Mistakes in the Land of Lakes: Austin FC Doomed by Sloppy Play

Austin FC winger Ethan Finlay warms up ahead of a match against Minnesota United (courtesy of Austin FC)

Austin FC suffered its sixth loss of the 2022 season Saturday night in St. Paul, falling 2-1 to Minnesota United in another mistake-filled outing.

Ethan Finlay conceded his second penalty kick in as many weeks, and Julio Cascante had his pocket picked in front of goal. This time, the Verde and Black lacked the firepower to make up for the costly errors.

A potential Western Conference playoff matchup saw the fourth-ranked Loons score the opening goal when Emanuel Reynoso converted from the penalty spot in the 25th minute, after Finlay clumsily collided with him inside the box to draw the foul.

Austin FC, still the second-ranked squad in the West, was gifted a penalty kick of its own in first half stoppage time when a seemingly benign Nick Lima cross attempt struck the outstretched arm of Minnesota defender DJ Taylor. Sebastián Driussi scored the spot kick for the equalizer and his league-leading 18th goal of the season.

The winning goal arrived in the 62nd minute and was the kind of play that set Austin FC back 12 months to its expansion season. In an attempt to build from the back and break the Minnesota press, Austin FC cycled the ball between its center back and goalkeeper, ultimately ending up at the feet of Cascante. The Costa Rican hesitated and lost track of MNUFC striker Franco Fragapane, who cleanly stole the ball from Cascante and chipped it over Brad Stuver’s head into the goal.

“We gave away two poor goals,” head coach Josh Wolff said afterward. “Those are two gifts of goals and, and we’ve kind of done that lately too, too often.”

As The Verde Report pointed out just last week, the ability to make mistakes and still produce a result has been one of Austin FC’s top attributes this season. And through the final 15 minutes in St. Paul, it seemed like an equalizer would surely come from somewhere. But all-star goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair kept his net clean and ensured Austin FC boarded the flight home empty-handed.

The Oaks will have to flush the memory of the loss quickly before a marquee matchup at Q2 Stadium Friday night against the only team above them in the Western Conference table, LAFC.

For more Austin FC news and analysis, visit The Austin Chronicle's Austin FC hub. Follow “The Verde Report” columnist Eric Goodman on Twitter: @goodman.