I've been able to see a little bit of that this year and it's a good feeling always. You always want to be recognized when you do something well.”
New Mexico United has scored 31 goals and conceded 30 goals. Amando Moreno leads the team with six goals this season.
San Antonio beat New Mexico United 2-1 in San Antonio in May. Since then, New Mexico has made a coaching change. Eric Quill took over as head coach of New Mexico United on June 13. Prior to Quill taking over, New Mexico was 4-6-2 on the season. Since Quill took over, the club is 43-2.
“They have a new coach whose come in,” Marcina said. “It will be different from the last time. Other than their last game, they've been having some success recently.”
The all-time series between San Antonio and New Mexico sits at 4-4-1. SAFC is 1-3 all-time in Albuquerque, with their first win in New Mexico coming last season.
Saturday's game will be the first of three games in seven days for SAFC. San Antonio returns home Wednesday night to host Rio Grande Valley FC and hosts Monterey Bay on Aug. 19.