Austin FC continued its summer surge up the MLS standings with a 4-1 pillaging of Minnesota United in the Twin Cities Saturday night. Sebastián Driussi notched two goals and an assist while Diego Fagúndez and Emiliano Rigoni each found the scoresheet as the Verde and Black logged their third three-goal victory in the last four games.
Despite the final score, though, things looked particularly dicey for ATX through the opening half-hour. The vast majority of the initial scoring chances fell the way of Minnesota – thanks in large part to sloppy errors by the likes of Kipp Keller and Julio Cascante – but the Loons crucially failed to capitalize on a single opportunity, letting Austin completely off the hook.
“We weathered the storm,” head coach Josh Wolff said. “I don’t think it was our brightest start… but after the first 15 to 20 minutes I think we grew into the game and I thought we scored some fantastic goals.”
The first of those goals came thanks to two of Austin’s most in-form players, Fagúndez and Dani Pereira. The pair combined with two pinpoint passes to eventually free up Fagúndez behind the Minnesota defense, and the Uruguayan did what the hosts had thus far been unable to: finish a scoring chance.
“We knew exactly what we wanted to do: Get wide and get in the box,” Fagundez said. “I thought once we scored we were in better control of [the match].”
Just minutes later, Fagúndez delivered a pass to Jon Gallagher, whose dangerous run into the Minnesota 18-yard-box caught Loons defender Bakaye Dibassy off guard. Dibassy lunged with a poorly-timed tackle and was immediately whistled for a penalty. Driussi stepped up to the spot and calmly made it 2-0 to the Verde and Black.
The third goal came just five minutes into the second half as ATXFC executed a deadly breakaway goal. Pereira did most of the dirty work, carrying the ball into the attacking third before finding Ethan Finlay on the right wing. Finlay floated a perfect cross to the back post where Driussi swooped in to bag his second score of the night and his sixth of the year.
Class all around. 👌 pic.twitter.com/7xdeM5FAf6
— Austin FC (@AustinFC) July 9, 2023
Minnesota clawed one goal back off a corner kick in the 84th minute, but it was canceled out in stoppage when Driussi fed his countryman Rigoni on the doorstep for a tap-in. The four goals were the most that Austin had scored in a single match all season.
“Ten points in the last four [games], eleven goals in the last four as well and only giving up two, so progress has been made,” Wolff said.
The recent success has been enough to elevate ATXFC to fifth in the Western Conference standings, and suddenly El Tree is looking more and more like the playoff threat most expected it would be entering the season. The club will have another chance to make noise on the road on Wednesday when it goes west to take on the Vancouver Whitecaps at BC Place.
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 7 • 2023.
