San Antonio FC will play the first of two straight road matches in the state of Oklahoma when they face OKC Energy on Saturday night. This is the first big test of the re-start for SAFC as both Oklahoma teams are leading the way in Group D, along with San Antonio. SAFC and FC Tulsa are two of the only three unbeaten teams in USL Championship West.
Looking at the bigger picture, this is the beginning of the most difficult part of SAFC’s entire schedule. Starting Saturday, they will play 5 games over the course of 15 days. In that stretch of games, they will play both Oklahoma teams twice; once on the road and once at Toyota Field, each. If San Antonio can get results in most or all of those four games, they could build a very comfortable lead in Group D before September and the back half of the season arrives.
But, one game at a time. This is the first of three meetings between San Antonio and OKC in 2020 and the only one on the road for SAFC. It won’t be easy. SAFC has only won one time in five tries at Taft Stadium. But SAFC has also never lost there, drawing four times.
SAFC will enter this match red hot. Not only are they unbeaten through four matches (the first quarter pole of the 2020 season, if you can believe it) but they are also fresh off their best offensive performance by far, scoring four goals in Austin over the weekend. They were led by Luis Solignac’s brace. The Forward’s two Goals and two Assists leads SAFC in both categories. He landed on the USL Championship team of the week for his performance.
"We earned the three points which is the important thing, especially on the road because that helps a ton. It wasn't our neatest win and we could've done better to control the match when we head the early lead, but we fought until the end and got the win to keep adding points, which is what's important."
With two new goal scorers in the mix, SAFC now has goals from five different players in 2020, making for a balanced attack that is sure to give opposing Defenders a lot to think about. SAFC’s conversion rate doubled to 20%, which is good for 7th in USL Championship West.
Defensively SAFC continues to be one of the best performers in the entire league. Only Orange County has surrendered fewer goals in all of USL Championship and they have played one fewer match than SAFC. Dayne St Clair continues to get the nod in Goal, marking his third straight appearance in the Austin match. In all, eight SAFC players have started all 3 games since the restart, an indication that Manager Alen Marcina is settling in on the core of his team. But the roster depth may be tested out of necessity over the next two weeks.
St Clair has 7 saves so far. Only Eric Dick of Phoenix Rising has fewer saves in the West. The low save total is more of an indication of the strong play in front of him than of any faults in his game; he hasn’t had to make tons of saves. Still, with the jam-packed schedule coming over the next two weeks, it wouldn’t be shocking to see Matt Cardone get another opportunity in Goal, if for no other reason than to give St Clair a chance to catch his breath.
OKC comes into this match off a home loss. New Mexico dominated them 3-0 over the weekend, the first time OKC has been shut out all season.
OKC Energy’s roster has some SAFC flair to it, with three former players dotting their roster. Forwards Omar Gordon and Frank Lopez and Midfielder Charlie Ward have all donned the silver and black. And Defender Christian Ibeagha is the brother to former SAFC Defender - now NYC FC Defender - Sebastien Ibeagha.
Lopez has one Goal and one Assist in the early going but it’s Jamie Chavez who leads the team with two Goals and twelve shots. Rafael Garcia has created the most Chances with eight.
OKC Energy boasts one of the best keepers in all of USL with Cody Laurendi. He was one of the top Keepers in 2019 and he has been a long-time local staple, starting 94 matches for Energy FC since 2016. But it is C.J. Cochran who has started all five games for OKC thus far, with 16 saves and 8 goals allowed. And once again, veteran Defender Atiba Harris is leading the way for the OKC back line with 23 clearances.
So far it has been a different SAFC team on the road in 2020 from the one that struggled mightily away from home in 2019. With several new faces on the roster, it really shouldn’t be that surprising. Solignac echoed the value of doing well on the road. "It's important to win on the road because it builds you up. We're strong at home and being able to go on the road and get wins is crucial for our morale.”
A win on Saturday will go a long way towards keeping that team morale in a boosted state.
The Matchup (W-D-L)
San Antonio FC (3-1-0, 10 points)
at OKC Energy FC (1-2-2, 5 points)
Taft Stadium, Saturday August 8th, 2020
Kickoff 7:00pm Central Time
Table Position
Current Form (W-D-L)
San Antonio FC – 2020 Road Record (1-1-0)
W-D-W-W
OKC Energy FC – 2020 Home Record (0-2-2)
L-D-W-D-L
All Time History (W-D-L)
Saturday will mark the 12th all-time meeting between these two clubs and the series has featured a whole lot of draws. Seven of their ten league match-ups have ended in a tie. OKC is also the only team to defeat SAFC in the playoffs, knocking them out in the 2017 Western Semifinals in penalty kicks after, you guessed it, yet another full-time draw. All time SAFC is 2-7-2 against OKC Energy.
Season Series
8/8/20 @ OKC
8/19/20 @ SA
9/19/20 @ SA
Last Time
San Antonio FC defeated OKC Energy 3-1 on September 14, 2019 at Toyota Field behind goals from Castillo, Lopez and an OKC Energy own goal. After not winning a single match in their first 7 league meetings, SAFC has now won 2 of the last 3 against Energy FC.
Here are the match highlights:
SAFC Wins If :
…if they continue to be road warriors. Through two games they have come up with 4 out of 6 possible points away from home with no defeats. And if they can keep up the balanced attack that has produced five goal scorers through four games.
IMAGES: SAN ANTONIO FC TWITTER, OKC ENERGY TWITTER
PHOTOS: DARREN ABATE, INSTAGRAM: @PEAKACTION