Skylar Savarin

San Antonio Football Club (SAFC) opened their season against Loudoun United on Saturday, March 9, after their 2023 campaign ended in disappointment in Sacramento. SAFC won the United Soccer League (USL) championship in 2022; however, they were disappointed in both the regular season and the playoffs in 2023. A tie against Loudoun in their opener and another against the Tampa Bay Rowdies would not have been the way they wanted to start this year, but they’ll be looking to right the ship on the way to a championship on Saturday against their rivals from the Rockies.
SAFC started their season at Toyota Field, the venue where they lost only once in 2023. They got off to a quick start in the new season with a goal just 14 minutes into play. However, last year’s third-worst team of the season fired back just four minutes later. Things went south quickly for Loudoun as a yellow card in the 23rd and straight red in the 29th put the Virginians down to 10 men and at risk of further repercussions. This red card was the first Video Assistant Referee (VAR) decision in the history of Toyota Field, as the technology was added to the league just this season.
SAFC opened the second half even faster than the first, with a goal three minutes into the action. They continued to dominate possession against Loudoun, ending the game with an astounding 71% of possession time. The time they had wasn’t enough, however, as the visitors equalized and stole a share of the points in stoppage time.
The Texan team took to the air to travel to Tampa Bay this past Saturday, March 16, and the result wasn’t any better. However, it felt much better for the team and their traveling fans, as SAFC pulled off an incredible comeback to match Loudoun’s efforts from the previous weekend.
The Tampa Bay Rowdies opened the score in just the fourth minute of play and held their one-nothing lead deep into the second half despite SAFC again controlling most of the possession. Things got worse in Tampa with just 18 minutes left of regular time when the Rowdies added a second to their tally.
SAFC refused to quit, though, and midfielder Burá Nogueira pulled them within one with a shot that squeezed in from a tight angle. Then, SAFC had some stoppage-time madness of their own when defender Carter Manley sent the home crowd into disarray with a well-placed equalizer to give SAFC their second point in the table.
While stealing a point late in Tampa was crucial, still being short of three points after two full games is not the standard SAFC has normally met. They face their rival Colorado Switchbacks tomorrow, who have lost both of their first two games this season. However, the Switchbacks have something extra to play for, as SAFC has previously eliminated them from the playoffs for two straight seasons. Both USL heavyweights will be ready to bring the heat tomorrow night at Toyota Field.