USL CHAMPIONSHIP: San Antonio FC shares points with Sacramento Republic in scoreless draw
- Dan Stickradt
- 3 hours ago
- 3 min read
NATIONAL SOCCER NEWS: www.nationalsoccernetwork.com
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – San Antonio FC picked up its first result in Sacramento since 2021 with a 0-0 draw on the road Saturday against the 10th-place Republic.
The Western Conferences foes put on a defensive showcase in the match-up, holding each other scoreless for 90 minutes of play.
San Antonio FC moves into third place in the 12-team USL Championship-Western Conference with 21 points. San Antonio holds just a 18-16 scoring edge as part of its 6-4-3 overall start.
“The guys played a good match tonight,” said San Antonio FC head coach Carlos Llamosa. “We had a couple chances. Hopefully, from now on in the future, we can finish those chances that we create. This is one of the teams that allows less goals in the league, but for 90 minutes, I believe we controlled the game. We moved the ball well from the back. When the ball turns over, our immediate pressure, they did it well to recover the ball right away, and when they pushed us back, I think the behavior of our group was really good defensively.”
Goalkeeper Richard Sanchez made three saves for his fifth clean sheet of the year, tied for second-most in USL Championship. It marked San Antonio’s second straight shutout.
“That’s important. I have to give credit to the team because, especially tonight,” continued Llamosa. “Our forwards, the pressure starts with them and they did really well. There were a lot of moments we forced Sacramento to play long balls and then tried to dominate those long balls in the air with our back line, and I think for the most part of the game, that’s what we did.”
NEXT UP
San Antonio FC is back on the road next weekend to face New Mexico United on Saturday, June 21. Kickoff is set for 8:00 p.m. CT, and the match will be broadcast on ESPN+. The 10th anniversary season is presented by Toyota.
POSTGAME NOTES
SAFC moves to 6-4-3 on the season, remaining in third place in the Western Conference standings with 21 points.
San Antonio recorded its first point in Sacramento since a 1-0 win in September 2021, also moving to 2-1-3 on the road this season.
SAFC outshot Sacramento 12-7, holding 62.3% possession.
San Antonio’s five clean sheets are tied for third-most in the league.
The SAFC defense recorded back-to-back clean sheets for the third time in USL play this season (including a USL Jägermeister Cup match in April).
The team pushes its unbeaten streak to three matches, its longest since the four-match win streak to start the season.
Goalkeeper Richard Sanchez made three saves in the match, now tied for third-most in USL Championship with 31.
SAFC Starting XI: Richard Sanchez, Alex Crognale, Mitchell Taintor (Captain), Rece Buckmaster, Nelson Flores Blanco, Almir Soto, Nicky Hernandez (Jimmy Medranda 77’), Lucio Berron, Luke Haakenson (Dmitrii Erofeev 88’), Jorge Hernandez, Andres Paredes
Substitutions Not Used: Juan Agudelo, Dyllan Mendoza, Daniel Namani, Juan Osorio, Alexis Souahy
Disciplinary Summary:
SAC: Yellow Card (Sebastian Herrera) 18’
SAC: Yellow Card (Nick Ross) 30’
SA: Yellow Card (Lucio Berron) 37’
SA: Yellow Card (Jimmy Medranda) 88’
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