Two late first half goals jump started San Antonio FC as it advanced to the quarterfinals of the Prinx Tires USL Cup with a 2-0 win over Chattanooga Red Wolves SC on Saturday at Toyota Field.
SAFC scored both of its goals in the last few minutes before intermission, the first by Santiago Patino in the 45th minute and the second a minute into extra time from Curt Calov.
Patino broke the scoreless deadlock when he took a nifty pass on the right side of the penalty box from Nicky Hernandez and then turned and pivoted his right foot, launching a cross shot that landed went the upper left side of the net. After the ensuing kickoff, Calov pushed a ball from midfield and broke away towards the net, firing a shot from outside the box into the right corner of the goal.
With the victory, SAFC (3-0-1, 11 points) won the Group 3 table of the cup tournament in the final round of group matches, becoming one of the final eight teams advancing to the knockout stage of the USL Cup. It is the second year in a row San Antonio has advanced to the cup quarterfinals, which will be played on Aug. 12.
“It feels good,” SAFC coach Carlos Llamosa said about advancing to the cup quarterfinals. “That was a good group (of the cup standings), tough group. The team did well getting great results (in previous group matches) at Tulsa and Knoxville and tonight. We did really well. So, hopefully we continue like that in this cup.”
SAFC defender Alexis Souahy said the club had a clear goal in mind coming into the Chattanooga match.
“The objective was clear, finish at the top of the table in that group stage,” he said. “We did it in a professional manner, 2-0 at home. I felt we dominated the game for the most part, took care of the game in the first half. We kind of let ourselves down at the beginning of the second half and then we just controlled in the latter part of the second half and we ended up with a 2-0 win – top of the table. So, very positive moving forward.”
SAFC was able to hold up the two first half goals as they pushed back a relentless Chattanooga attack, outshooting the Red Wolves (0-2-2, 2 points) – USL League One side – 11 to 10, with five of San Antonio’s shots on goal. In the first half, SAFC had a 7-3 advantage on shots, with Chattanooga turning the tables on San Antonio in the second half, outshooting SAFC 7-4 in that frame. SAFC was able to preserve the shutout and the win behind three saves from goalkeeper Richard Sanchez.
“I think we had a great first half,” Llamosa said. “We controlled the entire 45 minutes, scored two good goals and in the second half, for moments, we lost control of the goal. We need to manage the game better.”
By shutting out Chattanooga, SAFC came up with its ninth clean sheet across all USL league competitions, including regular season and cup matches.
“I think all in all, we did well defensively,” Llamosa said. “They (Chattanooga) were strong, they were pushing, but I think the guys in the (defensive) back manage those guys very well.”
San Antonio resumes USL Championship league play when it hosts Las Vegas Lights FC next Saturday. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. at Toyota Field.