After a pair of swift defeats to LAFC in the first round of the MLS Cup Playoffs, including an embarrassing 4-1 suckfest at home in Game 2 Sunday night, it’s curtains for Austin FC’s 2025 season.
As a result, the lasting images of the club’s campaign will go down as Myrto Uzuni missing a penalty kick, Brad Stuver leaving his net unattended after a wild charge off his line, and Brendan Hines-Ike and Oleksandr Svatok falling over each other while Denis Bouanga scored a dagger goal. And that’s a shame.
It was, on the whole, a net-positive season for the Verde and Black, who improved four places in the Western Conference standings from a year ago, qualified for the playoffs for just the second time in club history, and made a run to the final of the U.S. Open Cup. On the other hand, though, ATXFC lost six of its last seven matches – including the USOC final and both playoff games – closing things out worse than the writers of Game of Thrones.
“I think there is a lot of things that we can build into, but also a lot of things that we have to learn in order that they don’t happen again,” said Nico Estévez at the conclusion of his first season as Austin FC head coach. “I think at the end of the season, we let it a little bit go because of the Open Cup, and didn’t allow us also to be better in these games.”
Working with what he had – a bottom-10 roster in payroll missing one of its three designated players after Brandon Vazquez’s season-ending knee injury – Estévez often had Austin FC punching above its weight from a results standpoint. At the same time, the club was rarely convincing, even in victory. Of the club’s 13 league wins, only three were by multiple goals. Conversely, nine of Austin’s 15 defeats (including playoffs) were by multi-goal margins.
Winning just nine times in 21 home matches in all competitions was also a sticking point, and something Estévez is determined to address next season.
“It is something that we need to improve. We need to be better at home,” the coach said.
Attention now turns from Estévez to his boss, sporting director Rodolfo Borrell, who is now tasked with improving the squad for the 2026 season.
The offseason will likely hinge on whether Austin FC decides to field offers from European clubs on Owen Wolff. The 20-year-old was the club’s standout attacking player on the season, leading all Austin players in both goals (7) and assists (8). A multimillion-dollar transfer would significantly improve the club’s salary cap flexibility. However, it would take quite a bit of maneuvering to offset what would be the loss of a creative force in Wolff.
Vazquez’s recovery from surgery will also be worth monitoring through the winter. It was a borderline disastrous season for Austin’s DP triumvirate, all things considered, with just 14 goals shared between Vazquez, Uzuni, and Osman Bukari. If all three return next season, they will be under a healthy mound of pressure to perform.
The 2025 season was undoubtedly a step in the right direction for Austin FC, though perhaps not as big of a step as fans might have hoped. Verde faithful will return to Q2 Stadium in 2026 with more hunger than ever for a club that can truly go toe-to-toe with the class of Major League Soccer.
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.
This article appears in November 7 • 2025.
