Legion FC Shows Grit in Draw at San Antonio FC
USL Birmingham Legion FC

Legion FC Shows Grit in Draw at San Antonio FC

Published on September 27, 2025 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Birmingham Legion FC News Release


Birmingham Legion FC's Fernando Delgado on game night
Birmingham Legion FC's Fernando Delgado on game night
(Birmingham Legion FC)

SAN ANTONIO, Texas - Birmingham Legion FC continued to show its moxie west of the Mississippi River on Saturday night, as the Three Sparks stepped up defensively with its third shutout of the 2025 USL Championship season in a 0-0 draw against San Antonio FC.

"You obviously want three points at this stage, but it was a strong performance," Legion FC coach Mark Briggs said. "That's a really difficult place to come in and get a result and I thought we defended really well."

The squad's 11th draw in 2025 is tied with Phoenix Rising FC for most in the league, and it came from a much-needed stable showing of the defense after allowing 11 goals in its previous four outings.

Led by Fernando Delgado's first clean sheet of the season, it is the fourth consecutive result that Birmingham has earned against Western Conference opponents. A refreshed backline helped out the young goalkeeper as well with Stephen Turnbull playing in a center back role for the first time this season, alongside Phanuel Kavita and AJ Paterson.

"Stephen is somebody who has a high football IQ that can allow him to play as a center back," explained Briggs. "I think he showed tonight why I put him there. We haven't kept in a clean sheet in so many matches and I think Stephen, along with Phanuel and AJ were fantastic tonight. All of them worked their socks off and they gave what we needed to get a result."

Turnbull showed well in the new spot with three duels won, a pair of fouls earned as well as a tackle and an interception. His most notable contribution occurred with a clearance off the goal line in the 88th minute off a shot from San Antonio's Kyle Linhares.

It was the final of the home side's three shots on target with Delgado making comfortable saves on the other two, in addition to thwarting a SAFC chance right before halftime when he came out of his box and made a sliding tackle to get the ball away from Jorge Fernandez.

"He took his opportunity well," Briggs noted of Delgado's performance. "He had safe hands by holding onto shots and crossed from distance. And then sweeping on the backline is something we asked of him with our backline positioned a bit higher and I thought he did an excellent job in that moment to make a great tackle and keep us in the game."

Legion FC meanwhile finished with a pair of shots on target, both of which came off the right foot of Peter-Lee Vassell that forced first half diving saves from San Antonio FC goalkeeper Richard Sanchez.

With captain Tyler Pasher returning to fitness and making his first start in over a month, Legion FC opted to concede the majority of the possession and take advantage of the space in behind on the counterattack. A few opportunities presented itself for Birmingham throughout the match, however a disjointed first half that was marred by multiple stoppages made it difficult for a consistent rhythm to be found.

"Our guys followed the gameplan tonight," Briggs said. "I thought there were a lot of soft decisions given which disrupted the flow of the game. We got into some positive spaces in the final third, but the execution of the final pass had to be sharper at times. But they worked really hard and gave everything, it's not easy to go on the road after a long travel day and grind out a performance like they did tonight"

A total of 10 minutes of stoppage time was awarded at the end of the first half with San Antonio forced to make a pair of substitutions before the halftime whistle. In total, seven yellow cards were issued including one to Briggs in the 34th minute after a foul was not given on a San Antonio challenge to Legion FC's Amir Daley.

USL CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHDAY 26 1ST HALF 2ND HALF FINAL

BIRMINGHAM LEGION FC (4W-11L-11D | 23 PTS) 0 0 0

SAN ANTONIO FC (10W-8L-7D | 37 PTS) 0 0 0

LINEUPS

BHM: Delgado - GK, Daley, Turnbull, Kavita, Paterson, Travis (Tregarthen 75$B!l(B), McIllhatton, Vassell (Rufe 90+1$B!l(B), McCartney (Martnez 45$B!l(B), Pasher - C (Tabort Etaka 45$B!l(B), Damus

SA: Sanchez - GK, Flores (Medranda 7$B!l(B), Taintor - C, Omar (Haakenson 84$B!l(B), Buckmaster (Neville 84$B!l(B), Soto, Souahy, J. Hernandez, N. Hernandez (Agudelo 84$B!l(B), Pacheco (Linhares 42$B!l(B), Patino

GOALS

BHM:

SA:

DISCIPLINE

BHM: Turnbull (Yellow) 27$B!l(B; Damus (Yellow) 45$B!l(B; McIllhatton (Yellow) 50$B!l(B

SA: Taintor (Yellow) 58$B!l(B; Soto (Yellow) 87$B!l(B; Haakenson (Yellow) 89$B!l(B

NEXT UP

With the point secured in San Antonio, Legion FC is now faced with a quick turnaround as it returns to the Magic City for a Wednesday contest against North Carolina FC.

"We've got to keep this momentum and find a bit of attacking rhythm to come out and get three points against a very good team," Briggs said. "We've got to get home, get rested and prepare to be at our best."

Kickoff from Protective Stadium is set for 7:00 p.m. CT with tickets available. It is the first of just two remaining home games in the 2025 season for Legion FC as it then welcomes Miami FC on October 19 for Fan Appreciation Night with the first 1,000 fans in attendance to receive a replica jersey, courtesy of Pegasus Luxury Transport.

Check out the Birmingham Legion FC Statistics

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Birmingham Legion FC's Fernando Delgado on game night
Birmingham Legion FC's Fernando Delgado on game night
   



United Soccer League Championship Stories from September 27, 2025


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