The first match of the season for San Antonio FC could be summed up in one word: frustrating.
After Loudon United FC’s Christiano François headbutted Mich Taintor in the 29th minute, he was sent off with a red card. So San Antonio FC had over 70 minutes of playing against an opponent down a man. Then, in stoppage time, a goal was deflected to tie the game at 2-2, which would be the final score.
KSAT went to Thursday morning practice to ask how goalkeeper Pablo Sisniega and the team are moving forward after a tough draw.
He was frustrated with the match’s outcome but knew the team could only get better from there.
“Yeah, I mean, as a goalkeeper, you never like to concede a goal, and of course, especially giving up a late goal like that is just very disappointing,” Sisniega said. “But at the end of the day, we just have to kinda turn the page. It’s still very early in the season, so we can’t let this result affect our mentality or affect us going forward, so it’s about getting a good result in Tampa and moving on.”
This upcoming Saturday, SAFC will go on its first road trip to play Tampa Bay FC, who has a familiar face in the net: former SAFC goalkeeper Jordan Farr, who helped his former team win the 2022 USL Championship title.
So, what do the players and head coach Alen Marcina think about playing against Farr for the first time?
“It should be fun playing against him; we’re definitely looking forward to that,” SAFC defender Carter Manley said. “I talked to him over the course of the preseason, so (I’m) really looking forward to the matchup with each other.”
“We all love Jordan,” Marcina said. “I’m happy that he’s in a good situation again. It’s another one like our club; it’s one of the best clubs in the league. I’m happy for him and his family, but we’re going there to play Tampa. We’re not going there to play Jordan.”
Marina and SAFC will also have to deal with the Tampa Bay Rowdies crowd, which will be eager to give SAFC a hostile environment to play in during their home opener.