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There are some things that haven’t changed at all for San Antonio FC. It’s still the same hard-charging, high pressure side that claimed the USL Championship title last November.

• IF IT AIN’T BROKE: San Antonio ranks last in the Championship this season with an average of 41.6 percent possession per game, and a 59 percent passing accuracy rate. Those marks are both down from the 2022 regular season (42.7 percent possession, 66.4 percent passing accuracy).

• PRESSURE ON: It also ranks third in the league in winning possession the attacking third of the field, having done so 100 times overall at an average of 5.26 times per game.

But there’s a new element to Head Coach Alen Marcina’s side this season.

They have become… ridiculously entertaining?

With a new influx of talent – both signed and on loan – San Antonio leads the USL Championship with 37 goals this season, and many of them have been absolute bangers from outside the box. Just look at Rida Zouhir’s pair of finishes last week at El Paso Locomotive FC, which moved the side to eight goals from outside the penalty area so far this season – also the current league high, and twice as many as the side recorded in the 2022 regular season.

• BRINGING THE THUNDER: Zouhir – a 19-year-old loanee from Club de Foot Montreal – is tied for the league lead with three goals from outside the penalty area this season. He’s been joined by 2021 All-League selection Jorge Hernandez and Minnesota United FC loanee Tani Oluwaseyi, who currently leads the league with 14 goal contributions (9G, 5A), among those to have struck for the side from long range in the league this season.

If that wasn’t enough, check out this beauty from PC in the club’s international exhibition against Sunderland AFC on Saturday night.

Last season, San Antonio relied on an airtight defense led by Goalkeeper of the Year Jordan Farr and Defender of the Year Mitchell Taintor as the foundation of its success.

This year’s squad, though, is becoming one of the most entertaining attacking groups in the league.

That makes for a very different narrative shaping the course of San Antonio’s title defense.