Opponent: Philadelphia Union

Kick Off time: 8:09 PM US Central Time (Still subject to change)

Location: Q2 Stadium, Austin, TX

History vs. Austin FC:

These teams have only played once, a 2-2 draw at Q2 in 2024.

Recent Matches:

Wednesday Night the Union drew with Inter Miami 2-2 in a match that had strong MLS After Dark Vibes. They were on a 5 match winning streak before that result and are currently 13th in the Eastern Conference.

Players to Watch:

Milan Iloski
The US Striker was brought in by Philadelphia following last season’s leading scorer Tai Baribo’s move to DC United. Iloski got off to a slow start but recently had a six game stretch (5/13 at Orlando City through 8/1 win vs. Atlanta) where he scored in every match and had eight goals total.

Cavan Sullivan
As of this writing he is currently suspended due to a red card at the end of the Inter Miami match. The 16 year old who has logged nearly 1000 MLS minutes along with 11 starts is already a key player in their team. Typically deployed as a Right Midfielder who has freedom to move inside and linkup the future Manchester City player when he turns 18 is one of the best US prospects to appear and the expectations are incredibly high. It would be disappointing if he misses out because this may be Austin’s only chance to see him at Q2 before his move to England.

Kai Wagner
The German Leftback and Designated Player came back to Philadelphia this July after finishing out the Championship season with Birmingham City. He is their all-time assist leader in MLS play and is still dangerous in attack with his pace and passing ability.

Keys to the Match:

Never Out of It
Despite Austin’s lack of points this season, Wednesday’s win does put them a mere seven point out of the playoffs with 14 matches to play. It also leaves them just five points above the Wooden Spoon. In a League where 2/3 of teams make the playoffs it’s been far too often already for Austin to be in this position. It was clear from the rotational line up from Davy on Wednesday that the goal is to be rested and ready for Leagues Cup over any MLS games.

Emerging as a real club
Last season CJ Fodrey came up to the Austin FC first team and had multiple important moments that led to victories and advancing in the US Open Cup. On Wednesday Austin FC had six of the 20 players on their roster with FC2 experience and at one point in the match had four on the field at the same time (Damian Las, Ervin Torres, Jorge Alastuey, CJ Fodrey). In Year 6 it’s great to see players grow and be promoted through the different age groups and appear in the First Team. A key to winning and winning consistently in MLS is to be able to bring up players who can play and play well in addition to hitting on big signings. Being able to pay supplemental slot prices for key contributors frees up the cap to be spent elsewhere. For now though, I’ll happily enjoy watching FC 2 matches knowing I’ll see some of them play for the first team at Q2 someday.

Changes Incoming
Yesterday it leaked that Austin would be hiring Khaled El-Ahmed from Minnesota United to be their new CSO which has been met with tepid reviews. Minnesota fans online are mostly split between blaming him or their ownership for the lack of club ambition (their owner is one of the poorest in the league, relatively) and the location has made it difficult for them to sign high profile players nor keep them. Even with that he’s brought in the likes of Kelvin Yeboah, Joaquin Pereya, and Tomas Chancalay. Austin’s problem has never been being willing to spend money, it’s about how the money is spent and if those players can mesh together on the field. He was also there when they hired Eric Ramsay, who was immediately one of the best coaches in MLS and moved back to England. El-Ahmed has previously worked with future head coach Jim Curtin in Philadelphia and based on the information we have, this seems like a strong fit for the direction of the club in 2027.

Prediction:
Austin FC: 2
Philadelphia Union: 2

Opponent: Seattle Sounders

Kick Off time: 8:39 PM Us Central Time

Location: Lumen Field, Seattle

History vs. Austin FC:

Austin FC are 3-4-4 (W-D-L) all-time against Seattle including 1-3-1 at Lumen Field. They played just a few weeks ago at Q2 and Austin won 3-1 thanks to late goals from Myrto Uzuni and Christian Ramirez.

Recent Matches:

Seattle has lost 8 of their last 9 games, including seven in a row in MLS play. Their last MLS win was May 13th against the San Jose Earthquakes.

Players to Watch:

I’m going to break format for a bit to share Seattle’s Player Availability Report for the weekend:

And feature this video where Coach Brian Schmetzer talks about the roster.

Keys to the Match:

I see the vision
Davy Arnaud’s Austin FC are starting to figure out the way they want to play. it is a throwback to the old W-M (3-2-2-3) formation as evidenced by this Futi passing map:

This was popularized roughly 100 years ago by Arsenal manager Herbert Chapman. Jon Gallagher and Joseph Roseales are regularly used as “wingbacks” in name only, utilized as wider attackers who are (as seen above) regularly the furthest forward players. They provide attacking width and also verticality, and with some tweaks (like playing them on the correct sides) aloneg with finding the right midfield mix, this is a team that can have numbers defending while also getting bodies in the attack.

Spoon Watch
Austin FC are currently 14th in the Western Conference and 3rd in the “race” to the Wooden Spoon, an award given to the worst regular season MLS team every season. Austin has not won this before, but are currently only three points above current leaders Sporting KC who released one of their DPs to replace with a new signing who has not been announced yet. While they have yet to get a road win this season, facing a team in freefall like Seattle could be three very important points.

Prediction:
Austin FC: 0
Seattle: 2

Opponent: FC Dallas

Kick Off time: 7:39 PM US Central Time

Location: Q2 Stadium, Austin, TX

History vs. Austin FC:

All-Time Austin FC are 2-3-8 against FC Dallas and 2-2-2 all-time at Q2 in MLS play. Last season the teams drew 1-1 in this fixture featuring goals from Shaw Moore and Owen Wolff.

Recent Matches:

FC Dallas lost 3-1 to Austin FC’s Leagues Cup Quarterfinal opponent Toluca on Wednesday, which broke a three match unbeaten streak and eliminated them from the Leagues Cup. They are currently 6th in the Western Conference.

Players to Watch:

Petar Musa
Currently tied for the MLS Golden Boot with 13 goals in 16 appearances he is still Dallas’ center focus for their entire attack. Even by his standards he is having a great MLS season so far, only five goals off his career best season with the club.

Logan Farrington
The Oregon State product is building off strong 2024 and 2025 seasons with a break out this season. The former third overall SuperDraft pick plays as an attacking midfielder underneath Muse and is the player they rely on to get him the ball in space and work off of.

Jonathan Sirois
FC Dallas has a revolving door at keeper in trying to replace former stalwart Marten Pass. Michael Collodi has started the most matches but the club brought in Daniel from the San Jose Earthquakes to be the new starter, and he was subsequently injured. Since then Sirois has taken over as the starter with fewer goals allowed (1.05 per game) and a higher save percentage (84) than the other options.

Keys to the Match:

More Congested Than Ragweed Season
With Austin FC advancing in Leagues Cup they are going to play 9 matches in August, the most they’ve played since last May during the US Open Cup run. So far every match bar Colorado had temperatures high enough for a water break. This has resulted in a lot of rotation for the team and they won’t get a week break between matches until the month has ended. Dallas has had a similar run up but getting an extra day of rest in exchange for more road trips having to play at Toluca and also Guadalajara in San Jose the previous Saturday. One subplot is the state of the pitch at Q2, which on Thursday was showing signs of wear and tear, especially at the goal mouths and the corners where substitutes warm up.

Changes
As mentioned above, Austin’s schedule has necessitated some changes from new coach Davy Arnaud, but we have seen some tactical adjustments for the positive. First and foremost, putting Ervin Torres on the field more has been a revelation as the 18 year old has stood out against Liga MX clubs, including Club America on Thursday. This is what strong MLS organizations do (and a staple of Jim Curtin’s Philadelphia sides): bring players from their academy and Next Pro sides into the first team for them to perform. The other half of this is Besard Sabovic playing like the player we saw in his highlight videos when he came over, providing stability in midfield while also progressing the ball forward. Austin suddenly has a more competent and interesting center of midfield mix, which has greatly helped their move to a three man backline in some recent matches.

Myrto Uzuni, happy
The Albanian capped off his strong Leagues Cup form with a beautiful finish to get Austin FC even to Club America on Thursday, his 4th in the last two matches after a first half hat trick against supposed soccer team Puebla. He’s formed a strong partnership with Christian Ramirez and has already set the record for most goals scored by an Austin FC striker in a season, with 10. A big part of this success has been the move to utilizing him as more of support striker, allowing him to find time and space to run into or explore as opposed to previous seasons where he was used as a more standard striker that was always covered up by the other team’s center backs.

