Late Urruti Winner Powers Austin FC to First Win of Season

Maxi Urruti celebrates with teammates after scoring an 88th-minute winning goal for Austin FC against CF Montreál. (photo courtesy of Austin FC)

Austin FC captured its first win of the 2023 season Saturday in dramatic fashion as Maxi Urruti’s 88th-minute goal clinched three well-earned points for the Verde and Black against CF Montreál.

Following a deflating season-opening loss to expansion team St. Louis CITY FC a week ago, Saturday’s victory pumped fresh life into the Q2 Stadium sellout crowd and eased some of the concerns relating to Austin FC’s defensive outlook with starting center back Julio Cascante out with a multi-week injury. The solution, as it turned out, involved a return to the starting lineup for former captain Alex Ring, taking Cascante’s place in the back line despite being a midfielder by trade.

The results spoke for themselves. Ring paired up with fellow Finn Leo Väisänen in central defense and stifled Montreal’s attack to the tune of a puhdas levy (that’s Finnish for “clean sheet”). Goalkeeper Brad Stuver – who assured reporters he has no intention of learning Finnish at this time – had to make just two saves to preserve the shutout.

“It speaks volumes for the group,” head coach Josh Wolff said of the defensive effort. “Getting a shutout is extremely important and it’s much deserved and I hope we can get many more of those going forward.”

Things were less comfortable on the attacking end where, despite piling up the scoring chances, Austin FC could not take advantage for the majority of the match. Neither Emiliano Rigoni nor Gyasi Zardes capitalized on high quality opportunities to score their first Austin FC goals in the first half. Zardes and Dani Pereira both had goals called back for infractions in the build-up, and by the closing minutes, there was palpable tension every time ATXFC made a move toward goal. “We were knocking on the door all night,” Wolff said.

The late breakthrough came off a picture-perfect counter attack. Sebastián Driussi collected the ball deep in Austin’s own end and set off on the break with Nick Lima, Jon Gallagher, and Urruti to his flanks. All four men contributed to the goal, as Driussi played Lima into space on the right wing, who fired a cross into the penalty area. Gallagher, coming off a goalscoring effort in the opener, became the assister this time around as he headed the ball down into Urruti’s path, who finished things off with a tap-in.

Austin fútbol at its finest. 🤩 pic.twitter.com/8lkPeQtBcs

— Austin FC (@AustinFC) March 5, 2023

Despite scoring just the one goal, Saturday’s performance was reminiscent of the kind of dominant home wins that provided the backbone of Austin FC’s run to the Western Conference Final in 2022. With a season-opening stinker now fully behind them, the Oaks can take momentum with them on their travels to the Dominican Republic to take on AC Violette in Austin’s first-ever matchup in the Concacaf Champions League Tuesday.

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.