Goalkeeper Matt Cardone Stands Tall In Professional Debut For San Antonio

The Spring Season finale on Saturday at Toyota Field between the San Antonio Scorpions and Ottawa Fury FC didn’t have much in the way of scoring, but there was definitely something to write home about. San Antonio native Matt Cardone made a surprise start - his professional debut -  in between the posts for Daryl Sattler, who was injured in warmups. Cardone proved up to the challenge of playing against the league's saves leader, as he went tit for tat with Ottawa’s Romuald Peiser in a game that ended as it had begun, scoreless at 0-0.

“It was an exciting moment, it was last minute. I had to quickly get myself mentally ready,” Cardone said. “It ended up going well. I felt comfortable, I felt confident.”

The confidence was evident as Cardone, who played his college ball in San Antonio at Trinity University, showed no fear in protecting his goal. His saves were important in the long run as neither side was able to get a goal that would have seen them take all three points.

“Matt stepped up and did well,” Scorpions head coach Alen Marcina said. “It was a good performance.  His communication was great. He was confident with the ball at his feet. He did well for his first professional start.”

The Scorpions were not without their own chances to get a goal that might have given Cardone a win in his first NASL start. In the end, the efforts of the Scorpions up front were unable to pierce the back of the net. This put even more impetus on Cardone to keep Fury FC at bay, and he held his own.

“He was fantastic,” Scorpions midfielder Billy Forbes said. “Way for the rookie to step up tonight, it was [an] unexpected start, but he came up big for us, congrats to him and welcome to the pros.”

Granted it is a small sample size, but the performance of Cardone in a last-minute starting situation should give the fans of the red and black a reason to feel good going into the Fall Season. The Scorpions have depth at goalkeeper. And perhaps even more importantly, San Antonio has one of its own to cheer on.