South San Francisco AC

After Winning the 2021-22 Majors Title in the Peninsula Soccer League's final season, SSFAC was in search of a new place to play after having been a part of the PSL since 1957. They sorted out their options and then joined the Southwest Premier League, entering into the 10 team Pacific Premier Division. This was a major step up in competition and the team knew right from the beginning that they needed to be at their very best in order to challenge for a upper level finish in the standings.

The team got off to a great start as they won 2 and tied 1 in the opening 3 matches of the season, but they then hit a bump in the momentum of those efforts as they dropped the next 2 games to a tough Juventus Academy and Bay Area United. 

This team would not let that shake their confidence or determination, and picked up 5 wins in the next 6 games, including a win over eventual league champion JASA RWC. 

The race for the top spot became a battle between 5 clubs....JASA RWC, BAU, Juventus, Santa Clara Sporting and SSFAC. South City gave it everything they had and went 4-2-1 down the stretch, but despite clinging to the number 3 position and staying alive in the title race, they eventually finished in 5th place just one game back of 3rd place. Quite a remarkable run for the team in it's first year in the SWPL.

     SSFAC 2022-23 Celebrating together after their sucessful 1st season in the SWPL

During the course of the season, there were some terrific moments and milestones......Goal Keeper Adrian Monroy collecting 4 shutouts, Greg Hui leading the team in Goals with 10, Kian Katanforoosh tied with Hui for the lead in team assists with 7, Aidan Durgerian finding the net 9 times and scoring 2 goals in a game twice to also earn him Player of the Week honors in the SWPL, and probably the most satisfying win of the season when they upset league champ JASA RWC 2-1 to go along with a tie on the road at Bay Area United who wound up in 2nd place.

Contributions were needed from everyone on this squad if they were to make a serious run at the top spot....and they certainly got it. The defense was solid and consistent play came from Martin Wright, Sully Donohue, Kevin Ma. Bob Weger, Djim Andemel & Anthony Long. The Midfield core did most of the heavy lifting as Brendan Cadam along with line mates Kian Kataforoosh, Greg Hui, Felipe Gonzalez, Miguel Franco, Sam Nadell, Kris Szeto, Aidan Durgerian, & Karan Warrier dominated the middle of the pitch and gave the team numerous opportunites to score. The attack was led by the versatile and dangerous Carlos Ballesteros, who received help along the way from Chris Kyriacou & Ryan Waterston. Molding it all together was Player Coach Gareth Lea, who guided the team and made his impact in the midfield as he has done for SSFAC since 2012.

It was a very positive season for the club as they learned a lot about the league and also about themselves, and they now know that they definitely can compete at this level. The league is expected to grow next seson and SSFAC will again be ready to take on the challenges of a new season. For now....it is time to rest, reflect and look forward to what lies ahead, and you can surely bet that this group will be ready to bring it when the whistle blows to start the Pacific Premier's 2023-24 season......Congratulations Guys on a great season !!