San Antonio FC

San Antonio FC is a professional soccer team based in San Antonio, Texas. It competes in the USL Championship, the second-highest level of the United States soccer league system, as a member of the Western Conference.

San Antonio FC
Full nameSan Antonio Fútbol Club
Short nameSAFC
FoundedJanuary 7, 2016 (2016-01-07)
StadiumToyota Field
Capacity8,200
OwnerSpurs Sports & Entertainment
Chairman and CEOJulianna Hawn Holt
Head coachAlen Marcina
LeagueUSL Championship
20201st, Group D
Playoffs: Conference Quarterfinals
WebsiteClub website

History

San Antonio FC was awarded the thirty-first USL franchise on January 7, 2016. The establishment of the club, along with the concurrent purchase of Toyota Field by the City of San Antonio and Bexar County, was part of a plan by local officials to obtain an expansion franchise in Major League Soccer.[1] As a result, the San Antonio Scorpions franchise of the North American Soccer League was shut down. The first head coach in club history is former Elon University men's soccer coach and Orlando City SC Pro Academy Director, Darren Powell.[2] Carlos Alvarez was the club's first player signing on February 2, 2016.[3]

After failing to make the playoffs in its inaugural season, San Antonio FC finished the 2017 USL regular season with a 17–11–4 (W-D-L) record, finishing second in the USL Western Conference standings and earning their first playoff berth in club history. SAFC advanced to the Western Conference semifinals before being eliminated.[4] San Antonio failed to make the playoffs in consecutive years in 2018 and 2019 by a combined 4 points in the conference table.

San Antonio FC parted ways with head coach Darren Powell on October 30, 2019 after four seasons with the club. He accumulated an overall competition win-draw-loss record of 59-39-44. He led the club to its only playoff appearance in 2017, but failed to make the playoffs in the other three seasons under his management.[5] His assistant coach, Alen Marcina, was named to replace Powell on December 9, 2019 in preparation for the 2020 USL Championship season. He led the former San Antonio Scorpions to their only NASL championship in the 2014 season.[6]

Stadium
Main articles: Toyota Field and STAR Soccer Complex
Toyota Field during Soccer Bowl 2014

San Antonio plays its home matches at Toyota Field in San Antonio, Texas. Toyota Field is an 8,200-seat soccer-specific, natural grass stadium designed to be expandable to over 18,000 seats. Originally built for the former San Antonio Scorpions, the stadium was sold by its owner, Gordon Hartman, to the City of San Antonio and Bexar County in November 2015. San Antonio FC set a Toyota Field attendance record of 8,466 for its inaugural home match against the Swope Park Rangers on April 9, 2016.[8]

Crest and colors

San Antonio's club colors are black and silver, showing strength and unity with the other SS&E franchises. Red is an accent color that is from the same red in the Texas state flag signifying the pride the club has in Texas.[9]

The shape of San Antonio FC's badge was derived from a variety of traditional national and international club crests. The heart of the badge contains two prominent elements: the five diagonal stripes, which were inspired by the armed forces’ service stripes, are a salute to San Antonio’s rich military history and their upward movement signifies the club's goal to play at the highest level; and the rowel of the Spur symbolizes the direct link between San Antonio FC and its parent company, Spurs Sports & Entertainment. Binding all of the interior elements is a single "S”—a subtle nod to the hometown heritage and how it unites the community.[9]

Kit manufacturers and sponsors
Season Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor Ref.
2016–present Nike Toyota [10]

Culture

Affiliation

San Antonio is designated as the USL affiliate of New York City FC for the 2017 season.[11] The partnership will result in organizational collaboration for on and off the field initiatives between the two clubs. This relationship has gone on through the 2020 season, but has largely been in name only and only in effect because all MLS teams need a USL affiliate

Supporters
  • Mission City Firm is an independent football organization whose mission is to give 100% of their support to San Antonio FC. They are a very diverse group of individuals and "welcome any and all persons who share the same passion for the game and for what professional football here in San Antonio will do for our community."[12]
  • The Crocketteers are the largest organized independent soccer supporters group based in San Antonio. The group was founded in March 2009 by Michael Macias.[13]

Rivalries

Copa Tejas
Main article: Copa Tejas

San Antonio FC shares in-state rivalries with the three other USL Championship sides in Texas - Austin Bold FC, El Paso Locomotive FC, and Rio Grande Valley FC. Beginning with the 2019 USL Championship season, all four teams participate in the Copa Tejas[14] - a head to head competition during the USL regular season schedule. The team with the most points at the end of the season wins the trophy.

South Texas Derby
Main article: South Texas Derby

Since 2016, the annual rivalry with Rio Grande Valley FC, who serves as a hybrid affiliate of the Houston Dynamo of Major League Soccer, is one of the most hotly contested matches in lower division US soccer. The two teams are located about 237 miles apart from each other in South Texas. Due to this proximity, the matches tend to draw well and often featured aggressive play for bragging rights.