Prediction:
Austin FC: 2
FC Dallas: 1

Opponent: Colorado Rapids

Kick Off time: 8:39 PM US Central Time

Location: Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, Denver, Colorado

History vs. Austin FC:

Austin FC are 4-2-5 against the Colorado Rapids including 3-0-3 in Denver. Last season they won this fixture 2-0 thanks to a goal from Mikkel Desler and an OG by Colorado’s Rafael Navarro.

Recent Matches:

Colorado lost at St Louis CITY 1-0 last weekend thanks to an early (and deserved) red card on Rob Holding. They have alternated wins and losses their past six matches and currently are in 13th in the Western Conference.

Players to Watch:

Lucas Herrington
The 18 year old Australian has been a starter for Colorado all season and was a starter the MLS All-Star game. He also played for Australia in the World Cup but was unfortunately the player who missed a penalty against Egypt that resulted in their elimination.

Paxton Aaronsen
Former Philadelphia Union Academy product has stayed in MLS while his brother Brendan continues to bounce around European clubs. Colorado uses him as an attacking midfielder behind their front three and utilize his workrate and versatility to link the rest of the team and the attack. He leads the team in assists with 4.

Rafael Navarro
Since coming to the Rapids mid-season in 2023 from Palmeiras he has scored 36 goals in 92 matches, leading them in goals in 2024, 2025, and so far in 2026 (and has three assists).

Keys to the Match:

Tactics
Davy Arnaud took over as interim manager after the firing of Nico Estévez and after two matches we have seen some notable differences in how the team plays. Like with all changes some work and some don’t.

Against Houston Austin attempted to press higher up the pitch, putting pressure on a weak back line and goalkeeper. Unfortunately, that didn’t mesh as the pressure wasn’t enough to force difficult passes or limit Houston getting their heads up and it left Austin’s high backline (forced higher to maintain line discipline) with space against faster Houston attackers that was exploited time and again. With Jon Bell and Mikkel Desler out again Austin does not have the pace to try and match speed with this Colorado team, even moreso at altitude, much like they didn’t after not rotating following one of the hottest matches in club history on Wednesday.

As was discussed on this week’s Suffering From Joy Davy’s love of inverted wide players (when a player on the right side but prefers their left foot, or vice versa) was on full display. He used Jon Gallagher on the left, which kept him wanting to cut back inside to deliver crosses and Joseph Rosales on the right. Austin fans recognized the lack of attack and “verticality” the team had and this was a big reason for it. The extra second for Gallagher to get the ball on his preferred foot allows defenders to get into position and set up to defend crosses if they come.

Every strategy can work assuming it has the correct players and/or opponent, and inverting wingers is something we see all over the world. It’s designed to get players cutting inside to link with their striker or allow fullbacks to overlap their runs to get to the byline. Austin did neither of those things because they also inverted their fullbacks along with it and negating any advantage the tactic would gain. To get better service into the box let them get to the byline and hit first time crosses against defenses not already in position.

“I wasn’t aware of that”
In the post game press conference after another embarrassing away loss Phil West of Verde All Day (please subscribe if you don’t already) asked Davy Arnaud if he was aware Austin is the only MLS team without a win on the road this season. He gave the above answer and this is inherently disqualifying for a coach at any level, especially for one who has been with the club since its first season. Austin’s road issues, as I’ve mentioned, are a cultural issue that has to be solved for this team to get any kind of real success. While the team showed more second half life than in other away losses, it was still a 3-0 loss on the road to one of our rivals. Davy Arnaud is a career assistant who is not considered for MLS head coaching jobs and we are seeing why.

Prediction:
Austin FC: 2
Colorado Rapids: 1

Opponent: Houston Dynamo

Kick Off time: 7:39 PM

Location: Shell Energy Stadium, Houston, TX

History vs. Austin FC:

Austin FC are 8-1-5 (W-D-L) against Houston all-time including 2-0-4 at Shell Energy Stadium. Earlier this season they beat the Dynamo 2-0 thanks to goals from Jayden Nelson and Myrto Uzuni.

Recent Matches:

The Dynamo drew DC United 1-1 at Shell Energy Stadium on Wednesday. They’re currently in 7th place in the Western Conference.

Players to Watch:

Duncan McGuire
The former Orlando City striker came to Houston on July 10 after a disappointing 2025 and start to 2026. He was part of one of the weirder transfer stories where he flew to England to join Blackburn Rovers only for the deal to fall through because they clicked ‘save’ instead of ‘submit” on an application. He’s here to start at striker over failed Designated Player signing Ezekiel Ponce (0 MLS goals in 14 appearances).

Mateusz Bogusz
You may remember him as Denis Bouanga’s best attacking partner for LAFC a couple of seasons ago, and after a move to Cruz Azul where he struggled for playing time, he’s back in MLS and at a team that will allow him to be an inside forward attacking player and hoping him and McGuire can form an attacking partnership for one of the few teams who has scored less than Austin FC this season.

Jack McGlynn
One of my favorite MLS players, the 23 year old has a left foot with unlimited passing and shooting range and precision. He will take almost all of Houston’s corners and free kicks and their midfield (Hector Herrera, Artur) is designed for him to be able to be the most forward of the three and contribute to the attack.

Keys to the Match:

The Benefits of Youth
This Wednesday Austin FC won 3-1 thanks to two assists from 18 year old Ervin Torres, who was able to use some youthful exuberance to spring Myrto Uzuni on a through ball and then next time get it to Christian Ramirez in a dangerous position to seal the win. Many of us have wanted to see Torres on the field more (I’ve said it on the TopFlight Pod multiple times), but due to the roster construction he was buried in the depth chart behind more expensive players (and a Sporting Director who seemingly had a vendetta against playing FC2 players with the first team). As I mentioned last week, Austin’s midfield is wide open for players to show their abilities and Ervin definitely did in front of the home fans on Wednesday, even if he was snubbed for Man of the Match.

Winless
Austin FC is winless on the road this season (0-3-5, GD -15) including a 5-0 loss at San Diego, 3-0 loss at St Louis, and a 5-1 defeat to San Jose. This is a stark difference to their 4-2-2 home record and a big reason why they are 14th in the Conference. The team played with great energy and effort on Wednesday despite the sweltering heat, but we need to see them bring that same energy and effort in their travel bags for this team to even sniff a playoff spot or have a chance at being the first three-time winners of Copa Tejas.

Strike Force
Myrto Uzuni and Christian Ramirez both scored on Wednesday, upping their totals to six and five goals on the season and are the team’s top scorers. A striker has never led Austin FC in scoring on the season, it’s been wingers (Diego Fagundez, Cecilio Dominguez, Jadier Obrian) or an attacking midfielder (Sebastian Driussi, Owen Wolff). The record for goals from a striker is Maxi Urruti with nine in 2022, a figure both have a chance at besting this season. Uzuni said he wanted to break records during his time in Austin and this is the first and hopefully not only one he can break.

Prediction:
Austin FC: 1
Houston Dyanmo: 1

Opponent: Seattle Sounders

Kick Off time: 8:39 PM, US Central Time

Location: Q2 Stadium, Austin, TX

History vs. Austin FC:

Seattle are 4-4-2 (W-D-L) against Austin FC all-time and 3-1-1 at Q2 Stadium. Last season Austin FC won this fixture 2-1 thanks to a 90’+6 match winner from Myrto Uzuni.

Recent Matches:

Seattle were trounced 5-1 by the Portland Timbers last Thursday in their first game back from the World Cup break. They currently sit sixth in the Western Conference on 24 points in 14 matches.

Players to Watch:

Jesus Ferreira
The former FC Dallas player and (I think) the only player to ever taunt The South End, he is back in a Seattle uniform where they have moved him out of his customary striker spot. The Sounders have needed him to connect play and try to create for others moreso than seekers goal opportunities for himself and is currently second on their team in assists.

Paul Rothrock
Their starting left winger and current leading scorer is where a lot of the Seattle attack is focused. They try to get him in space and on the move to break down a defense. With Mikkel Desler out for this match Austin will have to figure out ways to get more than just Jon Gallagher defending him.

