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Roushandel Rises to Occasion for San Antonio

By NICHOLAS MURRAY - nicholas.murray@uslsoccer.com, 10/12/17, 11:42AM EDT

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Veteran’s goal in front of Academy protégés puts SAFC into second in West


Photo courtesy Darren Abate / San Antonio FC

SAN ANTONIO – On Tuesday night, San Antonio FC’s Ryan Roushandel was fulfilling one of his other roles for the club, working with an academy squad to hopefully produce players that will compete for the club at the professional level one day.

On Wednesday night at Toyota Field, the veteran was celebrating with those same players after his first goal of the 2017 USL season gave SAFC a crucial 2-1 victory against the Portland Timbers 2 in its penultimate game of the season. The victory moved San Antonio into second place in the Western Conference, one point ahead of Reno 1868 FC with one game to go in the regular season for both.

“Obviously getting the goal is great, and celebrating with my [SAFC Pro Academy] boys is always fun,” said Roushandel. “That’s pretty much why I still play this game. For us, it’s an important goal, we get the three points at home, wipe it off the slate, and get ready for our last game.”

The 31-year-old has had his versatility utilized regularly of late by SAFC Head Coach Darren Powell, playing in both the back line and as a holding midfielder during his 11 appearances this season. Roushandel had only recorded one shot for the season prior to Wednesday night’s contest, but when he arrived in support after Michael Reed’s shot had deflected kindly to Ever Guzman in the left side of the penalty area in the 71st minute, Roushandel was in the right place to offer the Mexican forward an option in the crowded penalty area.

Roushandel’s first-time shot picked out the top-left corner, finding its way past a covering defender on the goal line to lift SAFC to a crucial three points.

“He takes a lot of pride coming from San Antonio FC and for him to have that moment and for the whole academy be at the game [was great],” said Powell. “Last night he was on the field training those boys, so it’s a special moment and for Ryan to get that goal was quite fitting.”

Despite Portland position at the bottom of the Western Conference, T2 certainly gave San Antonio a test on their home turf. After Guzman had given SAFC the initial lead, a good free kick was headed home by New Zealand international Bill Tuiloma to level the score 10 minutes before halftime. Portland’s energy saw the visitors hold the edge in possession, and win the majority of duels and win 15 of 16 attempted tackles, but it wasn’t until late on when the side was chasing a equalizer that is was able to seriously threaten a second goal as San Antonio’s defense put in another stellar shift.

The challenges T2 posed, though, were a good test as San Antonio now looks forward to hosting its first USL Cup Playoffs contest in the Western Conference Quarterfinals on Saturday, Oct. 21.

“They had nothing to lose tonight, so when they have nothing to lose they can take risks, they can take chances, and press us,” said Roushandel. “It’s good for us to work on that anyway to see what that’s like going into playoffs, when it’s a high-pressure situation every single minute of the game.”


Photo courtesy Darren Abate / San Antonio FC

Before the start of the postseason, though, there’s still business to be taken care of when South Texas Derby rival Rio Grande Valley FC arrives on Saturday. SAFC needs a win to be certain of a second-place finish, with a draw or defeat to the Toros opening the door for Reno to regain the advantage later in the night when it hosts Sacramento Republic FC.

After the Toros’ 1-0 win at Toyota Field handed SAFC its first home defeat of the season last month, though, there’s more than enough motivation for San Antonio to end the regular season on a high note before the playoffs begin.

“I think with RGV and the history we have with them, the guys are more motivated just to beat RGV,” said Reed. “We’ll play the game as we usually do— one game at a time. Then once that game is done, we’ll look at the team we’re playing in the playoffs, because every team in this league is different, and we’ll rise to the challenge.”

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