# 2021 San Antonio FC season

The 2021 San Antonio FC season was the club's sixth season of existence. Including the San Antonio Thunder of the original NASL and the former San Antonio Scorpions of the modern NASL, it was the 12th season of professional soccer in San Antonio. The club played in the USL Championship, the second division of the United States soccer league system, and would have participated in the U.S. Open Cup, however the field of teams was reduced due to ongoing COVID-19 pandemic concerns and eventually cancelled.

## Club
### Coaching staff

| Position | Staff |
| Head coach | Alen Marcina |
| SAFC Pro Academy Director & Assistant coach | Nick Evans |
| Director of Goalkeeping | Juan Lamadrid |
| Assistant coach | Dario Pot |
| Assistant coach | Oscar Munoz |
| Assistant coach | Tim Chestney |
| Assistant coach | Jeremiah Narvaez |
| Assistant coach | Ryan Roushandel |
| High Performance Coordinator | Sean Arters |
| Athletic trainer | Jesse Lowrance |
| Equipment Manager | Rashad Moore |
Source: San Antonio FC

### Other information

| Owner | Spurs Sports & Entertainment |
| Chairman | Julianna Hawn Holt |
| Managing Director | Tim Holt |
| Ground (capacity and dimensions) | Toyota Field (8,200 / 110x70 yards) |
| Training Ground | S.T.A.R. Soccer Complex |
Source: San Antonio FC

## Squad information
### First team squad

    As of September 29, 2021.
| Squad No. | Name | Position(s) | Date of Birth (Age) |
| Goalkeepers |||||
| 37 | Matt Cardone | GK | (1993-06-18) June 18, 1993 (age 31) |
| 99 | Carlos Mercado | GK | (1999-09-27) September 27, 1999 (age 25) |
| Defenders |||||
| 3 | Mitchell Taintor | DF | (1994-09-11) September 11, 1994 (age 30) |
| 13 | Mathieu Deplagne | DF | (1991-10-01) October 1, 1991 (age 33) |
| 23 | Sam Gleadle | DF | (1996-03-20) March 20, 1996 (age 28) |
| 24 | Kortne Ford | DF | (1996-01-26) January 26, 1996 (age 28) |
| 27 | Joaquín Varela | DF | (1997-03-25) March 25, 1997 (age 27) |
| 31 | Connor Maloney | DF | (1995-05-18) May 18, 1995 (age 29) |
| 33 | Jasser Khmiri | DF | (1997-07-27) July 27, 1997 (age 27) |
| 44 | Axel Sjöberg | DF | (1991-03-08) March 8, 1991 (age 33) |
| 47 | Roman Holt | DF | (2005-03-09) March 9, 2005 (age 19) |
| 49 | Bradley Dildy | DF | (2004-05-20) May 20, 2004 (age 20) |
| Midfielders |||||
| 4 | Chris Lema | MF | (1996-08-05) August 5, 1996 (age 28) |
| 6 | PC | MF | (1994-03-10) March 10, 1994 (age 30) |
| 8 | Cameron Lindley | MF | (1997-07-18) July 18, 1997 (age 27) |
| 14 | Ollie Wright | MF | (1999-03-01) March 1, 1999 (age 25) |
| 17 | Jose Gallegos | MF | (2001-09-22) September 22, 2001 (age 23) |
| 19 | Shandon Hopeau | MF | (1998-12-01) December 1, 1998 (age 25) |
| 20 | Marcus Epps | MF | (1995-01-16) January 16, 1995 (age 29) |
| 25 | Mohammed Abu | MF | (1991-11-14) November 14, 1991 (age 32) |
| 43 | Rocky Perez | MF | (2004-01-08) January 8, 2004 (age 20) |
| Forwards |||||
| 7 | Nathan Fogaça | FW | (1999-06-09) June 9, 1999 (age 25) |
| 9 | Santiago Patiño | FW | (1997-03-10) March 10, 1997 (age 27) |
| 11 | Justin Dhillon | FW | (1995-06-06) June 6, 1995 (age 29) |
| 48 | Abraham Lincon | FW | (2004-04-21) April 21, 2004 (age 20) |