Nouhou
The Cameroonian fullback and Seattle’s captain has taken over team leadership, especially with their current injury list that includes oft injured Pedro De La Vega and both Roldan brothers. He leads all Seattle field players in minutes played partially thanks to only one Yellow Card on the season (he had 5 last season and 10!! in 2024).

Keys to the Match:

We’re back, back in a Q2 Groove
With the US, Canada, and Mexico hosting the World Cup MLS took a couple of weeks off due to a myriad of reasons and this 1) helps MLS teams plan for future seasons where these breaks will be normalized, and 2) came at a great time for Austin FC.

To (unfortunately) remind everyone of the first half Austin FC are 14th in the Western Conference and on a four match winless streak (0-1-3) where they had a -9 Goal difference. Changes were made, most notably Nico Estévez was fired with Davy Arnaud named the interim for the remainder of the season until Jim Curtin takes over in 2027. Also out is Dani Pereira, the club’s first draft pick, in what is one of the highest GAM returns for any player in MLS history.

This team has struggled mightily, to say the least, and if ever a team needed six weeks to get healthy (Owen Wolff and Brandon Vazquez especially) and to regroup, it was this team. The question is whether Davy is able to get better results out of this roster and can get a team that played listlessly into a team that competes every match. Before the break he stated that “I wish we could play tomorrow” but in the recent open practice added that was “a mistake” because this team needed a lot of work and needed the re-set.

Point A to Point B
The departure of Dani Pereira to Montreal brings up a big question for Austin FC: How do they get the ball from the defense to attackers? The Austin FC central midfield now consists of:
Ilie Sanchez
Joseph Rosales
Owen Wolff
Nicolas Dubersarsky
Besard Sabovic
Ervin Torres
Jorge Alastuey (maybe?)

We’ve seen these players for at least half a season and in most cases more than that, and for a team that struggles to get the ball from back to front, what combination of the above are able to shield a leaky defensive backline and also get the ball forward into Austin’s attacking players?

The Heat is Here
Austin, Texas is in full summer mode:

This match was delayed an hour due to the heat on Wednesday, and while in the past World Cup every match had a Hydration Break, even in AC controlled dome stadium, but this is the kind of heat a Hydration Break is meant for. How both of these teams are able to adapt to the heat will matter a lot, even after the sun has gone down.

Prediction:
Austin FC: 1
Seattle Sounders: 2

Austin FC announced Jim Curtin as their new head coach yesterday to take effect before the 2027 “Sprint Season” with current interim coach Davy Arnaud set to continue his role through the rest of 2026.

Curtin is a former MLS player and all-star with more than 150 appearances with the Chicago Fire. He managed the Philadelphia Union for 11 seasons before being fired after the 2024 season. During that tenure Philly had 41.9 winning percentage, won the 2020 Supporters’ Shield, won the Eastern Conference in 2022, and made three different US Open Cup Finals (2014, 2015, and 2018). He was named MLS coach of the year twice. The 2022 team had the most wins that season (19), most goals scored (72), and fewest goals allowed (26). As a player he won the Supporters’ Shield in 2003 and two US open Cups (2003, 2006).

This is a tremendous hire. Curtin is a highly respect coach with a pedigree for winning and doing so without needing to be a top spending club. Of the names realistically available and mentioned by Austin FC media the past month he’s the best of that list. Austin started with a coach that had no experience, then a coach with bad experience, and now a coach with the kind of record and experience that inspires confidence from the fan base and provides hope that this will become a serious club.

AND

The key part of this announcement is that he takes over for 2027 and as all of you are aware, there are still at least 22 matches left for this season, including three Leagues Cup matches against top Liga MX sides. This gives Davy Arnaud the chance to take advantage of this weird MLS season break and use those matches to audition for one of the MLS jobs that either are currently open or will be as the league continues to show less and less patience for coaches.

This has been a cursed season for Austin FC. From starting off without a full and healthy roster to early bad road defeats and a clearing house of the sporting side of the club, the break provides the kind of re-fresh and reset that every club struggling wishes they could have.

It’s also worth noting that per the press release:

Getting a coach is as much about convincing them to sign on with your program as it is you wanting them to be the coach. For a club without a Sporting Director but with Curtin in place and Anthony Precourt willing to sign large checks for talent Austin becomes a top place for Sporting Director candidates who want to be up to the same standards. Austin has already tried hiring a coach before a Sporting Director, with mixed results, but as a recruitment tool bringing in a coach of Curtin’s caliber should be a benefit moreso than a hinderance to getting a top name.

Opponent: St Louis CITY

Kick Off time: 1:54 PM US Central Time

Location: Energizer Park, St Louis, Missouri

History vs. Austin FC:

Austin FC is 2-1-4 all-time and are 1-0-2 against St Louis away. Austin defeated St Louis 2-0 earlier this month at Q2 thanks to goals from Christian Ramirez and Myrto Uzuni.

Recent Matches:

St Louis is undefeated in their past three MLS matches since losing at Austin FC including wins over the Colorado Rapids and LAFC. They defeated the Houston Dynamo in the USOC QuarterFinals on Tuesdays 4-2 on penalty kicks. St Louis currently sit 14th in the Western Conference.

Players to Watch:

Please see the post earlier this month

Keys to the Match:

#NicoDut
This past week Austin FC announced the firings of Sporting Director Rodolfo Borrell and Head Coach Nico Estevez. As someone who advocated the coaching side of this move weeks ago I’m happy to see Austin FC move on from a coach that the players had already tuned out. Nico’s plan to essentially forfeit last Wednesday’s game (based on his post game press conference), which turned into an embarrassing road loss, and then also lose against one of the worst teams in the league at home was the clearly the last straw in a string of embarrassing losses and bad results dating back to last season.

Nico Esetevez was a mistake from the start, a coach who got fired mid-season by a team worse than Austin that same season, and that simple fact should have disqualified him from any short list Borrell put together. His teams did worse the longer he was the coach and Austin managed to speed run to results three years in the future. In what was quickly turning into a lost season featuring bad vibes with anything even tangentially touching the club this has given the fan base a new lease on life and with 20 games left (including this one) there’s still time for Austin to make it into the playoffs into what is a fairly open (and down) Western Conference.

#RodoDut
The more surprising part of the move was Borrell’s firing. Rodo came to Austin FC after a stint with Manchester City and had experience coaching in “La Masia” at FC Barcelona. We were regaled with stories of his vast contacts in Europe and how he was an MLS sicko, staying up late to watch matches on weekends.

Unfortunately for us, his best moves were selling off unwanted or want away players (Johan Romana, Sebastian Driussi) and the players he brought in underperformed or were overpriced for their production. He also failed to utilize all the many pathways MLS teams are able to use to find value for their rosters and seemed openly hostile to utilizing the second team. It doesn’t help that the team’s record with him in charge is worse than before he took over:

For someone who talked a huge game and brashly and brazenly treated the media, players, and agents, these results aren’t good enough to stay in your job. It leaves Austin FC with a power vacuum (again) and with a two month break hopefully this goes better than the last time a Sporting Director was fired unexpectedly.

Putting together the puzzle
Interim Head Coach Davy Arnaud, and whoever the next coach is, will have a lot of interesting line up questions to answer for Austin FC. The team has three strikers now that Brandon Vazquez is getting more field time and it’s unclear what mix of them plays best together. Christian Ramirez and Myrto Uzuni have partnered well, but against Kansas City looked like it was their first time on the field together. Vazquez missed an open header in the box off a corner that may be the ultimate “what could have been” moment in Austin FC history meanwhile Uzuni was back to his old habit of trying to score himself over trying to do what would help the team score.

Next up is how to maximize Facundo Torres, Owen Wolff, and Jayden Nelson, three players who are used mostly as wingers or advanced attackers who all play differently and have not been on the field together as a trio. We saw Torres deployed as a right sided attacking mid with Owen on the left in a similar role, but they were unable to influence the game or link up in any meaningful way with each other or their teammates. There is attacking talent on this roster, but it needs to be put into a system to maximize it so it can work together and be at least the sum of their parts.

Prediction:
Austin FC: 1
St Louis CITY: 2

Opponent: Sporting KC

Kick Off time: 7:39 PM US Central Time

Location: Q2 Stadium, Austin, TX

History vs. Austin FC:

Austin FC are 7-1-3 against Sporting KC including undefeated 5-0-0 at Q2.

