Austin Bold FC will be kicking off for the first time in 2019. As the season approaches we will profile the teams around the USL, and with 33 teams currently in the league and another six slated to join Austin Bold FC with inaugural campaigns in 2019, there are plenty of clubs to get acquainted with.

Texas Showdown

We’ll start things off with a look at our in-state rivals. The Teal and Black will be one of four USL clubs in the Lone Star State, joining current USL clubs San Antonio FC and Rio Grande Valley FC, and El Paso USL, which will field a squad for the first time in 2019.

SAN ANTONIO FC

San Antonio FC entered the league in 2016 and play at Toyota Field, an 8,400-seat soccer-specific facility roughly 70 miles from where Austin Bold FC will play at Circuit of The Americas. The distance between the two clubs is the second-shortest in the USL behind the approximately 37 miles that separate LA Galaxy II and Orange County SC. Owned and operated by Spurs Sports & Entertainment, SAFC is an affiliate of Major League Soccer (MLS) club New York City FC (NYCFC) and train at S.T.A.R. Soccer Complex, which is adjacent to Toyota Field.

Head coach Darren Powell has been at the helm for the club since the beginning, guiding San Antonio FC to a 10-12-8 record in their inaugural campaign and missing the playoffs by just three points. The club took off in season two, placing second in the Western Conference with a 17-4-11 mark and advancing to the 2017 Western Conference semifinals. The 2017 season was highlighted by a 16-game unbeaten streak to open the season (11-0-5), while Diego Restrepo was named USL Goalkeeper of the Year and Sebastien Ibeagha earned the USL Defender of the Year nod.

The Alamo City squad currently sits in seventh place in the USL Western Conference standings with a record of 9-6-7.

RIO GRANDE VALLEY FC TOROS



Rio Grande Valley FC also joined the USL in 2016 and battle SAFC each season in the South Texas Derby, which the Toros currently lead 4-2-2. Based in Edinburg, Texas, the Toros serve as a hybrid affiliate of the MLS club Houston Dynamo, which gives the Dynamo control over the technical side of the RGV FC operations. The club plays in H-E-B Park, a soccer-specific facility that opened in 2017 and has a capacity of 9,735.

The Toros were a success out of the gate, finishing second in the 2016 USL Western Conference standings with a 14-9-7 league mark and reaching the conference quarterfinals, a feat that earned head coach Wilmer Cabrera a promotion to the same position with the Dynamo.

In 2017, RGV FC registered the fifth-highest home attendance figures in the USL, drawing 7,152 fans per match during the season. The Toros posted a 9-8-15 record to finish 11th in the conference.

Gerson Echeverry was named the third head coach in RGV FC history in December 2017. The Toros are currently in 15th in the USL Western Conference standings with a mark of 3-8-11, including a record of 2-2-4 over their last eight matches.

EL PASO USL

El Paso will join Austin Bold FC as one of seven teams beginning play in the USL in 2019. The club will play at Southwest University Park, a 7,500-seat facility that will be shared with the El Paso Chihuahuas, the Triple-A affiliate for Major League Baseball’s San Diego Padres.

Mark Lowry will serve as Head Coach and Technical Director after previously managing Jacksonville Armada FC from 2016-2018. The team has also introduced forward Omar Salgado as the first player signed in club history. Salgado is currently playing on loan with Las Vegas Lights FC.

El Paso USL will announce the team nickname soon, with five finalists having been revealed in July: Estrellas, Stars, Tejanos, Lagartos and Locomotive.