Austin FC completed the season sweep of its in-state rival Houston Dynamo Tuesday night in an enthralling 3-1 victory at Q2 Stadium.
After falling behind 0-1 early, superb goals from Diego Fagúndez, Maxi Urruti, and Alex Ring powered the Verde and Black to a fourth-straight win and lifted the club to the overall top spot in the Major League Soccer standings.
Just before the opening whistle, Austin FC took a moment to recognize the first player in club history to be named to an MLS All-Star team, midfielder Sebastián Driussi. Driussi entered the match with 11 goals scored on the season, second-most in the league.
However, it was a Dynamo midfielder Adalberto Carrasquilla with an all-star-caliber effort that opened the scoring in the 11th minute as he barreled through Julio Cascante, sending the Austin center back into a front flip. Carrasquilla then squared himself to Brad Stuver from a tight angle and fired a shot through the keeper’s legs for the 1-0 Houston lead. It was the visitors’ only shot of the first half.
Just three minutes later, though, Driussi’s deft dribbling earned the Verde a free kick just outside the 18-yard box. Fagúndez took full advantage, lifting the free kick gracefully over the Houston wall and into the top corner without so much as a courtesy dive from Dynamo goalkeeper Steve Clark.
A top bins GOLAZO from @DiegolFagundez! 💥 pic.twitter.com/o5Q9xZNApw
— Austin FC (@AustinFC) July 13, 2022
“Absolutely fantastic hit,” Austin coach Josh Wolff said. “We needed that. It kind of got us going, brought us into the game a little bit more.”
The Oaks took a 1-1 score line and decisive edge in shots and possession into the locker room at halftime, but were far from satisfied. “It was quiet. Nobody said nothing. ’Cause we knew already like, OK, this is not good enough. We don’t have to scream at each other … we just look at each other and say, ‘This is not good enough,’” defender Ruben Gabrielsen said.
Sure enough, Austin FC elevated its level of play significantly in the second half and found the go-ahead goal in the 57th minute. Once again, Driussi’s skill and tenacity at the top of the box opened things up, and the Argentine star fed countryman Maxi Urruti with a pinpoint pass to the left of the goal. But Urruti still had the difficult task of curling the ball past Clark from a tight angle, which he did to perfection into the side netting.
The Dynamo never seriously threatened Stuver’s goal until after Austin FC effectively killed the game off in the 70th minute with a goal straight out of Wolff’s fantasies. Originating from the feet of Stuver, the Oaks strung together five smart passes to carve up the Dynamo defense and find Ethan Finlay wide open on the right wing. Finlay then swung a perfect cross into the box where Ring applied the finishing header. World-class stuff.
The beautiful game on full display at Austin’s Fortress. pic.twitter.com/VRg96z6ruN
— Austin FC (@AustinFC) July 13, 2022
In addition to helping their chase for a playoff berth and potentially a Supporters’ Shield run (given to the team with the most points at the end of the season), Austin FC also vanquished one of its two foes in the race for Copa Tejas. The winner of that trophy will be determined Saturday night when El Tree takes on FC Dallas in Frisco, the same place where Dallas lifted the Copa at Austin’s expense last season.
Would winning it on that same ground make things even sweeter? “One hundred percent. We remember everything,” Cascante said. “We’re going to work to make it happen.”
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.
This article appears in July 8 • 2022.
