Toyota Field – San Antonio FC needed a win in their home finale to keep their postseason hopes alive. What they got was not only a victory, but control of their own fate next weekend.
San Antonio FC earned a 2-0 win over Tulsa Roughnecks FC in front of 6,735 fans at Toyota Field on Saturday night to snap a four-game winless streak – keeping their playoff hopes alive.
Rafa Castillo nearly got San Antonio on the board twice, but was denied by the crossbar both times. Goalkeeper Matt Cardone had the biggest save of the match when he denied a Tulsa penalty kick in the first half.
SAFC finally broke the scoreless tie in style when Franck Tayou scored with a bicycle kick in the 49th minute, his fifth tally of the season. San Antonio sealed the victory with Shawn Chin’s goal in the 87th minute off a nice play from Carlos Alvarez.
“First half, hats off to Tulsa, they made it very difficult for us,” SAFC Head Coach Darren Powell said. “We’re just pleased that we got the three points, and now we head into the last week of the season with the opportunity to make the playoffs.”
The victory combined with Rio Grande Valley’s 1-0 decision over Orange County Blues FC and Arizona United SC’s win over Real Monarchs SLC, has pushed San Antonio into the eighth and final playoff berth.
“We still have a job to do,” Chin said. “We take it day by day, we achieved our goal today, tomorrow we recover and prepare for RGV next week. But right now we celebrate our win and take it day by day.”
For a team that did not exist until January and be on the cusp of a playoff berth, the club knows it is in a good spot.
Up next: San Antonio FC is 10-11-8 (38 points) on the season and will return to the pitch next Saturday to close out the regular season against the Rio Grande Valley Toros FC at 7:30 p.m.
