The Houston Dynamo dealt what almost certainly will amount to a death blow to Austin FC’s MLS Cup Playoffs chances, handing the Verde and Black a 1-0 defeat at Q2 Stadium Saturday night.
In reality, though, Austin FC has no one to blame but themselves.
In a microcosm of Austin’s entire season, the club wasted chance after chance without finding the back of the net. The home side attempted 20 shots (most in a match all season) and put six of them on target (tied for the most) to the tune of 2.5 expected goals, per MLS. But, as has been true since the club’s season began back in February, the goals that were expected never came.
“When we get in these situations this often, it’s fairly remarkable [not to score], to be honest,” a bewildered Josh Wolff said after the match. “These are misses of all sorts. Balls are in front of goal, we’re missing. The breakaways, we’re missing. There’s headers inside the six [yard box], we’re missing. So, I mean, to explain it, it’s unexplainable.”
Houston midfielder Coco Carrasquilla’s 83rd minute goal – an acrobatic, overhead swing off a corner kick – felt like a backbreaker and turned Q2 Stadium into a morgue, save for the handful of traveling Houston fans who witnessed a Dynamo win in Austin for the first time ever.
In the Verde locker room after the match, the direness of the situation wasn’t lost on the ATX players.
“We’d be lying to ourselves if we said it’s not going to be difficult from here on out,” Jon Gallagher told Phil West of Verde All Day. “Unfortunately, we’re going to depend on some other results around the league going forward, which once it’s out of your hands, then you’re already playing an uphill battle.”
The biggest result of the night – other than their own – also went against the Verde and Black as Minnesota United, the team currently in the ninth and final playoff place, took care of business with a 2-0 win over 12th-place Sporting Kansas City to ascend to 42 points on the season.
FC Dallas also notched an impressive win over LAFC, leapfrogging ATXFC into 10th place with 37 points.
Austin, on 35 points, now must at minimum win three out of four of its final matches to wrap up the regular season and hope that Minnesota and Dallas falter big time down the stretch.
That will inevitably require scoring some goals, and that seems to be asking quite a lot for this club this season.
Austin FC next faces Real Salt Lake at home on Saturday, Sept. 28, 7:30pm.
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 September 20 • 2024.
