PHOENIX – San Antonio FC’s previous two outings had ended in late disappointment, as late concessions had seen the club’s winless streak reach four games.

On Saturday night, those fortunes turned around. A penalty kick with five minutes to go by Rafa Castillo earned SAFC a 1-0 victory against Phoenix Rising FC in front of 5,463 fans at the Phoenix Rising Soccer Complex, and at least for the time being a return to second place in the USL Western Conference.

“Winning tonight was very important,” said SAFC goalkeeper Diego Restrepo. “We needed this for ourselves, for the club, and for the fans. It’s not easy to come out against a good team like Phoenix, but it was a great performance from top to bottom, so I’m very proud of the guys and very happy to get three points.”

Restrepo’s four-save shutout proved crucial to the win, as he moved back into a tie for the league-lead with eight on the season. Saves early and late to deny Phoenix’s Didier Drogba bracketed a fine save to keep Shaun Wright-Phillips off the board on the half-hour mark as Restrepo got just enough on a rasping shot to turn it wide of his left post.

Maybe the biggest save of the night came from Ben Newnam, however, as the defender headed wide a good shot by Rising FC’s Chris Cortez after Restrepo’s punched attempt to clear had been held in by Phoenix’s attack, opening up an opportunity with the goalkeeper stranded. It was a return to the type of defensive work that has left the side with the best defensive record in the USL this season, pleasing Head Coach Darren Powell.

“It’s something we pride ourselves on,” said Powell. “We work on it each week in training and we try to apply those plans in games, and tonight we certainly did. The team was brave and collectively defended well, and that put them in a position to win the game tonight.”

The decisive moment arrived with seven minutes to go, when a chipped ball through by Michael Reed put Cesar Elizondo into the left side of the penalty area. The SAFC forward got to the ball first, clipped it up, and then collided with Phoenix goalkeeper Josh Cohen, which was ruled a penalty kick. Castillo stepped up and buried his finish into the left side of the net as Cohen went the opposite way to send the visitors home with its first road win since May 26 against the Swope Park Rangers.

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With both SAFC and the Rangers in hot pursuit of Real Monarchs SLC at the top of the Western Conference, San Antonio is hoping Saturday night’s win can kickstart that chase.

“Hopefully that’s a change for our squad,” said SAFC defender Stephen McCarthy. “We really needed a win and we got it on the road, which is huge. Hopefully we can start putting more points on the board.”