SAN ANTONIO — San Antonio FC continued their hot play on the field with a 3-2 victory over Real Monarchs SLC on Wednesday night to continue their climb up the Mountain Division standings.
The victory is the third straight for SAFC and their fourth win in their last five matches.
“We definitely controlled the game,” SAFC Head Coach Matt Cardone said. “We made it difficult on ourselves with the amount of opportunities we created; you have to put them in the back of the net. The Guys earned the three points, but unfortunately, we didn’t execute at the level we would have liked. At the same time, I’m proud of the guys. Its back-to-back wins which are not easy to do in this conference.”
Jose Gallegos opened the scoring when he took a pass from Chris Lema and put the ball home with a left-footed shot in the 27th minute. The goal would stand as the only tally in the opening 45 minutes as SAFC took the one-goal lead into the dressing room.
Real Monarchs leveled the match in the second half with a goal from Ibrahim Bance in the 57th minute but back-to-back tallies from Kortne Ford and Marcus Epps in the 75th and 79th minutes respectively.
“I think tonight was a good performance,” Gallegos said after the game. “We weren’t at our best, but we are heading in the right direction with tonight and the game against El Paso. It’s about building on this and proving every day in training and seeing where it takes us.”
An own goal from Mitch Taintor made it a 3-2 game but San Antonio ended the match by getting all three points.
Along with the win, SAFC goalkeeper Matthew Cardone marked 100 appearances in all competitions with the club. He is just the second player in club history to reach 100 appearances.
“Matt is a great example for all aspiring players,” said Marcina. “His 100th game for the club is an incredible milestone and we are incredibly proud of him.”
UP NEXT:
San Antonio FC is now 8-5-6 (30 points) on the season and will return to the pitch on Saturday night when they welcome the Pittsburgh Riverhounds (13-6-4) to Toyota Field at 7:30 p.m.