Recent Matches:

Sporting KC beat the LA Galaxy 3-1 on Wednesday, that was their first win in eight matches when they defeated…the LA Galaxy. They currently sit 15th in the Western Conference.

Players to Watch:

Devan Joveljic
The Serbian striker came to Sporting KC before last season and is still one of the best strikers in MLS playing for a team that is dead last in goals scored on the season, still has six, which would make Austin’s leading scorer. He’s also the only Sporting KC player to have every minute in their league matches this season.

Manu Garcia
The Spanish playmaker was brought in to provide that little extra creativity and magic this team has needed since they let their Cup winning sides age. Unfortunately he hasn’t been able to do that with only 3 goal contributions this season after only nine all of last season. They’ve tried playing him as a “10” in a 4-2-3-1 and also partnering Joveljic up top but those positions haven’t helped to kick start their attack.

Stefan Cleveland
The former Austin FC backup is now the back up for Sporting KC but unlike in Austin he is getting starts in MLS play. Unfortunately he’s 31 and backing up a 25 year old who by the numbers is one of the worse goalies in the league. Not that Cleveland’s numbers are much better as in his three starts he’s allowed goals. We could see a homecoming of sorts for Cleveland.

Keys to the Match:

The Spoon
For those of you unaware, MLS fans give it the Anthony Precourt Wooden Spoon award to the worst team in the league on points. Sporting KC is not just a Wooden Spoon contender, but outside of when they play the LA Galaxy they are a combined 0-2-9 with a GD of -28. They are currently on pace to allow 93 goals on the season, the record is 78 by San Jose in 2024. Without those two wins against the Galaxy they average 0.18 points per game, good for 5.76 points in 32 matches.

In case you aren’t sure where this is going. Sporting KC are potentially one of the worst teams in MLS history based on their results so far.

What Would You Say Your Strengths are?
A classic job interview question and for a team that has given up five goals twice already this season and could have job openings, is a good one to ask about this team. They’re in the bottom third of the conference in goals scored and are second to last in goals allowed and have given up two or more goals in 10 of their 14 games while only scoring multiple goals in six games. They’re incredibly inconsistent in their energy and sharpness under a coach that has done more apologizing that any coach should have to do. This isn’t a well organized team that can limit opportunities nor is it a team that can go up and down to outscore teams with flair. It’s the biggest question that Rodolfo Borrell needs to answer in making changes to this roster and coaching staff during the upcoming break.

Rotations
On Last Week’s “Suffering From Joy” we talked about the possibility of rotating as Austin FC would play three matches in seven days, including a Wednesday - Saturday turnaround that is atypical for most leagues.

Wednesday’s line up was clearly rotated with starts by Nico Dubersarsky, Besard Sabovic, and Zan Kolmanic with Coach Estevez prioritizing getting three points at home tonight against Kansas City over even attempting to get a result in San Diego mid week. That result could be somewhat written off as “schedule loss” with three points tonight and next week, but it goes to show the limits of roster construction in light of an MLS calendar that keeps trying to put more matches into the same amount of days.

Prediction:
Austin FC: 2
Sporting KC: 1

Opponent: San Diego FC

Kick Off time: 8:30 PM US Central Time

Location: Snapdragon Stadium, San Diego, CA

History vs. Austin FC:

Austin FC are 1-0-1 (W-D-L) all-time. Austin FC won at Q2 2-1 and San Diego won the home fixture 2-0 last season.

Recent Matches:

San Diego have drawn their two most recent matches (1-1 at Seattle, 2-2 vs LAFC) and lost their previous five matches before that. They’re currently in 13th in the Western Conference.

Players to Watch:

Anders Dreyer
The Danish attacker came over to San Diego last season and put in an MVP caliber season and is off to another strong start (5 goals, 5 assists in 12 appearances). He is the key player for Austin to stop, especially if he’s able to get the ball in counterattacking spaces with runners around him.

Marcus Ingvartsen
Another Danish attacker, he’s their leading scorer with 8 goals and has emerged with Chucky Lozano being banished from the club (more on this later). He scored all three goals for San Diego in their past two matches.

Duran Ferree
The 19 year old US Goalkeeper has taken over the starting job for San Diego FC this season with last season’s starter CJ Dos Santos out injured. Unfortunately as is the case for a lot of 19 year olds in the professional workforce he’s off to a rough start, allowing 1.6 goals per game compared to the 1.26 they allowed last season. As was evidenced by the game tying goal last time out, he’s also not strong enough in the box. Austin should be able to put bodies forward and capitalize on this.

Keys to the Match:

Vibes Matter
I am a firm believer that vibes around a club matter. When the Front Office, Coaches, Players, and Fans are all in alignment it’s palpable and the inverse is true as well. San Diego does not have good vibes after a magical inaugural season.

Highest Paid Player Chucky Lozano has not played for them due to conflicts with the coaching staff after a locker room dust up he has apologized for last season and has still not featured for the club. The fans have started chanting for him after matches and have already flown a plane before a match calling for him to come back. due to lack of positive results on the season and it has clearly affected a team that was all positive vibes last season into being well below the playoff line.

The Most Dangerous Lead in Sports
There is an old adage that the Most Dangerous Lead is being up two goals, but I’m going to posit the most dangerous lead is any lead Austin FC have on the road. In all but one road MLS match this season they’ve been up a goal and ceded the lead (note this happened twice in Miami and Toronto). They’re the last MLS to be winless on the road in 2026 and despite how impressions of San Diego based on last season, this is a match they can get a result in and combined with the positive momentum (7 points in their past three matches) along with taking on two more spoon contenders to go into the break and maybe Austin can turn this season around.

Attackers Attacking
Austin FC are currently scoring 1.5 goals per game, and while that isn’t a hugely impressive number, it would be the second most goals per game for an Austin FC season. One of the reasons Austin FC has been able to do this even without Owen Wolff and Brandon Vazquez is the partnership of Christian Ramirez and Myrto Uzuni. They’ve already combined for nine goals on the season and both could potentially break the record for goals scored by a striker in an Austin FC season, (Maxi Urruti with 9 in 2022). Considering Austin’s nearly record setting (bad) attack last season, it’s welcome to see a team that can put up a squiggly number consistently.

Prediction:
Austin FC: 2
San Diego FC: 2

Opponent: Minnesota United

Kick Off time: 6:09 PM US Central Time

Location: Allianz Field, St Paul, Minnesota

History vs. Austin FC:

In MLS play Austin FC is 5-2-5 (W-D-L) against Minnesota United including a 1-1 draw in this fixture last season. Austin also won the team’s other meeting at Allianz Field thanks to a late goal from CJ Fodrey to advance in the US Open Cup.

Recent Matches:

Minnesota defeated the Columbus Crew 3-2 last week, which snapped a two match losing streak (4-2 loss to San Jose in US Open Cup and 1-0 loss to LAFC). They are currently 5th in the Western Conference.

Players to Watch:

James Rodriguez
Thusfar his time in Minnesota has been short (only 104 minutes played and one start). He has yet to contribute to a goal for Minnesota this season although he hasn’t been without some highlights. He’s only signed with the Loons through the summer break and with the World Cup fast approaching it’s unlikely that he makes any kind of serious impact for the club unless it starts very quickly.

Kelvin Yeboah
You may remember him from the home opener in Austin who scored the game tying goal in the 90’ on a towering header. His presence up front and finishing ability is why he’s the team’s leading goal scorer, finishing off the few chances created (Minnesota are only 23rd in goals on the season). All seven of his goal are from open play and despite only 64 appearances is already third on Minnesota’s all-time scoring list with 29 goals.

Morris Duggan
Their 3rd round MLS Superdraft pick in 2024 is now an established starter in the team, featuring in the center of their three or five man backline. He’s played every minute of every match so far this season for the team and has helped to replace Michael Boxall’s presence as he’s been out this season with injuries.

Keys to the Match:

Next Test
Austin FC has won their past two matches, both by scoreline of 2-0 and at home against two sides near them in the standings. Minnesota has been hot as of late with five wins in their last six MLS matches. Surprisingly Austin has played well against top sides in MLS (draws against LAFC and Inter Miami) but have yet to get three points, especially on the road, which they have not achieved this season. This match and the following one on Wednesday against San Diego will tell us a lot about what this team’s recent improvement.