## Player movement
### In

| Pos | Player | Previous Club | Fee | Date |
| MF | Ollie Wright | Corpus Christi FC | Undisclosed | December 15, 2020 |
| MF | Cameron Lindley | Indy Eleven | Undisclosed | December 18, 2020 |
| MF | PC | San Antonio FC | Re-signed | December 21, 2020 |
| GK | Matt Cardone | San Antonio FC | Re-signed | December 23, 2020 |
| FW | Santiago Patiño | Orlando City SC | Undisclosed | January 6, 2021 |
| DF | Connor Maloney | San Antonio FC | Re-signed | January 7, 2021 |
| MF | Ethan Bryant | San Antonio FC | Re-signed | January 12, 2021 |
| MF | Chris Lema | New York Red Bulls | Undisclosed | January 14, 2021 |
| FW | Justin Dhillon | Seattle Sounders FC | Undisclosed | January 15, 2021 |
| MF | Emil Cuello | LA Galaxy | Undisclosed | January 20, 2021 |
| DF | Axel Sjöberg | D.C. United | Undisclosed | January 21, 2021 |
| MF | Marcus Epps | Portland Timbers 2 | Undisclosed | January 22, 2021 |
| DF | Sam Gleadle | Minnesota United FC | Undisclosed | April 6, 2021 |
| DF | Mathieu Deplagne | FC Cincinnati | Undisclosed | April 8, 2021 |
| FW | Abraham Lincon | SAFC Pro Academy | Undisclosed | April 22, 2021 |
| FW | Fabrizio Bernal | SAFC Pro Academy | Undisclosed | April 22, 2021 |
| MF | Rocky Perez | SAFC Pro Academy | Undisclosed | April 22, 2021 |
| DF | Roman Holt | SAFC Pro Academy | Undisclosed | April 22, 2021 |
| DF | Bradley Dildy | SAFC Pro Academy | Undisclosed | July 16, 2021 |
| MF | Mohammed Abu | D.C. United | Undisclosed | July 19, 2021 |

### Out

| Pos | Player | Transferred To | Fee | Date |
| FW | Luis Solignac | San Luis de Quillota | Undisclosed | October 26, 2020 |
| DF | Blake Smith | Retired | Undisclosed | November 6, 2020 |
| DF | Mitchell Taintor | Sacramento Republic FC | Undisclosed | December 3, 2020 |
| DF | Ebenezer Ackon | San Diego Loyal SC | Undisclosed | December 15, 2020 |
| MF | Cristian Parano | F.C. Paços de Ferreira | Undisclosed | January 5, 2021 |
| FW | Fabrizio Bernal | Xavier University | Undisclosed | August 12, 2021 |

### Loan in

| Pos | Player | Loaned From | Start | End |
| DF | Jasser Khmiri | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | March 26, 2021 | End of season |
| FW | Nathan Fogaça | Coritiba Foot Ball Club | April 1, 2021 | End of season |
| MF | Shandon Hopeau | Seattle Sounders FC | April 15, 2021 | End of season |
| DF | Joaquín Varela | San Martín de Tucumán | May 12, 2021 | End of season |
| FW | Jordan Perruzza | Toronto FC | May 20, 2021 | July 16, 2021 |
| DF | Kortne Ford | Colorado Rapids | August 19, 2021 | End of season |
| DF | Mitchell Taintor | Sacramento Republic FC | August 25, 2021 | End of season |
| GK | Jordan Farr | Indy Eleven | November 4, 2021 | End of season |

### Loan out

| Pos | Player | Loaned To | Start | End |
| MF | Ethan Bryant | Richmond Kickers | August 12, 2021 | End of season |
| MF | Emil Cuello | Sacramento Republic FC | August 25, 2021 | End of season |
| DF | Liam Doyle | Indy Eleven | September 13, 2021 | End of season |
| MF | Leo Torres | Real Monarchs | September 29, 2021 | End of season |

## Pre-season

The pre-season match vs North Texas SC was announced on March 3, 2021, by NTSC. The remaining schedule was released by SAFC on March 19, 2021.

