Excitement building as opener draws near
As San Antonio FC prepares to host Austin FC II on Saturday in a closeddoor friendly to wrap up the preseason, excitement is building in camp for the March 9 regular season opener at Toyota Field.
“We are super excited to be in front of the fans. We got a taste of it last week and it was exciting to have them in the stadium,” SAFC midfielder Kevon Lambert said. “We’re still trying to learn as much as possible so that we can be fully prepared going into the first game of the season.
The preseason friendlies might not count toward the team’s record but that hasn’t stopped San Antonio from treating each one like it was a regular season game. Since head coach Alen Marcina
took over the club in 2020, the mindset of the players has been to treat every game as the most important.
“The vibes are high,” San Antonio goalkeeper Kendall Mcintosh said.
“You can tell that guys are itching to get the season started. The energy has been good and the practices have been good. We’ve found a lot of success in these recent practice games. Everyone is feeling confident and ready to go.”
San Antonio has treated each preseason friendly as an opportunity to play both senior club members and academy players. In both games, the senior club players started the game and academy players came on for the second half. Last week the Academy players helped set up San Antonio’s second goal in a 2-0 win over Guatemalan club Antigua GFC.
“The players are very excited to start the season, as they should be,” Marcina said. “They’ve done real well during the course of the preseason. There are still opportunities for growth and development. These guys are incredibly hungry and they have gelled quickly.”
Lambert is one of the club’s newest members, joining on loan from Real Salt Lake on Feb. 19. He has experienced Toyota Field before as a member of Phoenix Rising but now looks forward to having the fans supporting him.
“Coming here was easy for me,” Lambert said. “I’ve known some of the guys before I came here and they kind of helped me get into it smoothly. It’s always loud when I’ve played here in the past. I’m excited to play here and feel the energy and support from the fans.”
Lambert and his teammates have one more game without the fans on Saturday. Seven days after that they will take the field to open the regular season before a few thousand of their biggest fans.
San Antonio FC opens the season March 9 at 7:30 p.m. against Loudon United.