OKLAHOMA CITY – Cristian Parano’s big night led San Antonio FC (4-0-1, 13 points) to a 3-0 win over OKC Energy FC (1-3-2, 5 points) at Taft Stadium on Saturday night.
The win for San Antonio keeps them at the top of Group D with 13 points and they remain undefeated after five matches in the 2020 season.
“I think it was a very gritty performance,” SAFC Head Coach Alen Marcina said. “I’m proud of the guys, their commitment, their ability to execute on the tasks asked of them, and the total vibe overall. It’s a family here, and we preach that from day one. It keeps growing and getting stronger.”
San Antonio opened the scoring 30 minutes into the match as OKC attempted to clear Connor Maloney’s cross, the ball fell right in front of Parano and he put home the rebound for his third goal of the season, giving SAFC the 1-0 lead.
“Our team is very committed,” Parano said. “We have to keep working in the same way because we’re creating a great group. We can’t get complacent and we have to keep striving for more so we can reach our objectives.”
SAFC added to their lead in the 70th minute Parano sent a free-kick towards the box and it was redirected in by Callum Montgomery to put the visiting side up two goals and in full control. Ignacio Bailone curled home a goal just 13 minutes later to notch the third goal for San Antonio and they would hold on for the 3-0 win.
The clean sheet is the third of the season and second for San Antonio goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair.
“On to the next one,” St. Clair said. “We can celebrate tonight and start focusing on FC Tulsa tomorrow. This is a business trip, and we take it one game at a time. We completed our objective tonight and now it’s on to [Tulsa].”
UP NEXT:
San Antonio FC is now 4-0-1 (13 points) on the season and will return to the pitch next Wednesday when they face FC Tulsa (2-0-2, 8 points) at 7 p.m.