Can you ever really come home again?
Joseph Rosales came to Austin FC from Minnesota United, where he spent five seasons playing for the Loons and has been one of the best signings of the Rodolfo Borrell era. The former Left Back has been moved to play in midfield under Head Coach Nico Estevez, sometimes on the right, but in the past two matches he’s been put into the center of midfield and it has worked wonders. His athleticism and cunning are on full display and when we got to see him partnered up with Dani Pereira last week we saw what could become a very strong MLS midfield partnership. Combined with Facundo Torres and the now back in the line up Owen Wolff and Austin could suddenly feature plenty of strong midfield options that can be effective in the attack and defending and still be able to bring the likes of Ilie Sánchez and Nicholas Dubersarsky off the bench if needed.

Road Woes
Austin has never been a strong road team and MLS is a league where home teams have a more than most home field advantage but in five away matches this season Austin is still winless with only two points in five matches (and am embarrassing loss against Louisville City in US Open Cup). Their goal difference in those games is an ugly -8.

Prediction:
Austin FC: 1
Minnesota United: 2

Opponent: St Louis City

Kick Off time: 4:39 PM US Central Time

Location: Q2 Stadium

History vs. Austin FC:

Austin FC is 1-1-4 (W-D-L) Against St Louis City all-time including 0-1-2 at Q2.

Recent Matches:

St Louis has lost their last two matches in the league but had five points out of their previous three matches including a win over the NE Revolution. They are currently in 14th in the Western Conference. Their manager summed up their season in March by saying:

Players to Watch:

Marcel Hartel
The German attacker has been the focus of the St Louis attack. He’s their only player with multiple goals in 2026 (3) after scoring 9 all of last season. However, he doesn’t have much help after the loss of Klauss in the offseason which is why St Louis is averaging only a goal per match and one of only four MLS sides with single digit goals on the season.

Roman Bürki
When he first came to MLS he was one of the best keepers in the league, but since St Louis’ magical inaugural season his underlying stats continue to go down. His save % is down to 65% (per FBRef) and his Goals Against Average has gone up every season since 2023. For a team that struggles to score Bürki needs to step up even more for them to get results.

Eduard Löwen
He is back after struggling with a hamstring injury and could make his first start of the season tonight. He makes a huge difference for them and their attack by providing extra finishing. The German scored a goal mid-week in their US Open Cup match win over the Chicago Fire.

Keys to the Match:

Goals Change Games
St Louis has only scored first once this season in MLS play, which was in their opener against Charlotte FC. They’ve consistently found themselves behind and unable to pull back getting into matches. Austin is a team that tends to jump on teams early and then the second goal determines the outcome. Against Houston they capitalized and got the 2nd to essentially kill off the match. Unfortunately, too often Austin has gotten a goal to go up and been unable to extend their lead to give themselves the buffer needed to get three points in a league where everyone is capable of scoring one goal.

The Run In

If you aren’t aware MLS will be shutting down during the upcoming World Cup, which will result in Austin not playing matches for two months. This is the remaining schedule before the break and will essentially split the season in half (Austin will play 15 of their 34 matches before the break). As we all are aware Austin is off to their worst start in club history and now face a soft schedule with 3 of the next 5 being against the worst the West (Sporting KC and St Louis CITY), a San Diego team that is clearly this year’s “bad vibes” club, and at Minnesota, a place Austin has gotten good results recently. MLS is a long season and with 3/5 of the league making the playoffs it really only takes getting hot for a month or two to build up enough points to get into the tournament. If Austin is going to turn this season around this run in is where they can do it, hopefully separating themselves from the Wooden Spoon contenders instead of becoming one.

The Return
This week we had a very welcome sight at St. David’s: Owen Wolff, Dani Pereira, and Brandon Vazquez going through full training. We were also treated to Vazquez sending “see you guys soon” on socials, which is hard to interpret as anything besides him playing a part in this match. There’s been some leeway amongst fans for the slow start due to injuries and with both of them returning it’s time for the team to get better results under its current manager.

Prediction:
Austin FC: 2
St Louis City: 1

Opponent: Houston Dynamo

Kick Off time: 7:39 PM US Central Time

Location: Q2 Stadium, Austin, TX

History vs. Austin FC:

Austin FC are 7-1-5 (W-D-L) against Houston all-time including a 2-2 draw at home last season.

Recent Matches:

Houston are 4-0-4 on the season and have won their last three matches including a US Open Cup win over the El Paso Locomotive. They currently sit ninth in the Western Conference.

Players to Watch:

Guilherme
The Brazilian attacker came to Houston from Santos, one of the largest clubs in Brazil. He’s their current leading scorer with five goals on the season. He’s also brought some added flair to an attack that desperately needed it.

Mateusz Bogusz
The Polish attacker came to Houston after two unsuccessful seasons at Cruz Azul. In fact, the only season he’s ever looked to fulfill his promise as an attacker was in 2024 as Denis Bouanga’s preferred strike partner and he hasn’t built up a rapport with any of Houston’s strikers yet.

Jonathan Bond
Let’s hear from Matthew Doyle about Bond: “Every single year, according to all the data, Jonathan Bond nets out as one of the league’s worst shot-stoppers.”

Keys to the Match:

“Have some pride in your shirt, or don’t F*cking wear it”
The great (and fictional) Roy Kent, said this regarding watching his former club lose to Manchester United on the show Ted Lasso. It's a statement about team he watched lose who were too timid, and too respectful of their opponents.

Austin FC lost 5-1 on Wednesday night (Their third 5-1 loss on the road in their short history) and for those of us who stayed up to watch something was very clear: This team quit. After the penalty was given and San Jose went up 2-1 any belief they had in themselves disappeared and then the rout was really on. This isn’t just my opinion, but Coach Nico Estevez mentioned it in his post game press conference. The beginning of the quote above is Roy stating “they could have lost by 3, 4, even 5” and for a team that quits like Austin did on Wednesday night, that’s exactly what can happen.

Nico Out?
I’m going to dovetail the first Key into this one: Once a team quits on a coach, you have to either re-build the team or fire the coach. In MLS re-building a team can take many windows and years, as we’ve witnessed. Back in San Jose in 2021 the Austin Chronicle’s Eric Goodman asked Josh Wolff if the team had quit, which they had, and was told it was a “Bullshit Question” and as we all know now, Josh Wolff wasn’t the right coach to take Austin to a trophy and the Front Office should have made the move that night. They should make the right move and let Nico go now while there’s still enough of a season to try and get into the playoffs.

A multi-headed attack
Houston coach Ben Olsen has had a problem up front: he doesn’t have a clear starter at Striker. He can choose DPs Ezequiel Ponce, Ondrej Lingr, or Nick Markanich. This week in a press conference Olsen described the situation:

Lingr, Ponce, and Markanich give them different options up front. Said Lingr does a little bit of everything, Ponce is more physical, Markanich is probably the best finisher of the three.

Olsen hasn’t been able to find the correct mix of attackers yet, which is why Houston hasn’t scored multiple goals in an MLS win since March 14. Facing an Austin team that has allowed multiple goals in their past 5 matches (14 total), it may be exactly what they need to try and figure it out.

Prediction:
Austin FC: 1
Houston Dynamo: 2

Ilie Sánchez, courtesy of dev.media

Opponent: San Jose Earthquakes

Kick Off time: 9:39 PM US Central Time

Location: PayPal Park, San Jose, CA

History vs. Austin FC:

Austin is 2-6-2 against San Jose all-time in MLS play. Last season Austin went 2-0-1 against the Quakes including a USOC QuarterFinal win at PayPal Park.

Recent Matches:

San Jose is 7-0-1 on the season with their only loss being at home to Seattle on March 15. Their last match they demolished LAFC 4-1 at BMO Stadium.

Players to Watch:

Timo Werner
The former German International came to MLS this winter after his third stint with RB Leipzig amid stops at Chelsea and Tottenham. Injuries have robbed him of playing time and some of his pace but he’s still a dynamic player when healthy and scored last week against LAFC. He is mostly known for his incredible misses, of which there are multiple YouTube compilations.

