San Antonio FC re-signed Brazilian midfielder Pecka for the upcoming 2019 USL season pending league and federation approval, the club announced today. Pecka is returning for his third season with the Alamo City club. Per club policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed.

“The coaching staff is pleased to have Pecka join us again for the 2019 season,” said SAFC Head Coach Darren Powell. “He has been instrumental playing central midfield for us over the last couple of years. We expect him to continue to get better and we are looking forward to starting preseason with him.”

Pecka will again help anchor San Antonio’s midfield after appearing in 22 USL matches (20 starts) with SAFC in 2018, tallying the third-most minutes by a San Antonio midfielder (1,793). The Brazilian ended the regular season with one goal, 47 tackles, 28 interceptions and an 86.3 percent passing accuracy over 924 passes.

Overall in his career with San Antonio FC, Pecka has appeared in 49 matches in all competitions, including 43 starts while compiling 3,860 minutes played. The 29-year-old’s 117 tackles in his two seasons with San Antonio is the most by any SAFC player since the USL began tracking the statistic prior to the start of the 2017 season. Pecka is also the only San Antonio FC player to record a passing accuracy of at least 86 percent in each of the last two USL seasons. He also recorded a passing accuracy of 90 percent or higher in 13 league matches since the start of 2017.

“I’m thrilled to stay in San Antonio,” said Pecka. “I feel that we have unfinished business and we have a lot of goals to reach together. I enjoy working with this club and everyone at San Antonio FC, and together along with our fans, I think we can have a really positive 2019 season and compete for a championship. I love this city and club, my heart is here and I’m ready to get back to work.”

Prior to joining SAFC, Pecka spent the 2016 season with Rayo OKC in the North American Soccer League (NASL), where he scored one goal in 21 appearances while leading the team to the NASL playoff semifinals. He began his career in his native Brazil, where he played for Flamengo and CFZ do Rio before moving to the United States to join the Fort Lauderdale Strikers (NASL) in 2011, helping the club reach the NASL final in 2014. The 28-year-old then spent the 2015 season with MLS side Real Salt Lake, where he made four appearances with the first team and six appearances on-loan with Real Monarchs SLC (USL).

San Antonio FC is currently preparing for the upcoming USL season, and fans can purchase 2019 season tickets by calling the SAFC sales office at 210-444-5MLS or by visiting SanAntonioFC.com. Supporters can also follow the club by liking San Antonio FC on Facebook, as well as following the team on Twitter (@SanAntonioFC), Instagram (@sanantoniofc) and Snapchat (SanAntonioFC).