Austin FC forward CJ Fodrey once again made a massive impact as a substitute, assisting on Myrto Uzuni’s winning goal in stoppage time. Credit: Courtesy Austin FC

Colbert and Kimmel might be headed off the air, but Austin FC seems determined to keep its own late show rolling. After an 82nd-minute winning goal against Sporting Kansas City earlier in the month, and last Wednesday’s 120th-minute winner to send Austin to the U.S. Open Cup final, the Verde and Black did it again Sunday night at Q2 Stadium.

Myrto Uzuni scored in the sixth minute of stoppage time to cap off a 2-1 win for Austin FC against the Seattle Sounders and collect three massive points towards not only locking in the club’s second-ever MLS Cup playoff berth but securing an enviable position in the bracket.

A match that took several distinct forms over the course of the 90 minutes began in 90+ degree heat with Austin FC ceding the vast majority of possession to Seattle in the first half. However, the hosts’ solid defensive shape – Nico Estévez once again deployed a five-man back line after the formation worked in the Open Cup – kept the Sounders off the board.

In fact, it was Austin FC that struck first as Diego Rubio intercepted a poorly timed pass from Seattle center back Jackson Ragen, chased the ball into the Sounders’ penalty box and fired an accurate shot into the corner of the goal for a 1-0 Austin lead.

Before fans could return to their seats after halftime, though, Seattle had equalized. Just 30 seconds into the second half, the Sounders caught Austin’s back line napping and surged forward on a breakaway resulting in a goal by Georgi Minoungou, who scored with essentially his first touch of the match after coming on as a halftime substitute.

The match flipped with both sides bringing in high-level substitutes. For Austin, the entrance of Osman Bukari and Dani Pereira resulted in the best stretches of on-ball play of the night. And when Seattle turned to former U.S. internationals Jesus Ferreira and Jordan Morris, Austin goalkeeper Brad Stuver was called on to deny each one on shots from point-blank range.

Stuver finished the match with five top-quality saves, adding to his remarkable All-Star season. His diving denial of a would-be Minoungou brace in the 86th minute might have been his most dramatic save of the season.

After that, it was CJ Fodrey time. The super-sub that scored the winning goals against Kansas City and against Minnesota in the Open Cup semifinals popped up again in the crucial moment, this time as the assister. Fodrey tracked down a Pereira cross, headed the ball perfectly into the path of Uzuni in the mouth of goal, and Uzuni knocked the ball over the line to ignite one of the most cathartic celebrations in Q2 Stadium history.

“That belief that we have in the players, [that] the players have in what we are doing, you can see in the way that they believe until the end,” Estévez said. “We have to just keep going until the final whistle, because it’s worth it. And right now, we’re in this moment where we’re having that part of luck, but also, that part of belief that gives us the composure and the poise in those late minutes.”

The match also served as the latest measuring stick for Austin against playoff-caliber competition.

“[Seattle] is a team that consistently finds themselves vying for championships, so to be able to finally… get that win at home, but ultimately, just compete with them and show that we’re capable of hanging with that type of team, it goes a long way for the mentality of this group,” Stuver said.

Austin FC now faces one of the most critical seven-day stretches in club history, beginning on the 27th with the first of back-to-back Saturday MLS matchups against Real Salt Lake away and St. Louis City at home. And split between them on Wednesday, October 1, the club vies for its first-ever trophy in the final of the U.S. Open Cup.

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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