Niko Tsakiris
A San Jose home grown player and currently their most influential on the pitch. Starting last season Head Coach Bruce Arena started to play Tsakiris in his natural “10” position and gave him the keys to the attack. This has continued in 2026 and is paying off as San Jose’s attack is one of the best in the league. It’s a shame Owen Wolff is unlikely to feature as we could see two of the most promising young attackers in MLS face off.

Daniel Munie
The University of Indiana product was drafted by the Earthquakes in 2023 and has grown into their full-time starter at CB. They’ve re-tooled their defense out of necessity, being outscored last season despite scoring 60 goals, and Munie taking over minutes from the departed Rodrigues has been part of that. He’s also chipped in two goals in eight games.

Keys to the Match:

The Process
Bruce Arena was named Coach and Sporting Director of San Jose in November of 2024 after he resigned from the New England Revolution for things the Apple TV announcers don’t want to bring up.

San Jose has long been a chaos team and “all gas, no brakes” under coaches Luchi Gonzalez, Magnus Eriksen, and Matias Almeyda. Arena in two seasons has transformed this team. Intentionally gone are Josef Martinez and Chicho Arango while Christian Espinoza was unintentionally let go, per club legend Landon Donovan. Last season they allowed a jaw-dropping 63 goals on their way to not making the playoffs in Arena’s first season. The changes are noticeable when watching this side and what a great coach can do. They’re second in the league in GD at +14 and look to be a juggernaut after a statement win against LAFC on Wednesday.

Wide Open Spaces
Last weekend Austin played an “MLS Before a Meal” match (shoutout beninquiring on Bluesky) against Toronto last weekend where they were up 1-0, down 2-1, up 3-2, and then gave up a tying goal late. This match also included multiple possible red card incidents for and against both sides. One of the things pointed out by the announcers (and possibly the only thing they were correct about) was Austin playing a loose attacking style where Myrto Uzuni and Facundo Torres had free reign to roam into open spaces wherever the found them. The problem for Austin was this roaming led to further disorganization in the back of the formation that allowed three goals.

Soccer has and will always be a balance between attacking and defending and Austin has figured out how to balance them. When the attack is scoring the defense gives up goals but when the defense prevents goals they aren’t allowed to score.

But it’s a School Night
Tonight is the first of Austin’s four away Wednesday matches on the season, do you notice something about all of them?

All of them are teams in the Pacific Time Zone, which means starts at least after 8:30 PM for us Central time zone folks. The only Pacific away match on a Saturday is Portland on August 29 as we play Vancouver on a Sunday night. The World Cup has condensed the schedule, but couldn’t we adjust to allow teams to play in their time zone on weekdays?

Prediction:
Austin FC: 1
San Jose: 3

Kobe Franklin scored an equalizing goal in the 88th minute, and Austin FC’s inability to hold a lead once again led to dropped points as the Verde and Black played to a 3-3 draw with Toronto FC on a rainy afternoon in Ontario, Canada. Winger Facundo Torres’ first goal for Austin FC and Center Forward Christian Ramierz’s go-ahead tally 4 minutes apart gave Austin a surprise lead after being generally outplayed and outhustled by Toronto to that point of the Second Half. Austin is now winless in six MLS matches, seven in all competitions, and blew an opportunity to hand Toronto its first home loss in 11 months.

Austin FC starting XI vs Toronto FC. Photo courtesy of Austin FC.

How it Happened:

Austin FC began the second half on the road with a one-goal lead after Center Back Jon Bell’s goal in the 29th minute. It was Bell’s second tally of the season and the second time he has scored the first goal of a match in 2026. However, as has been the case several times this season, the lead didn’t last for long as Daniel Salloi pounced on a deflection in front of the Austin goal and emphatically tied the match. 15 minutes later, a pass from Salloi in the box caromed off the boot of Austin Right Back Mikkel Desler onto the boot of Canadian International Ritchie Laryea, who went top bins to beat Austin Goalkeeper Brad Stuver and give Toronto the lead.

Austin FC appeared to be headed for their fourth defeat of the season, with energy and momentum firmly on Toronto’s side, but the match shifted in the 78th minute when Austin Forward Myrto Uzuni took a pass from Torres, found Robert Taylor at the far post with a laser accurate cross. Taylor played a one-touch pass to Torres, who made an unmarked run into the box, and the 2026 Designated Player signing scored his first goal for the Verde and Black. It was a stunningly effective counterattack by an Austin FC side that had struggled to sustain offensive plays to that point. The attack featured nine passes involving six players in 18 seconds for the goal. For Torres, he added his first Austin FC goal to go with three assists on the young season. Four minutes later, Austin took the lead on an even faster eight-second counter that left TFC and their home crowd stunned. Guilherme Biro headed down an excellent long ball from Stuver to Torres, whose pass to Ramierz in the box bounced like a pinball onto his foot in front of Luka Gavran, and the veteran striker beat the falling Toronto keeper with a penalty-style shot to give Austin its second lead of the match.

Christian Ramirez and Jon Gallagher celebrating with Facundo Torres. Photo courtesy of Austin FC.

Austin’s second lead of the match lasted only 16 minutes, as Toronto equalized late in regulation and held on through 10 minutes of stoppage time to keep the home point. Salloi played a cross from the left that was headed off the right post by substitute Midfielder Malik Henry, and Kobe Franklin won the race to the ball and fired it in for the final tally of the match. It was the third time this season Austin FC has scored multiple goals, and all three matches have been draws. Toronto can claim to have won the run of play, with nearly twice as many shots on target, 14 shot attempts in the Austin box, and a total xG of 3.11 to 1.48 for Austin. To Austin FC’s credit, and as the xG-to-goal ratio indicates, they were the most effective finishers on the day. Brad Stuver made 8 saves for Austin, and several of Toronto’s attempts on goal (including a couple of attempts from USMNT striker Josh Sargent) were easy work for Austin’s All-Star Goalkeeper. Austin was also the more disciplined side, collecting only two yellow cards to Toronto’s five. The one area in which Austin was thoroughly beaten was in Toronto, winning 73% of aerial duels. The airborne supremacy contributed to Toronto’s edge in the run of play, their multiple comebacks in the match, and avoiding their first home loss in nearly a year.

Guilherme Biro hugging goal scorer Jon Bell after his goal. Photo courtesy of Austin FC.

Analysis and What’s Next:

Unlike the previous two contests, there were more positive takeaways for Austin. Still playing without DP Striker Brandon Vazquez and elite U-22 Initiative homegrown talent Owen Wolff, the Verde and Black scored three goals in a match for the first time this season and only the third time ever under Nico Estevez. Several familiar problems persisted, though. Austin is now winless in seven matches in all competitions. Their only victory of 2026 continues to be a relatively unremarkable 1-0 home win against DC United on the first day of March.

While several symptoms could be diagnosed to explain Austin FC’s poor start, a prominent issue has been the Verde and Black’s struggle to hold or extend leads this season. Austin has one win, three draws, and a loss when scoring the first goal this season, and has failed to win away this season, despite opening scoring first in three road matches. Austin has not led by more than one goal this season, a factor perhaps in not being able to maintain a lead for long, and an issue that was also a chronic feature of Nico Estevez’s first season as Austin FC Manager. Austin has spent 117 of 720 total minutes with a scoring advantage this season, with leads that persisted for 33, 14, 8, 6, 27, 23, and 6 minutes respectively, meaning the average Austin FC lead has only lasted for 17 minutes.

Austin FC head coach Nico Estevez post-match, taking questions from the media.

Today’s match featured 3 lead changes with Austin going up 0-1, down 2-1, and up 2-3 before Franklin’s equalizing goal for TFC. Austin has 48 goals in 42 regular-season matches, a record of 14-12-16, 1.29 points per match, and a win rate of 33.3% during Estevez’s tenure. Austin is 28-26-35 with a win percentage of 32.2% since Rodolfo Borrell took over as Sporting Director on July 1, 2023. Despite significant spending in two consecutive winter transfer windows and four DP signings (at a combined transfer cost of around $37-million) since Summer 2024, Austin has yet to have a player record ten total goals under Estevez and Sebastian Driussi continues to be the only Austin FC player to ever score ten goals in a season and Austin FC’s second all-time leading MLS scorer is still former midfielder Alex Ring with 12 goals. Ring departed the club to return to his native Finland following the 2024 Season. The last time Austin scored three goals in a match was a 3-1 home win against San Jose on August 30, 2025.

