For the second time in four days, Austin FC laid a 3-0 asskicking on one of its Copa Tejas rivals, this time carving up the Houston Dynamo for a stress-free win at Q2 Stadium Saturday night.
Much like Wednesday’s undressing of a shorthanded FC Dallas squad, ATXFC again played with a level of confidence and danger not seen since the apex of the club’s 2022 success. Ethan Finlay and Gyasi Zardes each bagged goals for the second consecutive match, while Sebastián Driussi continued his hot run of form with a man-of-the-match performance.
Though the Verde No. 10 didn’t score himself, Driussi set things in motion for the opening goal with a sudden, lethal cross into the box. Zardes elevated to flick a headed pass toward the back post, where Finlay arrived to nod the ball into the open goal, scoring the opener for El Tree for the second straight match. The veteran winger started and scored in both Copa Tejas wins, seemingly emerging as the preferred option on the right-hand side over struggling Designated Player Emiliano Rigoni, who came off the bench in both matches.
In the 31st minute, Driussi again served as the facilitator, playing a gorgeous chipped pass across the face of goal for Zardes to bury with a header on the goal line. For Zardes, his fifth goal of the season tied him with Jon Gallagher for the team lead, as Austin FC took a 2-0 advantage into the halftime break.
Four minutes into the second half, the hosts added a third headed goal, this time off a set piece as Dani Pereira picked out center back Julio Cascante for an uncontested finish.
“We’ve been getting a lot of grief on our crosses, so I was happy to see some crosses pay off,” coach Josh Wolff said postgame.
After the first half of the season failed to meet the club’s expectations, for Wolff, the week represented some much-needed validation.
“Two shutout wins at home against your in-state rivals, I think, certainly answer some questions that we received the last few weeks,” Wolff said. “I think it says a lot about our group and what we can do.”
The six goals scored over the past two games already account for 25% of the club’s tally for the season. The two clean sheets were just the fourth and fifth, respectively, in MLS play. And the six points taken from both wins now has ATX back in the mix of the Western Conference playoff race, with plenty of soccer left to be played.
“We’re hoping that we can use this as a catalyst for the rest of the year and try and get hot here in the summer,” goalkeeper Brad Stuver said.
Austin’s task now becomes continuing this run of good form on the road, starting on July 1 when the club heads to Ft. Lauderdale to take on a Messi-less Inter Miami CF, currently languishing at the bottom of the Eastern Conference.
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 June 23 • 2023.
