Toyota Field – SAFC Head Coach Darren Powell talks about the process his team must go through to win games. The process looked solid as the club took down the second best team in the Western Conference in their return home.
San Antonio FC scored twice in the first half as they defeated the Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC 2-1 in front of 6,052 fans at Toyota Field on Saturday. The victory was the first for the club since April 30.
Victor Araujo got the scoring started for the home club early when he broke loss and beat two Colorado defenders to put the ball past Switchbacks keeper Devala Garrick in the eighth minute.
SAFC added another just before halftime to take a two-goal advantage into the break. Stephen McCarthy took advantage of a set piece when he put home his own rebound past Garrick in the 35th minute.
The second half saw things get chippy from both clubs. Missed calls from officials and players getting heated. Colorado sliced the SAFC lead in half when Luke Vercollone converted a penalty kick in the 50th minute to make it 2-1. The Switchbacks were unable to get the equalizer as San Antonio held on for the win.
“I couldn’t be more proud of our players, they did a fantastic job,” Powell said after the game. “They can feel good about their performance tonight and now we have to put those performances back to back and get ready for Thursday’s game.”
The victory moved San Antonio up one slot in the Western Conference standings to 13th. SAFC is just four points out of the eighth and final playoff spot, with plenty of time remaining in the season.
“We really know that it’s crunch time,” McCarthy said. “We know that we have talent but maybe our mentality hadn’t been right, so I think everyone knew this was a game we needed to get mentally ready for. Hopefully we can put some wins together now. We have to.”
Up next: San Antonio FC is now 3-5-5- (14 points) on the season and will return to the pitch on Thursday night when they welcome the Orange County Blues to Toyota Field at 7:30 p.m.
