Defender Brendan Hines-Ike and goalkeeper Brad Stuver lamented a last-minute mistake that cost Austin FC at least a draw against the Portland Timbers. Credit: credit: Austin FC

After a successful season opener brought excitement and intrigue to the world of Austin FC, the Verde and Black gave a good chunk of that momentum back in Saturday night’s second match of the year, falling to the Portland Timbers by a score of 1-0 at Providence Park.

It was a bland, instantly forgettable showing by the Texas-based trees. Their PNW counterparts weren’t any better, though a late loss of focus by the ATX defense and Brad Stuver in goal proved the difference, allowing a Portland free kick to trickle untouched into the back of the net in the 89th minute.

Here’s what we learned about the Verde and Black amid the club’s first loss of 2025:

Wolff Ball Returns?

Eagle-eyed ATX fans watching the match on Apple TV were hit with a jump scare when Austin FC’s starting lineup graphic listed Josh Wolff – the man Austin fired and replaced with Nico Estévez months ago – as head coach.

But what seemed like an honest – albeit hilarious – oversight at the time might’ve actually been prophetic, foreshadowing the performance Austin FC was about to put on display on the pitch.

One week after Estévez’s team opened the season with free-flowing movement, creativity, and identity in possession, the identical lineup returned with mostly tentative, rigid soccer Saturday night, reminiscent of the club’s worst outings under Wolff. Austin did little to trouble Portland’s compact low-block defense, mostly keeping the ball either at the feet of center backs or out wide on the wing where the threat level was low.

Once again, striker Brandon Vazquez’s impact was muted, due to a lack of quality service from teammates. His best chance – Austin’s best chance of the night – came when he took a free kick 30 yards out himself, forcing a diving save from Portland keeper James Pantemis.

Since it’s only Estévez’s second match in charge, coaching a team with lots of new faces, performances like this in the early season are to be expected to a degree, especially on the road. (Wolff’s issue was that they kept popping up well into year four.) But all the same, it certainly threw a wet blanket on the early season hoopla.

A “Sour” Way to Lose

Neither Austin nor Portland deserved anything out of this snooze fest of a match apart from a goalless draw. Unfortunately for the Verde and Black, one lapse in concentration made the difference at the very end of normal time.

No doubt, some credit is certainly warranted for Portland midfielder David Da Costa, who played the kind of set piece goalkeepers hate having to deal with – one that is both ripe for headers but also on a beeline for the back of the net if untouched. When the second part happens, the victimized keeper usually comes off looking stupid, and Stuver was not spared this fate.

Though Stuver’s first priority needs to be protecting against the untouched ball, he’s not alone in blame. Multiple ATX players were in position to get a clearing header onto the “schross” and keep the ball from ever getting as far as Stuver.

“It feels very sour because of the way we conceded,”defender Brendan Hines-Ike said. “That was completely undeserving for Portland to win the game in the way they did.”

Uzuni Debuts, Sort Of

In the 62nd minute, club record signing Myrto Uzuni came off the bench to make his Austin FC debut. But it was a debut in name only. The Albanian international was practically invisible. According to FBref, he touched the ball just three(!!) times in his 28-plus minutes on the pitch.

Again, it was not a good night for Austin FC with the ball, especially from the standpoint of creating chances for the forwards. All the same, that’s surely not how Uzuni envisioned his first Verde minutes going. At least he got some good cardio in?

Perhaps Uzuni will be able to make his first ATX start in the club’s third match of the year, returning to Q2 Stadium to take on the Colorado Rapids on March 8.

Cascante Pulls Up Lame

Austin FC center back Julio Cascante, one of the club’s all-time leaders in minutes played, was forced out of the match in the first half due to an apparent lower-body, non-contact injury.

Estévez said he’ll get an MRI on Monday to assess the severity of the injury.

Fortunately for Austin FC, in the event Cascante is forced to miss time, the club has great depth at the position with Oleksandr Svatok and Leo Väisänen in reserve. Svatok played in relief of Cascante Saturday night.

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

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This article appears in February 28 • 2025.

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Eric Goodman has covered Austin FC for the Austin Chronicle since before the club first kicked a ball in 2021. His column, The Verde Report, continues the Chronicle's decades-long tradition of soccer-focused commentary, serving as a spiritual successor to Nick Barbaro's Soccer Watch column. Eric has also covered multiple Olympic Games and FIFA World Cups as a freelance sports journalist, and is a two-time Emmy-winning producer.