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USL San Antonio FC

San Antonio FC Tops Club de Lyon FC 2-1 in Extra Time

April 4, 2023 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
San Antonio FC News Release


SAN ANTONIO - San Antonio FC defeated Club de Lyon FC tonight 2-1 in the second round of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, scoring in extra time to advance to the tournament's third round. The team's roster featured fifteen SAFC Pro Academy players, including seven that made their professional debut in the win.

Lyon opened the scoring in the 61st minute, holding the one goal lead until SAFC struck in the 79th minute. Dane Augustin one-touched a cross inside the box from Adrian Valencia to tie the match at 1-1 and tally his first professional goal. The draw would last through regulation, sending the match to extra time.

Eight minutes into extra time, Roman Holt stepped up and converted a penalty for his first professional goal to give SAFC the 2-1 advantage.

Goalkeeper Carlos Mercado made six saves in his first start with SAFC, including a point-blank save in the final moments to preserve the win.

Next Up

San Antonio FC returns to USL Championship play on Saturday, hosting Sacramento Republic FC. Kickoff from Toyota Field is set for 7:30 p.m. CT, with tickets on sale at SanAntonioFC.com or the SAFC app. San Antonio FC's next Open Cup match will be decided on Thursday.

Scoring Summary:

CDL: 0-1, Kevin Hernandez 61'

SAFC: 1-1, Dane Augustin (Assisted by Adrian Valencia) 79'

SAFC: 2-1, Roman Holt (Penalty) 98'

Postgame Notes:

Both Dane Augustin and Roman Holt's goals marked the first of their professional careers.

SAFC advances to the third round of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup with the win, and will find out the team's next opponent Thursday.

SAFC Starting XI: GK: Jose Carlos Mercado (captain); D: Jeremiah Posada (Dane Augustin 76'), Roman Holt, Mateo Gonzales, Kibukila Mbula, Giovanni Padilla: M: Dalziel Ozuna, Andres Bacho (Max Salinas 68'), Matthew Matsuzaki, F: Eduardo Fernandez, Adrian Gutierrez (Adrian Valencia 57')

Substitutions not used: Jude Bosshardt

Disciplinary Summary:

SAFC: Yellow Card (Matthew Matsuzaki) 34'

SAFC: Yellow Card (Eduardo Fernandez) 45'

CDL: Yellow Card (Nicholas Nelson) 71'

SAFC: Yellow Card (Max Salinas) 87'

SAFC: Yellow Card (Mateo Gonzales) 110'

Quotes:

Head Coach Alen Marcina

(On the win...)

"Incredibly proud, first and foremost. I think our academy boys did the city proud, the club proud, their friends and family proud. It's not easy. That's a team, that's an entire team of academy players and one pro goalkeeper. To pull off a result, to play that way for the amount of time we played, and they stuck to the SAFC way. Proud, proud."

(On the young lineup...)

"First and foremost we had I believe 10 or 11 pro players available. One kick, and it would be hard even to field a starting 11 come Sacramento [Republic FC]. And we gotta do what's in the best interest, they're human beings and you've got to look at the best interest of human beings and we made the decision and I wouldn't change the decision. It was a great opportunity for our academy boys and they made us all proud."

(On the non-dressing players celebrating postgame...)

"This is our club, right, we play the SAFC way. Whoever steps on the field, we stick to our game model principles, our mentality, we called them Mentality Mini Monsters. And they showed up big tonight."

Defender Roman Holt

(On the win...)

"Just super excited to contribute to the group. It was a great showing tonight for the academy and really just shows how much of a family this club is. ... I'm just so proud of all those guys."

(On celebrating the goal...)

"Really surreal moment, teammates put me in that position. Drawing that foul, Max [Salinas] and Eduardo [Fernandez] really working hard to get that penalty and then, easy from there. ... It's all them, I just had to do the easy part which is kick the ball in the goal."

(On winning alongside academy teammates...)

"We're all brothers so it's really easy to lean on someone's shoulder and pick someone up when someone's down, and have someone pick you up when you're down. So yeah, I think just having played with those guys for so long, and the bonds and friendships and chemistry I guess we have on the field, it was kind of seamless transitioning into the game. The fans really helped us, and we got the best fans in the league. And having Carlos back there, more experienced than all of us, was really helpful."

Midfielder Dalziel Ozuna

(On what head coach Alen Marcina told the team...)

"He was basically just telling us how to play like pros, he gave us the pro mentality, the pro mindset so we could go to every ball aggressively and don't back out of anything.

(On nerves in a home debut...)

"The first like 10 minutes I was super nervous, I'm not gonna lie. I couldn't control that. But after the first 10 minutes, touching the ball a little bit, I just felt calm. I was in the game, had my mind set to win every ball."

(On staying calm after trailing...)

"Every single time we get down 1-0 I just look at the time and I saw that we had like 30 minutes left. So we were perfect on time. We were dominating, the whole team, and we could do it. So I told the team 'come on it's just 1-0, nothing bad.'"

"It felt amazing, he's always been like a best friend ever since I got here - basically the first day. And seeing him score, in a big moment, he's going to college soon, it felt great. Super happy for him."

Goalkeeper Carlos Mercado

(On what the win meant to the group...)

"I think it's a really special moment for the boys. They were really excited for the game, everyone was plugged in. It means a lot, first of all we're really grateful to be on the field - to represent this city, and we're just blessed that we got the result."

(On starting for his hometown team...)

"For me it means a lot, this is what I've been working to. Every day I wake up, get in the locker [room], putting the work in and out. I'm always trying to help my teammates out and I'm always ready - staying ready."

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