SAFC Wins in Front of Sellout Crowd to Advance to USL Championship Final
SAN ANTONIO (November 6, 2022) – San Antonio FC defeated Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC tonight 2-0 to win the USL Championship Western Conference for the first time in club history, and advance to the USL Championship Final next Sunday.
Connor Maloney opened the scoring with his first career goal in USL Championship play, spinning away from the defense after receiving a ball from Santiago Patiño in the 23rd minute.
Patiño would go on again to score in stoppage time to make it a 2-0 final score. Patiño’s goal was his sixth career playoff goal with SAFC, and third of this year’s postseason.
The SAFC defense and goalkeeper Jordan Farr kept the team’s second-straight shutout, with the keeper making a pair of saves to preserve the clean sheet.
With the win, SAFC secures the Western Conference Title for the first time in club history. San Antonio will host the USL Championship Final on Sunday, Nov. 13 at 7:30 p.m. CT, against Eastern Conference champion Louisville City FC. Tickets for the match will go on sale tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. CT at SanAntonioFC.com or the SAFC app. Additionally, the match will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes.
Scoring Summary:
SAFC: 1-0, Connor Maloney (Assisted by Santiago Patiño) 23’
SAFC: 2-0, Santiago Patiño (Assisted by Cristian Parano) 90+11’
Disciplinary Summary:
COS: Yellow Card (Brendan Burke) 7’
COS: Yellow Card (Michee Ngalina) 10’
COS: Yellow Card (Tristan Hodge) 49’
COS: Yellow Card (Jairo Henriquez) 54’
SAFC: Yellow Card (Cristian Parano) 66’
SAFC: Yellow Card (Samuel Adeniran) 75’
COS: Yellow Card (Aaron Wheeler) 78’
COS: Yellow Card (Christian Herrera) 87’
COS: Yellow Card (Matthew Mahoney) 89’
SAFC: Yellow Card (Santiago Patiño) 90+2’
Attendance: 8,245 (sellout)
SAFC Starting XI: GK: Jordan Farr; D: Jasser Khmiri (Saad Abdul-Salaam 71’), Fabien Garcia, Mitchell Taintor, Carter Manley, Shannon Gomez; M: Connor Maloney (captain), Jordy Delem, Justin Dhillon (Cristian Parano 56’); F: Santiago Patiño, Samuel Adeniran (Ignacio Bailone 84’)
Substitutions not used: Grant Makela, Elliot Collier, David Loera, Jack Lynn
Postgame Notes:
- SAFC wins the Western Conference and advances to the USL Championship Final for the first time in club history.
- Connor Maloney scored his first goal in USL Championship play, striking in the 23rd minute.
- Santiago Patiño assisted on Maloney’s goal, his first career in the playoffs.
- Patiño scored his third goal of the 2022 USL Championship Playoffs, and sixth in his career with SAFC to extend a club record.
- Cristian Parano assisted on Patiño’s goal in stoppage time, his first assist of the postseason.
- Jordan Farr kept a clean sheet for the 17th time this season, and his third shutout in the playoffs with SAFC.
- SAFC moves to 26-0-5 when scoring this season, and 23-0-1 when scoring first.
Quotes:
Head Coach Alen Marcina
(On the win…)
“Incredibly proud, first championship for the club, regular season champions and Western Conference champions. Also, what makes this incredibly special is that we got to celebrate in front of the best fans in the league; our fans. And there’s a sense of pride and joy that to me is more special than the cup we earned tonight, it’s the opportunity to experience it with our fans in our city, so I’m over the moon at the moment. Super thankful and proud.”
Midfielder Connor Maloney
(On preparing for next week…)
“We can’t get complacent. Yeah, we won a Western Conference final, but this is now the big final we strived for all year, even in pre-season. So, big players show up in big moments, and you all will see that on Sunday night, and will see who comes out on top. But Louisville is a great opponent and Alen will have them scouted inside and out, and we will prepare on Tuesday.”
Goalkeeper Jordan Farr
(On the team’s mentality…)
“In this environment, it’s impossible not to be switched on. The fans push us to another level, and we’re playing the best soccer of the year right now. And I think that’s a credit to all the coaches and how we prepare for games. And so, the guys top to bottom couldn’t be happier.”