Falling in a season opener for the first time in club history, San Antonio FC (0-1-0) will look to rebound at the home opener Saturday night. The Alamo City club will face off against St. Louis FC (0-0-1) for the third time in club history, bringing the action to Toyota Field for only the second time. The two previous matchups took place in 2016, the last time STL was in the Western Conference. St. Louis took home three points from Toyota Field while San Antonio took the win in Missouri.
You can learn more about St Louis FC from a host of The USL Show and founder of STL Soccer Report Phil Grooms on this week’s Texas Soccer Radio.
Rafa Castillo, RGVFC at SAFC preseason friendly 3 March 2018. Image: Rance Ristau
While some players who landed on Week One’s injury report are expected to be available for the home opener, full back and all-time SAFC minutes leader Greg Cochrane left the match in Sacramento early and was not seen participating in training Friday. With other veterans Cesar Elizondo and Stephen McCarthy also apparently sidelined, Saturday’s match could see some new faces contributing meaningful minutes. Connor Presley for one benefited from the available minutes in Sacramento, changing the match and solidifying his place in the Starting XI conversation.
On his team-first goal in Sacramento, midfielder Mikey Lopez said the following:
“It’s kind of bitter sweet. It’s good that I scored but at the end of the day I want to win. We didn’t get the valuable three points that we needed so I’m just looking forward to righting that wrong and hopefully getting the three points at home”
Connor Presley, RGVFC at SAFC preseason friendly 3 March 2018. Image: Rance Ristau
On the return to Toyota Field, SAFC head coach Darren Powell said the following to media on Friday:
“We love the environment here. I think our fans are probably the most passionate fans in the league. What I like about the crowd here is it’s engaged in the game. It’s what I think is very authentic to soccer”
St Louis FC
Form: 0-0-1, previous match 1-1 at RGV
Suspensions: none
San Antonio FC
Form: 0-1-0, previous match 1-2 at Sacramento
Suspensions: none
Two Ten Soccer Projected Starting XI
Images: San Antonio FC
Score predictions:
Jonathan Check: San Antonio 2-1 STL
Jesus Miguel Garcia: San Antonio 2-1 STL
Larry Leathers: San Antonio 1-1 STL
Jose Mario Jimenez: San Antonio 1-0 STL
Kyle Mahnke: San Antonio 1-1 STL
How to watch: USL Match Center, 7:30pm central time
Follow along on social media: @TwoTenSoccer @CheckJFooty @LarryLeathers87 @Kyle_Mahnke