Austin’s next assignment may prove to be one of its most difficult tasks of the season, crossing the North American continent for a Wednesday visit to the San Jose Earthquakes. The Quakes under Bruce Arena are currently missing recent marquee signing Timo Werner, but have six wins and one loss on the season, with 13 goals scored and only two conceded going into their Sunday evening home match against LAFC. The Verde and Black will return to Q2 Stadium for a visit from Copa Tejas opponents and in-state rivals, the Houston Dynamo, the following Saturday.

Opponent: Toronto FC

Kick Off time: 12:09 PM US Central Time

Location: BMO Field, Toronto, Ontario

History vs. Austin FC:

Austin is 1-0-1 (W-D-L) Against Toronto FC all-time including losing in Toronto two years ago.

Recent Matches:

Toronto are unbeaten in their past five matches (3-2-0) and currently sit in sixth place in the Eastern Conference.

Players to Watch:

Josh Sargent
The USMNT striker came over to Toronto from Norwich City of the English Championship for a club record transfer fee of $22 Million (up to $27 Million with add-ons). He had scored 56 goals for the club over five seasons and has been a consistent starter for them before leaving.

Dániel Sallói
The 29 year old attacker and former Sporting KC player came to Toronto this off-season as part of their re-tooling efforts. The Hungarian had spent nine years in Kansas City and had a small revival last season with 7 league goals after only scoring twice in 2024. He’ll pop up mostly on the left side of the pitch or playing underneath Sargent and is key for them being able to provide service.

Jonathan Osorio
A Toronto FC first teamer since the Obama administration (2013), the 33 year old is in his 14th!! season with the club. He’s played every minute for them so far this season in the midfield and is trying to earn a spot at the Canadian National Team.

Keys to the Match:

Injuries, Sminjuries
There’s been a lot of discussion centered around Austin FC’s injuries, including Dani Pereira only lasting 10’ in the embarrassing loss to Louisville City on Tuesday. However, Toronto has their own issues:

And they’re still 6th in the East as Robin Fraser is able to get more out of this team than the sum of their parts.

Is the seat at least a little warm?
Austin FC are off to their worst start in club history with only one win in their first seven games and with six points sit in 13th place in the Western Conference. They’re not only bad but also not exciting to watch being one of only five teams in the conference to not have double digit goals. They were not only eliminated by USL side Louisville City on Tuesday but were outplayed and outclassed.

Coach Nico Estevez has taken the blame for this because his tenure is starting to resemble his tenure for FC Dallas, only with less success. In 2022 they had 1.56 points per game, in 2023 1.35 points per game, and in 18 games in 2024 they had 1.11 points per game. He does get credit for at least acknowledging they aren’t playing well enough, but this is professional sports and results matter.

Don’t Leave Early
These teams have something in common: giving up late goals while they’re leading. Toronto would be on a five match winning streak had they not given up goals during Injury time against the NY Red Bulls and FC Cincinnati. Meanwhile Austin FC have blown leads in three matches this season already ( against Minnesota United at home and away to Real Salt Lake and Inter Miami). Either way, it’s doubtful any lead is safe during this match, which despite it being played in the afternoon absolutely has some MLS After Dark potential.

Prediction:
Austin FC: 0
Toronto FC: 2

Opponent: LA Galaxy

Kick Off time: 1:39 PM US Central Time

Location: Q2 Stadium, Austin, TX

History vs. Austin FC:

Austin FC are 4-1-5 against LA Galaxy all-time including a 3-0-1 record at Q2. Last season Austin FC won 1-0 in this fixture thanks to a goal by Brandon Vazquez.

Recent Matches:

LA Galaxy have not won an MLS match since February 28 when they beat Charlotte FC at home. They lost 4-2 against Toluca on Wednesday in CONCACAF Champions Cup play and currently sit in 12th place in the Western Conference.

Players to Watch:

Marco Reus
The German international came over to Galaxy in 2024 to help provide extra attacking verve to compliment Riqui Puig. Due to injuries he was limited to just 21 appearances last season but he’s been the primary focus of their attack and creativity this season in the absence of other DPs and has two goals and assists in six appearances so far this season.

Klauss
The Striker came over to Galaxy from St Louis CITY this offseason as there was a gaping hole up front for the Galaxy last season after they were forced to sell Devan Joveljic to Sporting KC for salary cap reasons. Klauss is a proven goal scorer in this league and already has five goals this season. He has two goals in his five career appearances against Austin FC including the winning goal in the 2023 opener at Q2.

Justin Haak
Haak came to LA Galaxy in a trade this offseason after having a break out year for NYCFC, starting in all 34 matches for them and providing the defensive nous that every team needs. He can play in midfield or in the center of defense and has provided consistency around their other defensive injuries and age.

Keys to the Match:

Who isn’t here
Once again former MLS Best XI and Designated Player Riqui Puig is out for the season with an ACL injury after re-injuring his knee in rehab this pre-season. They’re also without fellow Designated Player and Austin FC street fight wannabe Joseph Paintsil and marquee free agent signing Jakob Glesnes.

The Galaxy are one of MLS’ premier clubs and has an entitled fan base used to winning, not just games, but trophies, and without Puig they are experiencing what a lot of their fans are thinking of us as a second straight “lost” season. Even with Klauss, Marco Rees, and Gabriel Pec this is still a formidable attacking side, but without the rest of their attack healthy, as well as still reeling from their salary cap issues following their Cup win in 2024, this is a team that is less than the sum of their parts. Galaxy fans are already getting vocal about the team firing Greg Vanney, another loss will only turn up the heat on his seat. Factor in a late Wednesday night match at altitude and the early start on Saturday and you can see how this feels like a schedule loss for a team unable to put together the depth needed to compete in CONCACAF Champion’s Cup.

Positive process, lacking results
Austin FC again gave away points from a winning position on Saturday, already having lost leads in three matches. As I was reminded on LV Slack this week, it’s an improvement that Austin FC has these leads to begin with. Austin has showed real attacking and possession prowess against two of the league’s best teams in their past two matches and with (hopefully) the return of Brandon Vazquez, Owen Wolff, and Dani Pereira we can see what a fully healthy attack can do.

The biggest positive has been the play of Myrto Uzuni the last two weeks where he has been given more freedom of movement to get involved and be a connector as opposed to a striker playing solely to keep the other team’s central defenders occupied. We got to see him drift wide and assist a countering goal against Miami and also saw him lay off passes in the box for dangerous chances to runners from midfield positions.

A match, at this time of year, at this time of day, in this part of the country?
Of all of the things I have complained about with the Apple TV deal there is one thing they are doing correctly: they’re scheduling matches with different start times so we can watch more matches live, even when Austin are at home. This match marks another afternoon start and will take advantage of a nice 77 degree day in Austin that all of us can enjoy and still get home (or to Hopsquad Brewing) to watch the rest of the action in the league.

Prediction:
Austin FC: 2
LA Galaxy: 1

Opponent: Inter Miami

Kick Off time: 6:39 PM US Central Time

Location: Nu Stadium at Miami Freedom Park, Miami, Florida

History vs. Austin FC:

Austin FC is 1-1-0 against Inter Miami all-time, including a 5-1 win in 2022 and a 1-1 draw in Fort Lauderdale in 2023.

Recent Matches:

Inter Miami have not lost since their opener against LAFC where they lost 3-0. They were eliminated by Nashville SC in the CONCACAF Champions Cup due to away goals. They currently sit in 3rd place in the Eastern Conference.

Players to Watch:

Lionel Messi
The 38 year old Argentinian has done it all on a soccer pitch and even at his age his presence, touch, and vision are still unparalleled in the sport. The thing to watch is how he controls time and space around him with quick and decisive moves, making more athletic and faster players look slow around him. Ticket prices rise wherever he goes but as he’s aged his minutes and appearances have ticked down. When his club is opening a brand new stadium, “The House Messi Built” he will be there to play and give his full focus.

Dayne St. Clair
The former Minnesota United keeper came to Inter Miami this offseason as a free agent. St. Clair has grown into being one of the best keepers in MLS, winning MLS keeper of the year in 2025, and is currently competing with Maxime Crepeau of Orlando City to start for the Canadian Men’s National Team in the upcoming World Cup.

