San Antonio FC was not about to let the same story get written two weeks in a row. After blowing a 2 goal lead against a 10-man RGV in the second half last week, SAFC put the hammer down on New Mexico United after Midfielder Saalih Muhammad was sent off with a straight red card in the 21' (officially noted as "offensive language" as the reasoning). San Antonio FC (9-7-9) overwhelmed New Mexico United (8-10-7) with 5 goals, three in the second half, as SAFC routed the expansion team playing in their first ever match at Toyota Field.
The win marked 50 regular season wins for SAFC in USL Championship play all time, and sent 6,057 SAFC fans home very happy.
“This week we learned a lesson from last weekend, which I thought was very important,” SAFC Head Coach Darren Powell said. “Our players made sure they applied themselves in the second half and now we need to make sure we get ready and prepare ourselves for the road trip next Friday.”
San Antonio FC was once again lead by Midfielders Cristian Parano and Walter Restrepo. Parano had two goals and two assists and is probably in line to win USL Championship Player of the Week for the second time inside of one month. Restrepo added a goal and an assist. It was Restrepo's first goal of the season.
It has been quite a run for the two players. For Parano, it is his second brace in three games. He has scored in three straight games overall. And he has 6 goals and three assists over the last eight matches.
Not to be left out, Restrepo now has an assist in three straight games. He has one goal and three assists in the last three matches. The two players are really feeling it.
Forward Frank Lopez got back in the scoring column as well, marking his 5th goal in a SAFC uniform in just 7 total games. He has 11 goals for the season in USL play. Brian Gomez rounded out the scoring, marking his second goal in five games.
Finally, this team is playing with some serious offensive fortitude. SAFC have scored 2 or more goals in 7 of their last 8 games, only losing one time in that span.
The win was historic in other ways as well. SAFC scored five goals in a single match for the first time in team history and the the 5-0 win also marks the largest margin of victory for San Antonio FC.
Next up for San Antonio FC are two straight road matches. The team finishes the regular season with 6 of their last 9 of the road. They'll travel to play last place Tacoma Defiance on Friday night.
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS:
Scoring Summary:
SAFC: 1-0, Cristian Parano (Walter Restrepo assist) 28’
SAFC: 2-0, Brian Gomez (Cristian Parano assist) 40’
SAFC: 3-0, Frank Lopez (Cristian Parano assist) 56’
SAFC: 4-0, Walter Restrepo (Jack Barmby assist) 66’
SAFC: 5-0, Cristian Parano (Michael Lahoud assist) 90’
Disciplinary Summary:
NMU: Red Card (Saalih Muhammad) 21’
SAFC: Yellow Card (Joshua Yaro) 36’
SAFC: Yellow Card (Kai Greene) 42’
NMU: Yellow Card (Juan Guzman) 67’
Attendance: 6,057
PHOTOS: DARREN ABATE / INSTAGRAM: @PEAKACTION
IMAGES: SAN ANTONIO FC TWITTER