SAFC wraps up a three-match road trip this Wednesday night as they travel to face New Mexico United in a much-anticipated playoff rematch from 2020. The two teams will meet four total times this year.
How the current road trip has gone for SAFC might be dependent on your point of view. Pessimists will say SAFC has yet to win a road game after three tries, including two straight draws on this road swing. Optimists will say SAFC has only lost once this season through 7 games. One thing that can’t be ignored by either perspective is that SAFC lost leads in the final ten minutes twice in their last three matches, costing them four points that loom big in the current standings.
As SAFC hits the first quarter pole of the season on Wednesday night, two baseball sayings come to mind. “It’s not early anymore” and “It’s getting late, early.” That looks to be the case for SAFC as they continue to lose ground in the division. They are in 4th place and they sit 6 points back of leaders RGV-FC. They are in closer striking distance to second place El Paso at 2 points behind, but El Paso has a game in hand. Which brings us to New Mexico, who are in third place and one point ahead of San Antonio.
Yes, there’s a lot of season left, but this is an important game. A win would leap SAFC above New Mexico. A loss would leave them 4 points behind United and chasing the division.
SAFC Manager Alen Marcina is focused on the little things after the Las Vegas game. “I felt we were very organized defensively and created enough opportunities to get more than just one goal, but there are details that we have to refine, improve and learn from to get better.”
Not that anyone in San Antonio needs a reminder, but New Mexico United upset SAFC at Toyota Field in a first-round Playoff game last year 1-0. The goal was marred in controversy as it appeared there was a hand ball prior to the goal, but it went uncalled and, in the end, that’s all that mattered. Even though only a handful of players involved in that match are still on the SAFC side, you can bet they’ve had this game circled on the calendar. And certainly, the fans.
After eliminating SAFC last year, New Mexico United went on to lose to El Paso in the Western Semifinals. They lost a 5-3 penalty shootout after playing to a 1-1 draw. Still, New Mexico United has been involved in post season play in each of their first two seasons so they have quickly announced themselves as a perennial contender in USL play.
This year looks to be no different in the early going. New Mexico boasts one of the stingiest Defenses in all of USL Championship. They have only allowed five goals through 7 games which ties them with RGV-FC for 4th best in all of USL Championship. As a side note El Paso leads that list with only two goals allowed so three of SAFC’s divisional opponents rank among the toughest teams in the league to score on. It will be a season-long challenge for SAFC.
New Mexico is coming off a 0-0 draw with Austin and they have put up two clean sheets in a row. Both San Antonio and New Mexico have only lost one time in their last five matches.
New Mexico also boasts a top ten passing accuracy in the league at 79% which leads to them owning a lot of possession. It’s a safe bet that’s a trend that will continue Wednesday night playing on their home field, especially when it’s compared to SAFC’s numbers. That is one area where San Antonio needs to see a big improvement as they are dead last in USL Championship in passing accuracy at 66%.
Amando Moreno and Sergio Rivas pace New Mexico in scoring with 2 goals each. Harry Swartz has two Assists. And keep your eye on Isidro Martinez. He hasn’t shown up on the stat sheet, but he leads the team with 12 chances created.
Keeper Alex Tambakis boasts 20 saves and 2 clean sheets. His 20 saves ranks him top ten in the league. SAFC Keeper Matt Cardone is 4th in the league with 23 saves, so it could be a Goal Keeper Showcase on Wednesday night.
Cardone knows with two games in four nights this week, SAFC will be put to the test. “We have to continue to increase our execution on both sides of the ball. We need a little more killer instinct going forward as well as defensively. We are going to need our depth since we have a busy week. We know whichever guys are on the field are going to be ready and are going to give 100 percent.”
The two games this week (SAFC hosts RGV-FC on Saturday night) could put SAFC back in the mix for the division lead or leave them in chase mode heading into the middle of the season. Earning points nearly every time out is certainly a positive, but too many draws and not enough wins likely won’t be enough to take SAFC where they want to go.
The Matchup (W-D-L)
San Antonio FC (2-4-1, 10 points) at New Mexico United (3-2-2, 11 points)
Isotopes Park, Wednesday June 16th, 2021
Kickoff 8:30pm Central Time
Current Form (W-D-L)
San Antonio FC - 2021 Road Record 0-2-1
L-W-D-D-D
New Mexico United – 2021 Home Record 1-1-1
W-W-L-W-D
All Time History (W-D-L)
Wednesday will mark the third league game in the history of the two clubs and the first since 2019. Each team has won lopsided games on their home field. SAFC lost 3-0 the first and only other time they played at New Mexico, back in May 2019. The teams also met in the 2020 postseason with New Mexico United earning a 1-0 victory leaving the all-time series at (1-0-2).
Season Series
6/16/21 @ NMU
7/21/21 @ SA
9/25/21 @ SA
10/20/21 @ NMU
Last Time
SAFC lost 1-0 to New Mexico United in a first round playoff game in October 2020. Wehan scored the match winner for New Mexico in extra time at the 101’ mark after both teams were scoreless through 90 minutes. The goal held up as New Mexico advanced in the upset. Here are the highlights:
IMAGES – SAN ANTONIO FC TWITTER, NEW MEXICO UNITED TWITTER