San Antonio FC Report Card

San Antonio FC is ten matches into the season with only six matches left to go. SAFC has a strong hold on Group D with a 12 point lead over second place Austin Bold and are heavy favorites to win the group.

Let’s evaluate San Antonio FC and see how they are doing compared to the other clubs in the USL Championship. Are there any concerns or weakness the club needs to address before reaching the knockout stages of the playoffs?

San Antonio FC is currently 7-0-3 with 20 goals scored and only 5 conceded; the last undefeated club in the 2020 USL Championship season, Group D leader and have the most points in the USL Champioship with 24. If the playoffs started today, SAFC would hold home field advantage throughout and the road to the USL Cup would go through San Antonio. SAFC’s current record is bested historically only by the 2017 SAFC side which started 8-0-2 after 10 matches.

USL Team Stats

Offense

Most Goals:

1. Phoenix Rising FC 28
2. Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC 25
3. Birmingham Legion FC 20
4. San Antonio FC 20
5. Austin Bold FC 18

Shots:

1. Phoenix Rising FC 159
2. Louisville City FC 150
3. San Antonio FC 148
4. Charleston Battery 143
5. Sacramento Republic 143

Passing Accuracy:

1. North Carolina FC 86%
2. El Paso Locomotive 83%
3. OKC Energy FC 82%
4. Orange County SC 82%
5. Phoenix Rising FC 82%

18. San Antonio FC 79%

Defense

Clean Sheets:

1. San Antonio FC 6
2. Seven USL Clubs tied for 4

Least Goals Conceded

1. San Antonio FC 5
2. Orange County SC 5
3. Tampa Bay Rowdies 7
4. Sacramento Republic 7
5. Reno 1868 FC 8

San Antonio FC also leads the USL Championship in fouls conceded with 162 and is fifth with 22 yellow cards. Group D has been the most physical group and have the most fouls of all the groups. All five clubs in Group D are in the top 11 in the USL Championship with yellow cards.

Most Notable SAFC players

Luis Solignac is rejuvenating his professional soccer career, currently leads the team with 5 goals on 9 Shots on Target and is a threat to score every time he touches the ball.

Cristian Parano shows no signs of a Sophomore slump, through 8 matches played Parano has 3 goals, 3 assists and 59 duels won (leads team). Opposing teams have to plan around Parano to have any chance to win against SAFC.

Zachary Herivaux leads the team in passing accuracy with 90.4%. Herivaux is also third on the team in successful tackles with 16. The center midfield combo of Herivaux and Victor “PC” Giro has been outstanding. The pair have combined for 20 key passes and although the two have combined for two assists and one goal, they have many things right that don’t show up in the stats. They control the midfield, always involved and seem to set the play before the assist or goal.

Club Concerns

Passing percentage as a team in low, SAFC is ranked 18th in the USL Championship with a 79% passing accuracy. Right now it’s a non issues and passing accuracy isn’t necessarily a stat associated with getting three points. Once playoff time comes around, SAFC will want to control possession and will need to connect more passes as they maintain their offensive aggression.

Bench is getting thin.

We have seen Dayne St. Clair get recalled from loan by Minnesota United. St. Clair did an outstanding job with 3 clean sheets and an 80% save percentage. Matt Cardone has come in after St. Clair was recalled and is having his best season with 86.7% save percentage and also has three clean sheets. But now Carlos Mercado is back up to Cardone but does not have much professional experience.

We have also seen Enriquez Hernandez and Preston Tabort Etaka departed on a mutual agreement with the club, Axel Sjöberg was on loan from Columbus Crew and was traded to DC United making for his departure from SAFC and Callum Montgomery hasn’t been on the squad since mid August. Will SAFC add a role player to add depth to the bench or is Alen Marcina and the coaching staff content with the current roster?

Final Thoughts

San Antonio FC is on the path to make the USL Championship Western Conference final. The real test will come in the playoffs. Teams like Reno, Phoenix, Orange County and Sacramento are looking to derail SAFC’s hope of reaching the USL Cup final. Overall Grade: A-