## Competitions
### Overall

Position in the Mountain Division
| Competition | Started round | Final position / round | First match | Last match |
| USL Championship | — | 2nd | May 1, 2021 | October 30, 2021 |
| USL Championship Playoffs | Conference Quarterfinals | Conference Final | November 5, 2021 | November 20, 2021 |
Updated to match played November 22, 2021 Source: Competitions

### Overview

| Competition | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record |
| Competition | G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % |
| USL Championship | 32 | 14 | 10 | 8 | 50 | 38 | +12 | 043.75 |
| USL Championship Playoffs | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 066.67 |
| Total | 35 | 16 | 11 | 8 | 56 | 40 | +16 | 045.71 |
Updated to match played November 22, 2021 Source: Competitions

### USL Championship
#### Group table
##### Mountain Division

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | El Paso Locomotive FC | 32 | 18 | 4 | 10 | 56 | 34 | +22 | 64 | Advance to USL Championship Playoffs |
| 2 | San Antonio FC | 32 | 14 | 8 | 10 | 50 | 38 | +12 | 52 | Advance to USL Championship Playoffs |
| 3 | Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC | 32 | 13 | 8 | 11 | 61 | 48 | +13 | 50 | Advance to USL Championship Playoffs |
| 4 | Rio Grande Valley FC Toros | 32 | 13 | 11 | 8 | 49 | 42 | +7 | 47 | Advance to USL Championship Playoffs |
| 5 | New Mexico United | 32 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 44 | 40 | +4 | 46 | |
| 6 | Austin Bold FC | 32 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 32 | 42 | −10 | 42 | |
| 7 | Real Monarchs | 32 | 5 | 20 | 7 | 28 | 56 | −28 | 22 | |

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: October 31, 2021. Source:

#### Results by matchday

Position in the Mountain Division
| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 |
| Stadium | H | H | A | H | H | A | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | A | H | H | H | A | A | A | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | H |
| Result | W | D | L | W | D | D | D | L | D | D | L | W | W | L | W | L | W | W | W | D | L | W | W | W | L | W | D | W | D | L | D | W |
| Position | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |

#### Matches

The home opener vs Colorado Springs was announced on March 23, 2021. The remaining schedule was released on March 30, 2021. Home team is listed first, left to right.
Win  Draw  Loss  Postponed
Kickoff times are in CDT (UTC-05) unless shown otherwise

### USL Championship Playoffs

On October 20, 2021, San Antonio clinched a spot in the 2021 USL Championship Playoffs.

### Exhibition

On June 21, 2021, it was announced that San Antonio would host the ‘SAFC International Showcase’ featuring Mexican sides Querétaro F.C. and Pumas UNAM.

## Statistics
### Appearances

Discipline includes league and playoffs play.
| No. | Pos. | Name | League | League | Playoffs | Playoffs | Total | Total | Discipline | Discipline |
| No. | Pos. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | | |
| 1 | GK | Jordan Farr | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | Mitchell Taintor | 13 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 4 | MF | Chris Lema | 14 (12) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 (12) | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | PC | 18 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 21 | 1 | 9 | 0 |
| 7 | FW | Nathan Fogaça | 27 (4) | 11 | 3 | 2 | 30 (4) | 13 | 7 | 1 |
| 8 | MF | Cameron Lindley | 24 (6) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 24 (7) | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | Santiago Patiño | 9 (2) | 5 | 3 | 3 | 12 (2) | 8 | 7 | 1 |
| 11 | MF | Justin Dhillon | 12 (14) | 7 | 0 (3) | 0 | 12 (17) | 7 | 4 | 0 |
| 13 | DF | Mathieu Deplagne | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 1 | 7 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | Ollie Wright | 2 (12) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 (12) | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 17 | MF | Jose Gallegos | 27 (2) | 7 | 3 | 0 | 30 (2) | 7 | 4 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | Shandon Hopeau | 1 (10) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (10) | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | Marcus Epps | 30 (2) | 6 | 3 | 1 | 33 (2) | 7 | 2 | 0 |
| 23 | DF | Sam Gleadle | 19 (3) | 0 | 0 (3) | 0 | 19 (6) | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 24 | DF | Kortne Ford | 13 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 16 | 4 | 5 | 1 |
| 25 | MF | Mohammed Abu | 15 (3) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 18 (3) | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| 27 | DF | Joaquín Varela | 9 (7) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 9 (7) | 2 | 6 | 0 |
| 31 | DF | Connor Maloney | 19 (1) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 22 (1) | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 33 | DF | Jasser Khmiri | 15 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 37 | GK | Matt Cardone | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 43 | MF | Rocky Perez | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 44 | DF | Axel Sjöberg | 14 (2) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 14 (2) | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 47 | DF | Roman Holt | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 48 | FW | Abraham Lincon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 49 | DF | Bradley Dildy | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 99 | GK | Carlos Mercado | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Players who left the club |||||||||||
| | FW | Fabrizio Bernal | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | Ethan Bryant | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | Emil Cuello | 10 (6) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 (6) | 3 | 5 | 1 |
| | DF | Liam Doyle | 10 (3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 (3) | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| | FW | Jordan Perruzza | 1 (5) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 (5) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | Leo Torres | 0 (6) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (6) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Last updated: November 22, 2021. Source: San Antonio FC

