San Antonio FC beat Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2, 2-0 on Saturday at Toyota Field. A converted penalty by Rafa Castillo and a late goal by Franck Tayou gave the hosts the win against the Western Conference leaders. The team is now unbeaten in six consecutive matches.

“Tonight I thought we saw improvement,” SAFC Head Coach Darren Powell said. “We still need to keep improving, but it feels great to get three points against a team that’s top of the table. Absolutely.”

SAFC goalkeeper Matt Cardone came up big for his team in the 19th minute when he saved a penalty from Whitecaps forward Kyle Greig, maintaining the score level. Cardone’s performance earned him SWBC Man of the Match in his second start for the club after recording his first clean sheet and the fourth for the team.

“It was a great win,” Cardone said. “It’s really great to be part of such a good team effort. We’re only getting better and there’s a lot of the season left to go. It’s great to build some confidence. Our team has been on a good streak so far and we want to continue that for the rest of the season.”

The first goal of the match came in the 64th minute when San Antonio FC captain Rafa Castillo calmly slotted a penalty into the back of the net after Michael Reed was taken down in the visitors’ box. The goal was the first penalty awarded and scored in the club’s history.

Franck Tayou tallied one of his own in stoppage time when he found the end of a long ball by Greg Cochrane and finessed a shot low into the back of the net, giving the Alamo City squad the 2-0 lead.

San Antonio forward Cesar Elizondo made his debut for the club after coming on for Taylor Morgan in the 54th minute. The Costa Rican recorded two shots and came close to tallying a goal in his first appearance for the silver and black.

“I’m so glad to be back [in San Antonio],” said Elizondo. “I’m glad to be back with the people, to be part of this organization, it’s awesome, and the guys have all welcomed me really well. I got along with them very quickly, and I just need a couple of days training with them to get into the mood and into the rhythm to play even better.”

San Antonio FC will return to action at home next week as they host LA Galaxy II at Toyota Field on Saturday, July 23.

Scoring Summary:

SAFC: 1-0, Rafa Castillo (penalty) ‘64

SAFC: 2-0, Franck Tayou ‘90 (Greg Cochrane assist)

Disciplinary Summary:

SAFC: Yellow Card (Miguel Salazar ’18)

WFC2: Yellow Card (Kyle Greig ’41)

SAFC: Yellow Card (Carlos Alvarez ‘69)

SAFC: Yellow Card (Sebastien Thuriere ’76)

WFC2: Yellow Card (Kianz Froese ’78)

WFC2: Yellow Card (Marco Bustos ’90)

Attendance: 6,025

SAFC Starting XI: GK: Matt Cardone; D: Milton Palacios, Stephen McCarthy, Biko Bradnock-Brennan, Greg Cochrane; M: Rafa Castillo (Danny Garcia ’90), Michael Reed, Carlos Alvarez (Franck Tayou ’72), Miguel Salazar (Sebastien Thuriere ’23), Jason Johnson; F: Taylor Morgan (Cesar Elizondo ‘54)

Substitutions Not Used: Lee Johnston, Fejiro Okiomah, Sam McBride

Postgame Notes: