For the first time in 81 days, Austin FC won a soccer match Wednesday night, finally and mercifully putting an end to a winless streak that predated the “Barbenheimer” phenomenon.
The club did so in convincing, cathartic fashion, too, trouncing D.C. United 3-0 in front of a half-full Q2 Stadium crowd on a school night.
One of the major recurring issues of El Tree’s extended slump was an inability to finish off quality scoring opportunities. Veteran striker Will Bruin embodied this with a bad miss in the club’s previous match (a 1-0 loss at the Colorado Rapids). But Bruin showed enough to earn his first start of the season Wednesday and quickly made amends with the opening goal in the 11th minute, firing home a leaping header off a gorgeous, chipped assist from Sebastián Driussi.
¡Claro que sí! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/dAeKwxS6rl
— Austin FC (@AustinFC) October 5, 2023
Ten minutes later, it was Driussi, this time on the receiving end of a dangerous pass from Alex Ring. The Argentine whiffed his first attempt at a finish on the volley but kept the ball at his feet to put it past D.C. keeper Alex Bono on the second swing.
Throughout the middle half-hour of the match, Wayne Rooney’s D.C. club peppered the ATX goal with several high-quality scoring chances, but goalkeeper Brad Stuver produced one of his best performances of the season and maintained the clean sheet with eight total saves.
In the 64th minute, Austin FC plucked its third goal off a corner kick from center back Matt Hedges, effectively killing off the match and securing the streak-snapping victory.
“We had to win it. We needed three points today, we got it,” Hedges said. “Just the confidence level in getting three points is huge for us.”
Meanwhile, for embattled head coach Josh Wolff, the long-awaited win was apparently no cause for celebration. The ATX gaffer was curt and even appeared irritated at times in the post-match press conference.
“It’s good to win a game,” he said coldly, adding that the win changes nothing, and the club will continue pushing for points until its playoff fate is sealed, one way or another.
“[Josh] puts so much pressure on himself to make sure that we’re ready [for matches]. I think after games you can definitely see that,” Stuver said of his head coach’s aloofness.
“He puts a lot into coaching, he puts a lot into game management, and you just kind of see the emotional toll that it takes on him. We try to make sure that he enjoys the wins when they happen.”
But if it’s positivity you’re after, look no further than Bruin, who was all smiles after his first start and third goal of the season. Bruin assured that Austin FC, now just three points outside the playoff places with two matches to go, is very much still kicking.
“I’ve been in this league long enough, I’ve seen crazier things happen at the end of the year. So the fact that we’re giving ourselves a chance with three points, let’s stay alive,” Bruin said.
The club is operating on a razor-thin margin of error and can afford nothing less than two wins in the final two games of the season: at home against LAFC on Saturday and away at the San Jose Earthquakes on Oct. 21. But MLS is a league full of streaks, and maybe, just maybe, El Tree has swapped out a bad one for a good one.
This article appears in September 29 • 2023.