Ownership

The club is owned by Spurs Sports & Entertainment.[15]

Players and staff

Current roster

Where a player has not declared an international allegiance, nation is determined by place of birth. Squad correct as of January 22, 2021.[16]

No. Position Player Nation
6 Midfielder PC  Brazil
17 Forward Jose Gallegos  United States
18 Midfielder Ethan Bryant  United States
21 Midfielder Leo Torres  United States
26 Defender Liam Doyle  Isle of Man
31 Defender Connor Maloney  United States
37 Goalkeeper Matt Cardone  United States
99 Goalkeeper Carlos Mercado  United States
— Midfielder Emil Cuello  Argentina
— Forward Justin Dhillon  United States
— Midfielder Marcus Epps  United States
— Midfielder Chris Lema  United States
— Midfielder Cam Lindley  United States
— Forward Santiago Patiño  Colombia
— Defender Axel Sjöberg  Sweden
— Midfielder Ollie Wright  England
  1. ^
    USL Academy Contract
    2.

For recent transfers, see 2021 San Antonio FC season.

Team management
Executive
Chairman and CEO Julianna Hawn Holt
Managing Director Tim Holt
Staff
Head Coach Alen Marcina
SAFC Pro Academy Director & Assistant Coach Nick Evans
Director of Goalkeeping Juan Lamadrid
Equipment Manager Rashad Moore
Assistant Coach Ryan Roushandel
Athletic Trainer Jesse Lowrance
High Performance Coordinator Sean Arters

Last updated: September 28, 2020
Source: [17]

Year-by-year
As of October 10, 2020
Year USL Championship U.S. Open Cup Top scorer
P W D L GF GA Pts Pos Playoffs Player Goals
2016 30 10 8 12 36 36 38 10th, Western Conference Did not qualify Fourth Round Rafael Castillo
Franck Tayou		 5
2017 32 17 11 4 45 24 62 2nd, Western Conference Conference Semifinals Third Round Billy Forbes 10
2018 34 14 8 12 45 48 50 9th, Western Conference Did not qualify Fourth Round Éver Guzmán 11
2019 34 12 9 13 62 57 45 11th, Western Conference Did not qualify Third Round Jack Barmby
Éver Guzmán		 9
2020 16 10 3 3 30 14 33 1st, Group D Conference Quarterfinals Cancelled Luis Solignac 8

Head coaches
  • Includes league regular season, league playoffs, and U.S. Open Cup matches
San Antonio FC Coaching Stats
CoachNationalityStartEndGamesWinDrawLossWin %Honors
Darren Powell  England January 7, 2016 October 30, 2019 142 59 39 44 041.55
Alen Marcina  Canada December 9, 2019 present 17 10 3 4 058.82

Notes
  1. Capacity limited due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.

References
  1. Staff (December 22, 2015). "Spurs Sports & Entertainment reaches agreement with Bexar County and City of San Antonio to play soccer at Toyota Field in 2016" (Press release). San Antonio: Spurs Sports & Entertainment. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
  2. "Meet Darren Powell". uslsanantonio.com. January 7, 2016. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
  4. Communications, San Antonio FC (November 27, 2017). "SAN ANTONIO FC RE-SIGNS USL GOALKEEPER OF THE YEAR DIEGO RESTREPO". San Antonio FC.
  5. Communications, San Antonio FC (October 30, 2019). "SAN ANTONIO FC MUTUALLY AGREES TO PART WAYS WITH HEAD COACH DARREN POWELL". San Antonio FC.
  6. Communications, San Antonio FC (December 9, 2019). "SAN ANTONIO FC NAMES ALEN MARCINA HEAD COACH". San Antonio FC.
  7. "Data" (PDF). www.nba.com. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  8. "SAN ANTONIO FC EARN 1–1 DRAW IN FRONT OF RECORD CROWD". San Antonio FC. April 9, 2016. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  9. "We Are San Antonio FC". San Antonio FC. February 4, 2016. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  10. "San Antonio FC". Archived from the original on March 12, 2016.
  11. Communications, San Antonio FC (February 9, 2017). "SAN ANTONIO FC AND NEW YORK CITY FC ANNOUNCE PARTNERSHIP". San Antonio FC.
  12. "Info" (PDF). i.cdn.turner.com. 2017. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  13. "About Us". Crocketteers.
  14. Tejas, Copa (February 26, 2007). "Who is the best in Texas?". Copa Tejas. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  15. "Spurs Sports & Entertainment Closes in on USL Club". www.uslsoccer.com. Archived from the original on December 23, 2015. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
  16. "San Antonio FC roster". sanantoniofc.com. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
  17. "San Antonio FC Staff". sanantoniofc.com. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
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