Batrouni, Hernandez earn USL Championship Team of the Week honors

Joey Batrouni’s 15th-minute penalty save in Colorado Springs and Jorge Hernandez’s two-assist night gave San Antonio FC exactly the kind of backbone USL Championship noticed on July 7, when both players landed on the Team of the Week bench. The honors were less a snapshot of isolated moments than a sign that San Antonio’s structure is tightening at both ends, with Batrouni stabilizing the goal and Hernandez driving the final third.

The June 24, 2-1 win over Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC at Weidner Field carried most of the weight behind the selections. Batrouni stopped the initial penalty, but the Switchbacks still scored on the rebound before San Antonio answered with goals from Dmitrii Erofeev and Alex Crognale. Hernandez set up both of those finishes, and USL credited him with three chances created in the match, a reminder that the assist totals only tell part of the story.

Hernandez’s numbers have become impossible to ignore. The two-assist outing lifted him to 41 regular-season assists and made him the first player to reach 40 before the age of 26. In the July 7 Team of the Week entry, USL also noted he completed 19 of 29 passes and won four of seven ground duels, the kind of all-around line that explains why San Antonio keeps leaning on him when games get tight. He is tied for second in the league with five assists and leads the league with 43 chances created, which is the sort of production that bends matches before the scoreline shows it.

Batrouni’s case is built on more than one big stop, too. He made four saves against Colorado Springs and is tied for fifth in the league in both saves and clean sheets, putting statistical backing behind the momentum he has built in goal. San Antonio had already named him its Fans’ Choice Midseason Goalkeeper of the Year on June 30, and this was his second Team of the Week nod after Week 2, when he earned recognition for his first USL Championship shutout against FC Tulsa.

The bigger picture for San Antonio is not just recognition, but depth. The club has now collected 18 Team of the Week selections this season, and the latest pair comes with a reason to keep pushing: a July 11 Prinx Tires USL Cup match against Chattanooga Red Wolves SC that will decide first place in Group 3 and air nationally on ESPN2.