Rivalry Escalated: San Antonio hosts MLS Austin FC

SAN ANTONIO – There’s just something about comparing things when it comes to San Antonio and their neighbors to the north in Austin.

People can and have fought for hours about which city has better tacos, Mexican food, margaritas, music scenes, college football teams -- basically anything under the sun at this point.

Now, we’ll get to see who has the better soccer team. Is it San Antonio FC or Austin FC?

Ever since San Antonio was passed up for a Major League Soccer team, with the league picking the state capital over the Alamo City, soccer fans in San Antonio have been left with a bad taste in their mouths ever since. The mere mention of the topic immediately results in some disappointed and angry looks.

Now, we all get to see the squads from both cities meet out on the pitch in less than two weeks.

It was announced on Friday that San Antonio will host Austin FC at Toyota on April 20 at 7:30 p.m. This will be a third round matchup in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. This will mark the first-ever meeting between the two teams.

The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup recently resumed after pausing due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. San Antonio FC won their second round match on Tuesday when they defeated D’Feeters Kicks SC 3-1.

Tickets will be sold to the general public beginning Tuesday at 1 p.m. through SanAntonioFC.com. Fans who have the SAFC app will be able to purchase tickets through a pre-sale beginning at 10 a.m. Tuesday.

San Antonio FC will resume their USL schedule Saturday night when they play on the road against Orange County SC at 9:00 p.m.

Daniel P. Villanueva has worked with KSAT 12 for over 18 years and is an award-winning producer. To submit story ideas, email dvillanueva@ksat.com