It was SAFC’s last home match until July, as it hosted Sacramento Republic FC at Toyota Field Saturday night. Based on goals against this season for each side – nine for San Antonio and seven for Sacramento – the match promised to be a defensive struggle.

SAFC would open the scoring in the 27th minute when midfielder Dmitrii Erofeev fed forward Cristian Sorto perfectly inside the 18 for a surgically placed strike off his right foot to the far corner and a one-nil San Antonio lead.

In the 33rd minute, Erofeev followed with a gorgeous bending shot from distance off his left foot, confounding the flailing SRFC goalkeeper Daniel Vitiello. SAFC, up two-nil, had seemingly overcome its offensive woes of previous matches as two different players found the back of the net in the first half.

“This season, we’ve been creating a lot of moments, but we didn’t score that much. Our problem was shooting. We were trying to put the ball in the net, but this game – how you saw – two shots, two goals and that’s it,” Erofeev said.

In the 55th minute, Sacramento answered with a goal from forward Forster Ajago, who punched in a low cross from midfielder Arturo Rodriguez to cut the SAFC lead in half, 2-1.

In the 68th minute, SAFC star midfielder Jorge Hernandez was fouled on a challenge by two Sacramento defenders. Hernandez, on the ground and vulnerable, was kicked by Sacramento midfielder Aaron Essel, resulting in both sides converging near the corner. Pushing, shoving and a collective scuffle ensued. Despite the altercation, referee Robert Vincze did not issue a red card or call a foul on Essel. The no-call was met with chants of “Ref you suck” from the Toyota Field crowd, and SAFC played with increased intensity for the remainder of the match.

“We showed a lot of composure. Despite the dust-up, we stayed mentally strong to finish out the game,” SAFC defender Alex Crognale said. “When they have a cheap shot against one of us, the guys go and support and are there to back them up.”

Sacramento would play high and press for the final 20 minutes. SAFC stood firm, its back line withstanding the SRFC attack, anchored by SAFC goalkeeper Joey Batrouni, who had two of his four saves late in the match to preserve the victory.

“We did a lot of good things tonight,” SAFC head coach Carlos Llamosa said. “The two goals that we scored basically came from good team pressure. We got turnovers and we scored those goals.”

With the win over its conference rival, SAFC earned three points in the standings and remained atop the table in the west. San Antonio will begin its four-game June road trip at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday when it faces Sporting Club Jacksonville at Hodges Stadium in Jacksonville, FL.