SAFC hits road in possible playoff preview
San Antonio FC travels to California this weekend to take on Oakland Roots SC in a game that could be a possible playoff preview.
San Antonio (14-5-12, 54 points) is second in the Western Conference, one point back of first place Sacramento. Oakland (11-11-8, 41 points) enters the game Saturday in seventh place.
“I know the coach very well, being former teammates with Noah (Delgado),” San Antonio coach Alen Marcina said. “He will have his guys organized. They are in that playoff bubble where three points really matter for them. It matters as well for us for different reasons. It will definitely feel like a playoff game.”
Last week San Antonio snapped a six-game winless run with a 4-0 win over Orange County SC. Oakland is currently on a five-game winless streak. Last week, Roots tied with Monterey Bay 2-2. Oakland’s last win came Aug. 23 against New Mexico United.
SAFC And Oakland opened the season against each other at Toyota Field on March 11. San Antonio won 3-1.
San Antonio has the best goal-difference in the league at plus-26 (58-32). The 32 goals allowed by San Antonio are the third fewest in the league. Oakland has a plus-two goal difference this year (39-37). Roots is tied for eighth fewest goals allowed in the league this season.
“They are a fighting team. They haven’t won in the last couple of games and I know they are going to bring their best game,” San Antonio defender Shannon Gomez said. “Every game is like a final and you want to take three points from every game. I’m sure it’s the same conversation in their locker room.”
Tani Oluwaseyi leads San Antonio with 15 goals this season, tied for fourth in the league. Oluwaseyi scored his first goal in over a month during the 4-0 win over Orange County last week.
Jorge Hernandez added an assist in the win over Orange County to set a new club record with 10 assists on the season. Hernandez’s 10 assists also leads the league.
“It feels great but it’s just a sign that the team is working,” Hernandez said. “Everybody is doing their job. I thank my teammates for finishing and playing their hearts out on the field. We have forwards that are clinical and they finish. I just get them the ball and they do the hard work.”
Johnny Rodriguez leads Oakland with 11 goals this season, tied for 10th most in the USL.
“Rodriguez is a blue collar hard worker who likes to make runs beyond the last line,” Marcina said. “We will have to make sure we mark him tightly.”
Oakland joined the USL in 2021. Last year was the first year that San Antonio and Oakland faced one another. In the regular season, San Antonio is 2-0-1 against Oakland. Last year, San Antonio won the game at Oakland 2-0.
San Antonio and Oakland met in the conference semifinals last season at Toyota Field. SAFC won 3-0 on its way to the winning the USL Championship. It was the second straight year Oakland lost in the conference semifinals after losing to Orange County in 2021. San Antonio lost to Orange County in the Western Conference Finals in 2021.
Kickoff from Pioneer Stadium is scheduled for 9 p.m. San Antonio FC is in California again next weekend to take on Orange County SC before hosting Indy Eleven in the regular season finale on Oct.14.