San Antonio FC is back in the win column after defeating Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC 2-1 at Weidner Field in Colorado Wednesday night.
In the 15th minute, Referee Calin Radosav called a penalty in the box on SAFC defender Akeem O’Connor-Ward, setting up a penalty kick showdown for Switchback forward Khori Bennett and SAFC goalkeeper Joey Batrouni. Bennett stutter-stepped up to rifle a daisy cutter to the corner. Batrouni had done his homework and dove to his right, parrying Bennett’s shot. The languid San Antonio defense offered no support to clear the box, and Bennett easily followed his own shot to tap it home and give Colorado Springs an early one-nil lead.
“Obviously unfortunate,” SAFC defender Alex Crognale said. “We want to start where we score the first goal, but we never wavered. We stayed confident and we responded.”
Indeed, SAFC did respond. In a sequence that could be aptly described as clinical, a vigilant cross from San Antonio forward Cristian Sorto set up the equalizer. Sorto, making a run up the left side, cleverly switched the field to O’Connor-Ward on the right wing. His attempted cross was deflected to SAFC midfielder Jorge Hernandez. Hernandez drew three defenders and ducked a dime to wide-open teammate Dmitrii Erofeev for a first-touch goal off his right foot in the 29th minute.
“I’m just trying to do what I’m capable of,” Erofeev said. “I’m gonna try to continue that.”
The match became more intense as it went on, and San Antonio would win the foul and yellow card contests, 20-15 and 5-1. An increasingly chippy and contentious contest reached its apex on a set piece in the 70th minute. Before the play, tempers flared between Switchback midfielder Aidan Rocha and Crognale. Jorge Hernandez took the corner kick, delivering a beautifully flighted ball to Crognale, who won the battle for position and headed in the game-winner past the Colorado keeper.
“The boys put in a heck of a shift. We battled for 90 minutes and it’s great when you can go on the road and steal three points,” Crognale said.
In the final minutes, Colorado Springs mounted a frenetic press. Desperately trying to equalize, the Switchbacks ultimately missed opportunities to do so, due in large part to a key save by Batrouni in the 92nd minute. SAFC, having come from behind, held on to its 2-1 lead and secured the road victory.
After the month-long road trip, including a disappointing loss to Lexington SC, San Antonio fell from first place to second in the Western Conference. With the win Wednesday night in Colorado, SAFC gained three points and remained in second place, now trailing Orange County SC by two points atop the table in the west.
“Good three points away. We played a tough team, but the guys showed maturity again,” SAFC head coach Carlos Llamosa said. “Tenacity. We fight until the final whistle.” SAFC will return to Toyota Field for the first time since late May to host Monterey Bay FC at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, July 4.