USL San Antonio FC

San Antonio FC Falls 2-3 to Real Monarchs on the Road

Published on April 20, 2019 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
San Antonio FC News Release


SALT LAKE CITY - San Antonio FC (2-4-1) fell 2-3 to Real Monarchs SLC (3-2-2) at Zion Banks National Stadium on Saturday night. A brace by midfielder Brian Gomez was not enough to outweigh two penalties awarded to the home side in the second half.

"We have to focus," said SAFC Head Coach Darren Powell. "In the first half we had a better performance and in the second half we got ourselves on the back foot and couldn't recover from that. We are disappointed by the result and as a group we know we can perform better."

SAFC opened the scoring just six minutes in when midfielder Brian Gomez picked a defender's pocket in the hosts' half and buried a shot past goalkeeper Evan Finney for the 1-0 lead. The goal marked Gomez's first for the club since joining the club in late March.

Gomez doubled the Alamo City club's lead in the 18th minute after midfielder Walter Restrepo found him in on goal with a through-ball, which the Argentine took and dribbled around the keeper to slot it into an open net. The brace marked the first this season for SAFC while the assist marked Restrepo's first of the season.

The Monarchs equalized after being awarded two penalties 16 minutes into the second half, which were converted by Maikel Chang and Jack Blake. The hosts added a third in the 72nd minute when forward Kyle Coffee scored a header to gain the 3-2 lead.

SAFC goalkeeper Matthew Cardone recorded a season-high six saves on the night, while center-back Moises Hernandez led the team with five tackles and teammate Josh Yaro tallied six clearances in the defensive end.

San Antonio FC will return to USL Championship action as the team hosts Tacoma Defiance at Toyota Field on Friday, April 26 at 7:30 p.m. during Noche de Celebracion.

Scoring Summary:

SAFC: 1-0, Brian Gomez 6'

SAFC: 2-0, Brian Gomez (Walter Restrepo assist) 17'

Monarchs: 2-1, Maikel Chang (penalty) 48'

Monarchs: 2-2, Jack Blake (penalty) 56'

Monarchs 2-3, Kyle Coffee (Douglas Martinez assist) 72'

Disciplinary Summary:

SAFC: Yellow Card (Moises Hernandez) 47'

SAFC: Yellow Card (Michael Lahoud) 57'

SAFC: Yellow Card (Walter Restrepo) 58'

Monarchs: Yellow Card (Jordan Pena) 62'

Attendance: 1,711

SAFC Starting XI: GK: Matthew Cardone; D: Eby Ackon, Joshua Yaro, Moises Hernandez M: Michael Lahoud (c) (Rafa Castillo 86'), Kai Greene, Jack Barmby, Lance Laing (Cristian Parano 75'); F: Bradford Jamieson IV (Billy Forbes 60'), Walter Restrepo, Brian Gomez

Substitutions Not Used: Jonathan Viscosi, Leo Torres, Pascal Eboussi

Postgame Notes:

San Antonio FC fell 2-3 to the Real Monarchs SLC on the road, snapping a three game winning streak that SAFC owned against the Monarchs...SAFC is now 3-2-1 against the Monarchs all-time...the two goals for San Antonio marked the first for the club on the road in 2019

San Antonio FC midfielder Brian Gomez scored his first two goals of the season, recording the first brace of 2019 for San Antonio...Gomez also recorded three shots and one key pass on the night

San Antonio FC goalkeeper Matthew Cardone recorded a season-high six saves on the night, and only conceded one goal from open play...the goalkeeper was beaten by the Monarchs on two penalties in the match

SAFC midfielder Michael Lahoud led the club with a 94.1 percent passing accuracy in the match...the captain also recorded one interception, one clearance and nine possessions gained... Lahoud has recorded a passing accuracy of at least 87 percent in all five of his matches with SAFC this season.

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United Soccer League Championship Stories from April 20, 2019


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