The 2016 San Antonio FC season was the club's inaugural season. Including the

San Antonio Thunder The San Antonio Thunder were an American soccer team based in San Antonio, Texas. Founded in 1975 as a member of the North American Soccer League, the team played two seasons in San Antonio before the franchise rights were moved to Hawaii. The t ...

of the original NASL and the former

San Antonio Scorpions The San Antonio Scorpions were an American professional soccer team based in San Antonio, Texas. Founded in 2010, the team made its debut in the North American Soccer League in 2012. The Scorpions played at Toyota Field, a soccer specific stadiu ...

of the modern NASL, this was the 7th season of professional soccer in San Antonio. The club played in the

United Soccer League United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a Association football, soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues curren ...

, the third tier of the

United States soccer league system The United States soccer league system is a series of professional and amateur soccer leagues based, in whole or in part, in the United States. Sometimes called the American soccer pyramid, teams and leagues are not linked by the system of prom ...

, and also participated in the

U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in men's Soccer in the United States, soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing nati ...

Background

San Antonio was awarded the thirty-first USL franchise on January 7, 2016. The establishment of the club, along with the concurrent purchase of

Toyota Field Toyota Field is a soccer-specific stadium in San Antonio, Texas, United States. Located next to Heroes Stadium, and adjacent to the STAR Soccer Complex and Morgan's Wonderland, the facility opened on April 13, 2013. The stadium is the home ...

by the

City of San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

and

Bexar County Bexar County ( or ; es, Béxar ) is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. It is in South Texas and its county seat is San Antonio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,009,324. Bexar County is included in the San Antonio–New Bra ...

, was part of a plan by local officials to obtain an expansion franchise in

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

. As a result, the

franchise of the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

was shut down. The club's first head coach, announced on January 7, 2016, was former

Elon University Elon University is a private university in Elon, North Carolina. Founded in 1889 as Elon College, Elon is organized into six schools, most of which offer bachelor's degrees and several of which offer master's degrees or professional doctorate d ...

men's soccer coach and

Orlando City SC Orlando City SC is an American professional soccer club in Orlando, Florida, that competes as a member of the Eastern Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). Orlando City SC began play in 2015 as the 21st franchise in MLS, succeeding the USL ...

ProAcademy director, Darren Powell. On February 2, 2016, Carlos Alvarez became the club's first player signing. The league expanded from 24 to 29 teams where San Antonio competed in the Western Conference of the USL.

Club

Coaching staff

{, class="wikitable" , - !Position !Staff , - , Head coach, ,

Darren Powell Darren David Powell (born 10 March 1976) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. During his playing career, he appeared over 250 times in the Football League and Premier League. Powell was known as "a tough-t ...

, - , rowspan="2", Assistant coach, , Nick Evans , - , Andy Thomson , - , Goalkeeper coach, , Juan Lamadrid , - , Fitness coach, , Andy Thomson , - , Team Physician, , Eliot Young, M.D. , - , Athletic Trainer, , Jordan Harding , - , Assistant Athletic Trainer, , Chris Ramos , - , Equipment Manager, , Rashad Moore , - , Pro Academy director, , Nick Evans , -

Other information

, -

Squad information

First-team squad

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Matt Cardone Matt Cardone (born June 18, 1993) is an American former soccer player who played for San Antonio FC in the USL Championship. Early life and education Cardone was born in San Antonio, Texas. He played college soccer at Trinity University betwee ...

, , GK , , - , 1 ,

Josh Ford Joshua Ford (born November 6, 1987) is a retired American soccer player. He is currently an assistant coach for Tacoma Defiance of the USL Championship. Career College and Amateur Ford attended the University of Connecticut where he set school ...

, , GK , , - , 13 , Lee Johnston , , GK , , - !colspan="5" style="background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center", Defenders , - , 2 , Milton Palacios , , DF , , - , 4 ,

Sam McBride Sam (Samuel) McBride (July 13, 1866 – November 14, 1936) was a two-time Mayor of Toronto serving his first term from 1928 to 1929 and his second term in 1936 which ended prematurely due to his death. He was also a member of the Orange Order ...

, , DF , , - , 14 , Biko Bradnock-Brennan , , DF , , - , 15 , Stepthen McCarthy , , DF , , - , 19 , Max Gunderson , , DF , , - , 20 ,

Greg Cochrane Gregory Cochrane (born November 1, 1990) is an American former professional soccer player. Career Early career Born in Babylon, New York, and moved to Holland, Pennsylvania, Cochrane attended Council Rock High School South in his hometown befo ...

, , DF , , - , 22 , Austin Dunker , , DF , , - , 23 , Fejiro Okiomah , , DF , , - , 25 ,

Ryan Roushandel Ryan Massoud Roushandel (born November 11, 1985) is an American soccer player and coach. Youth career Roushandel started his collegiate career at Clemson University, going all the way to the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament as a redshirt freshm ...

, , DF , , - !colspan="5" style="background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center", Midfielders , - , 6 ,

Sébastien Thurière Sébastien Thurière (born January 6, 1990) is a Haitian footballer who last played as a midfielder for Penang in Malaysia Premier League. Early life Thurière was born in St. Petersburg, Florida. Prior to his professional career he played so ...

, , MF , , - , 7 , Victor Araujo , , MF , , - , 8 , Michael Reed , , MF , , - , 10 , Carlos Alvarez , , MF , , - , 11 , Danny Garcia , , MF , , - , 16 , Rafael Castillo , , MF , , - , 28 , Miguel Salazar , , MF , , - , 79 , Diego Garcia , , MF , , - !colspan="5" style="background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center", Forwards , - , 5 ,

César Elizondo César Gerardo Elizondo Quezada (born 10 February 1988) is a footballer who plays as a striker for Pérez Zeledón. Club career His debut with Deportivo Saprissa in 2005 with 17 years old after the U-17 World Cup in Peru, then in 2007 played ...

, , FW , , - , 9 , Manolo Sanchez , , FW , , - , 12 ,

Taylor Morgan Taylor Lee Morgan (born 21 October 1990) is an English former footballer who played as a forward. Career Early career Taylor joined the Southampton academy at the age of 10 and remained there for four years before joining the Queens Park Rang ...

, , FW , , - , 17 ,

Shawn Chin Shawn Chin (born May 11, 1989) is an American professional soccer player. Personal Chin is of Jamaican and Chinese descent. He was born and raised in Miami, Florida, and attended Felix Varela High School, where he was named Miami Player of the ...

, , FW , , - , 18 , Jason Johnson , , FW , , - , 21 , Jacques Francois , , FW , , - , 24 , Franck Tayou , , FW ,

Player movement

In

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Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 1995, as part of the Anschutz Corporation, la ...