### Top scorers

The list is sorted by shirt number when total goals are equal.
| Rnk | Pos | No. | Player | League | Playoffs | Total |
| 1 | FW | 7 | Nathan Fogaça | 11 | 2 | 13 |
| 2 | FW | 9 | Santiago Patiño | 5 | 3 | 8 |
| 3 | FW | 11 | Justin Dhillon | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| 3 | MF | 17 | Jose Gallegos | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| 3 | MF | 20 | Marcus Epps | 6 | 1 | 7 |
| 6 | DF | 24 | Kortne Ford | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| 7 | MF | 10 | Emil Cuello | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 8 | DF | 27 | Joaquín Varela | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 9 | MF | 9 | PC | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 | DF | 13 | Mathieu Deplagne | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 | DF | 44 | Axel Sjöberg | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 | FW | 77 | Jordan Perruzza | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| # | Own goals | Own goals | Own goals | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| TOTALS | TOTALS | TOTALS | TOTALS | 50 | 6 | 56 |
Last updated: November 22, 2021. Source: San Antonio FC

### Clean sheets

The list is sorted by shirt number when total clean sheets are equal.
| Rnk | No. | Player | League | Playoffs | Total |
| 1 | 0 | Matt Cardone | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| 2 | 1 | Jordan Farr | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| TOTALS | TOTALS | TOTALS | 7 | 1 | 8 |
Last updated: November 22, 2021. Source: San Antonio FC

### Summary

| Games played | 35 (32 USL Championship) (3 USL Championship Playoffs) |
| Games won | 16 (14 USL Championship) (2 USL Championship Playoffs) |
| Games drawn | 11 (10 USL Championship) (1 USL Championship Playoffs) |
| Games lost | 8 (8 USL Championship) (0 USL Championship Playoffs) |
| Goals scored | 56 (50 USL Championship) (6 USL Championship Playoffs) |
| Goals conceded | 40 (38 USL Championship) (2 USL Championship Playoffs) |
| Goal difference | 16 (+12 USL Championship) (+4 USL Championship Playoffs) |
| Clean sheets | 9 (8 USL Championship) (1 USL Championship Playoffs) |
| Yellow cards | 102 (94 USL Championship) (8 USL Championship Playoffs) |
| Red cards | 7 (7 USL Championship) (0 USL Championship Playoffs) |
| Most appearances | Marcus Epps (35 appearances) |
| Top scorer | Nathan (13 goals) |
| Winning Percentage | Overall: 16/35 (45.71%) |
Last updated: November 22, 2021. Source: San Antonio FC

## Awards
### Player

| No. | Player | Award | Week/Month |
| 9 | Santiago Patiño | Championship Player of the Week | Week 2 |
| 6 | PC | Championship Team of the Week | Week 2 |
| 20 | Marcus Epps | Championship Team of the Week | Week 3 |
| 13 | Mathieu Deplagne | Championship Team of the Week | Week 5 |
| 37 | Matt Cardone | Championship Save of the Week | Week 6 |
| 37 | Matt Cardone | Championship Save of the Month | April/May |
| 37 | Matt Cardone | Championship Team of the Week | Week 13 |
| 7 | Nathan Fogaça | Championship Team of the Week | Week 13 |
| 7 | Nathan Fogaça | Championship Team of the Week | Week 14 |
| 17 | Jose Gallegos | Championship Team of the Week | Week 14 |
| 7 | Nathan Fogaça | Championship Team of the Week | Week 16 |
| 20 | Marcus Epps | Championship Team of the Week | Week 20 |
| 7 | Nathan Fogaça | Championship Team of the Week | Week 25 |
| 24 | Kortne Ford | Championship Team of the Week | Week 28 |
| End of Season Awards |||||
| 17 | Jose Gallegos | 2021 USL Championship All-League Second Team | November |
| 1 | Jordan Farr | 2021 USL Championship Save of the Playoffs | December |