Texas Based Players called up for Copa America

Four players based in Texas will be playing in this year’s Copa America which gets underway on Thursday night.

Adalberto Carrasquilla of Houston Dynamo will represent Panama and Julio Cascante of Austin FC will represent Costa Rica. Jamaica will have two USL Championship players in Jahmali White from El Paso Locomotive and Kevon Lambert of San Antonio FC who received a late call up after Leon Bailey declined the call up.

Jahmali White will likely not see much action, brought in as a back up goalkeeper, but he has played six games for the Reggae Boyz, although only one of those has come in a competitive international. He is joined by fellow Texas team player Kevon Lambert, who came in as the 27^th man. Lambert was something of a surprise call up, despite holding 25 caps he has not played for Jamaica since 2020. That may lead to the USL Championship fans in Texas being frustrated at losing two important players for such a vital stage of the season but not seeing any action for Jamaica.

Adalberto Carrasquilla has become a crucial part of the Panama side in recent years, since his first appearance in 2018. Now holding 54 caps he will be heavily used in the tournament. Carrasquilla is in career best form for Panama, winning the CONCACAF Gold Cup golden ball award for being the best player in the tournament, he will be eager to produce again against harder opposition.

The final Texas based player in the Copa America is Julio Cascante who has used an impressive season with Austin FC to start firmly establishing himself in the Costa Rican national team. After making his debut back in 2015 it took until 2023 when he was doing well for Austin to make his way back to the side and he’s been hard to remove, playing eight games since returning to the set up.

Beyond just seeing their players involved Texans will also get plenty of opportunities to see the tournament, hosting 8 games throughout the Copa America including two quarter-finals.

The first of those matches will be June 21^st with Peru taking on Chile at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. Jamaica’s pair of Texas based players will feel at home with two of their three group stage matches being played in Texas, against Mexico at NRG Stadium in Houston and against Venezuela at Q2 Stadium in Austin.

The tournament gets underway in Atlanta at Mercedes-Benz Stadium tomorrow night when defending champions Argentina take on debutants Canada.

San Antonio FC finally snaps winless streak

SAN ANTONIO — It has been well over a month, eight matches, since San Antonio FC fans tasted a win but on Saturday they did, with a 1-0 win over Memphis 901 FC at Toyota Field.

Players and Head Coach Alen Marcina had been speaking for weeks about how one win can change anything, and this win has certainly done that, with the result SAFC moves away from dropping out of the playoff places and has some breathing space. The exhale of relief from many fans was audible.

But changes had to be made to get the win, and while one of those changes has been very notable, a change in goalkeeper, the others have been more subtle.

Defensively, players have been marking up better, there’s been less space, men have been covered and ultimately players have been communicating. This could be seen on Memphis’ 18^th minute chance. While a good through-ball unlocked the defense, by having numbers back and covering well, the only option was to shoot, which allowed Kendall McIntosh to make the save.

There was smarter running getting forward and that’s what led to the goal, letting the ball do the work over forcing things.

It can be easy when a defender is coming onto you to get the ball and push back, but on this occasion Kameron Lacey resisted the urge to not do that and let the ball go forward, putting him in acres of space.

That then leads to another change, one that has been highlighted by Alen Marcina, communication. With Juan Agudelo in the box he makes a smart run and gets between defenders and signals exactly where he wants the ball, allowing the ball to be placed between the defenders.

That left him with a simple finish for the goal.

With a goal lead San Antonio FC was able to organize even more defensively and increase the physicality which made life difficult for Memphis.

Another moment highlighted San Antonio’s changes this season on previous season. Things this year have been about being opportunistic. That means that while being more organized defensively chances are still sought out when they come, which is most clearly seen with how many men were forward on a 52^nd minute freekick.

It’s one match and people shouldn’t be carried away, Marcina certainly won’t, but these were smart changes and if they can be sustained should help SAFC get results. Even if it’s less chaotic than previous seasons.