When the final whistle blows at the conclusion of a star-studded MLS Cup final Saturday afternoon in Fort Lauderdale, the Major League Soccer offseason will officially begin. Most clubs, though, have been in offseason mode for weeks, and that includes Austin FC. The Verde and Black are coming off a generally encouraging – but by […]
Austin FC
Posted inThe Verde Report
MLS Is Finally Acting Like It Wants to Be Taken Seriously
For its entire 30-year existence, Major League Soccer has faced an identity crisis. How do you resonate in the most crowded sports marketplace on Earth, composed of fans conditioned to consume only the very top level of competition, while offering a clearly second-rate product within your own sport? The league’s answer to that question has […]
Posted inThe Verde Report
Austin FC Offseason Preview: Who Stays, Who Goes?
It’s always an inexact science, evaluating whether a sports team overachieved or underachieved relative to the talent on its roster. But a sixth-place finish in the Western Conference standings, a return to the MLS Cup Playoffs, and a quick Round 1 ouster to a true title contender feels about right for what Austin FC could […]
Posted inThe Verde Report
Ugly Ending Clouds Mostly Positive Season for Austin FC
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 […]
Posted inAustin FC
Mistakes Doom Austin FC in Season-Ending Rout by LAFC
Austin FC’s 2025 season ended in miserable fashion Sunday night at Q2 Stadium as LAFC ran the Verde and Black off their home field, closing out the first round playoff series by 4 goals to 1. A rash of individual errors, both mental and technical, doomed Austin FC in the first half and made things […]
Posted inAustin FC
Austin FC Falls to LAFC in Tight Game 1 of Playoff Series
Austin FC embraced its role as underdogs and made things plenty uncomfortable for heavily-favored LAFC at BMO Stadium, before ultimately coming up on the short end of Game 1 of the best-of-three first-round playoff series, 2-1. Despite winning both meetings against the Black and Gold in the regular season, Wednesday night marked the first time […]
Posted inThe Verde Report
Goalkeeper, Grad Student: Brad Stuver’s Double Master Class
Forget the Year of the Snake. In Austin, 2025 has been the Year of the Stuuv. Beloved goalkeeper Brad Stuver has put together a career season stopping shots for Austin FC, landing his first All-Star selection, finishing second in MLS in saves, and setting a new league record for total saves in a five-year span. […]
Posted inThe Verde Report
Austin FC Faces Tall Task in Playoff Series vs. LAFC
The world of soccer is a world of Davids and Goliaths, where mega-clubs like Real Madrid and FC Barcelona coexist among the likes of Elche and Girona. In our American sports ecosystem, though, that kind of unbalance would never be tolerated – or so the decision-makers at Major League Soccer would have us believe. They’d […]
Posted inThe Verde Report
Austin FC to Battle LAFC in First Round of MLS Playoffs
It will be Verde and Black versus Black and Gold in the first round of the MLS Cup Playoffs as Western Conference No. 6 seed Austin FC will take on No. 3 seed LAFC in a best-of-three series. Austin was already assured of the sixth spot prior to the league’s “Decision Day” regular season finale […]
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Nico Estévez Caps Off Successful First Season as Austin FC Looks Ahead to Playoffs
In the waning hours of Sunday evening, following Austin FC’s dramatic 1-0 victory over LAFC that tied a winning bow around the club’s home regular season schedule, head coach Nico Estévez did something that epitomized why he was brought to Austin in the first place. The first-year coach grabbed a microphone, walked out to midfield, […]
Posted inThe Verde Report
Austin FC Clinches No. 6 Seed With Win in Home Finale
Austin FC wrapped up its regular season home slate in cathartic fashion Sunday night, defeating LAFC 1-0 off a late corner kick goal and locking up the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference playoffs with a week to spare. ATX came into the penultimate game of the regular season knowing it could not climb […]
Posted inThe Verde Report
Austin FC Clinches Playoffs Despite “Horrible” Stretch
Clinching a playoff spot for just the second time in club history wasn’t supposed to feel this way. “I think it’s [been] a horrible week for us. Horrible,” Austin FC head coach Nico Estévez said following a dismal loss to already-eliminated St. Louis City SC at home over the weekend. The defeat capped off a […]