Germán Berterame
The 27 year old Mexican striker came to Inter Miami this off-season to replace Luis Suarez as Miami’s primary striker option. Unfortunately that hasn’t worked out for either side so far with him still not getting on the score sheet. He was dropped for their last match against NYCFC by coach Javier Mascherano so pay attention to if him or Tadeo Allende start up front.

Keys to the Match:

Opening Up
This Saturday Austin FC get to be the visitors for Miami opening up their new stadium. This is the first MLS stadium to open since Energizer Park opened in St Louis before the 2023 season. As we got to experience ourselves, opening up a new stadium is a lifetime memory to share as a huge moment for the club. Miami now gets to play in their actual city in a new 26,700 seat stadium as opposed to playing in Fort Lauderdale at the smaller Chase Stadium. The Stadium construction has had a lot of hand-wringing as this was how it looked a mere three months ago and the grass was laid only 10 days ago but will be ready for the opening match.

Brother, can you spare a goal?
Austin FC scored a beautiful goal against LAFC where Facundo Torres connected with Myrto Uzuni on a corner kick straight from the training ground…unfortunately it was offside.

Austin has gone 375 minutes without scoring a goal in open play this season and have yet to score a goal with their feet (something I am going to keep mentioning until it happens). Brandon Vazquez, Owen Wolff, and Dani Pereira will still be out but returning soon per Nico Estevez’ press conference Thursday where he also mentioned having an attacking mentality. Austin needs to try and have the ball more like they did against LAFC (62% possession) to try and frustrate Miami and also make them work defensively. Their three results this season (Draws against Minnesota United and LAFC, Win against DC United) featured the team having more possession. For a team that was possession averse last season, this is something to keep in mind when going against a side that LOVES possession (their lowest % was 54 against NYCFC on 3/22).

Messi Centric
As mentioned above, Lionel Messi is the centerpiece of this Inter Miami team (as he should be). Something you’ll notice in watching them is just how Messi centric they are. Their entire playing style revolves around getting him the ball and having runners around him, which works, but in a weird way it also makes them easier to defend because the accompanying attackers don’t get wide to try and get a cross in, they’re nearby to try and benefit goal scoring chances (also makes it easier for them to cover ground as Messi is not required to run or move outside of his preferred spot). They’ll crowd numbers around the top of the box to utilize Leo’s passing ability so Austin can respond by adding an extra CB with two holding midfielders to attempt to use numbers to defend.

Prediction:
Austin FC: 0
Inter Miami: 3

The Result: Austin FC 0-0 LAFC

Brenden Hines-Ike, Nico Dubersarsky, and Myrto Uzuni led a short-handed but passionate, energetic, and ultimately scoreless Austin FC (1-2-2) into a thrilling but scoreless battle with LAFC (4-1-0). An offside Ilie Sanchez precipitated a VAR review, chalking off Austin’s only goal against LAFC’s nearly impenetrable defense, a brilliant strike by Uzuni off an expertly delivered corner from Facundo Torres, and the match ended in a 0-0 draw. A rare result where both sides were left with a sense of relief that things didn’t go worse.

For LAFC and longtime Tottenham and French National Goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, it was their fifth straight clean sheet in MLS play, but the first time they failed to get a victory after dispatching their previous four league opponents by a combined score of 8-0. For Stuver and the Verde and Black, it was the third straight regular-season clean sheet against the Black and Gold.

How it happened

Both sides were close to breaking the deadlock in the final 12 minutes of the match. LAFC Midfielder Marco Delgado ripped a shot from outside the box in the 84th minute that clanged off the crossbar. A minute later, Austin substitute Midfielder Besard Sabovic passed the ball directly to LAFC’s Son Heung-min, who raced toward the Austin goal. Still, Austin Center-Back Brenden Hines-Ike caught up to Son and dispossessed the Korean superstar in the penalty area with a perfectly timed and executed tackle. In the 94th minute, Uzuni eluded multiple LAFC defenders and cut into the box with a ball to create a rising open shot, only to be met with a world-class save from Lloris, preserving an away draw for the visitors and denying Austin what would have been a hard-fought victory. Austin excelled at ball movement and kept the ball away from LAFC’s forwards for much of the match, completing 90% of their passes (613 total) to 363 (84%) for LAFC. Despite 22 total shots (10 for Austin, 12 for LAFC), each team only managed one on frame due to locked-in performances by both backlines. Stuver and Lloris took care of their business when called upon, as the fast-paced, often exciting match somehow ended without a goal.

The match also featured Austin Right Back Mikkel Desler’s return from injury as a 78th-minute substitute. Attacking Midfielder Jorge Alastuey was given a second short-term agreement to join the First Team from Austin FC II, but didn’t feature in the match. Austin FC did excellent work in defending LAFC assassin Denis Bouanga throughout the match, holding the Gabon International to only 2 shot attempts through 89 minutes. Stuver reacted quickly to stop his (and LAFC’s) only shot on target in the 92nd minute. A chance Bouanga created for himself from the wing when he deftly worked the ball into a dangerous area from the near touchline.

What’s next?

Austin remains on a three-match winless streak, but a good performance and result against LAFC at home could provide momentum as the Verde and Black travel to Miami for the Inaugural match at Inter Miami’s (3-1-1) new Miami Freedom Park on April 4th. In the meantime, Austin’s Uzuni will travel to Europe as an international call-up for Albania’s historic World Cup Qualifier Semifinal playoff against Poland.

Play of the Match: Hugo Lloris save on Myrto Uzuni in the 94th minute

Player of the Match: Brenden Hines-Ike (ATX)

Honorable Mentions: Nicolas Dubersarsky (ATX), Ryan Porteous (LAFC), Myrto Uzuni (ATX), Marco Delgado (LAFC)

Opponent: LAFC

Kick Off time: 7:55 PM US Central Time

Location: Q2 Stadium, Austin, TX

History vs. Austin FC:

Austin are 4-2-5 (W-D-L) against LAFC in MLS regular season, including beating them in both matches last season (1-0 wins in LA on 3/15 and in Austin on 10/14). Unfortunately in the playoffs LAFC eliminated Austin in the Best of 3 format by winning the first two match ups.

Recent Matches:

LAFC is a perfect 4-0-0 on the season and is 3-1-0 in their four CONCACAF Champion’s Cup matches, including a 2-1 win on Tuesday thanks to this Brian Martinez strike.

Players to Watch:

Denis Bouanga
Yes, stupid sexy Bouanga is still at LAFC despite multiple offers this offseason, including from Inter Miami. He’s scored 20+ goals in each of his three full seasons in LA and if he chooses to stay in MLS could get into the Top 10 in all-time scoring in the next few years.

Son Heung-min
The South Korean superstar is back and still combining with the rest of the LAFC attack in quick counters and scoring goals. He’s doing his best to make sure this isn’t a “retirement” run and sitting out matches or getting subbed out regularly. His commitment to LAFC is laudable, albeit annoying for us.

Marky Delgado
The midfielder came to LAFC before the 2025 season after helping cross town rival LA Galaxy win the 2024 MLS Cup. He’s there to bring stability to their midfield and progress the ball from defense into attack. The best way to stop LAFC’s attack is to keep Delgado from getting them the ball.

Keys to the Match:

Austin FC’s Biggest Rival
And by “Biggest Rival” of course I am referring to being able to score goals. Austin is yet again toward the bottom of almost every offensive stat that is measured (which Phil West at Verde All Day was kind enough to talk about this week), including “goals scored with feet” where Austin through four games has 0. Club record signing Myrto Uzuni has 0 intentional goals so far this season and has yet to link up with new signings Jayden Nelson and Facundo Torres.

Most of 2025 was spent with fans worrying they would set new records of offensive anemia after spending $30 Million on Designated Players and it appears 2026 is much of the same. The hope is that once Owen Wolff, Brandon Vazquez, Dani Pereira, and Mikkel Desler are healthy it’ll make Austin FC a competent attacking side, but for a team on a two game losing streak and set to face two MLS Cup favorites next, it doesn’t look like they’ll be here soon enough to get needed results.

Changes up top
LAFC has a new coach, Marc Dos Santos, after four seasons of success under Steve Cherundolo (Winning 54% of matches, MLS Cup and Supporter’s Shield in 2022, and a US Open Cup in 2024). Dos Santos previously coached the Vancouver Whitecaps for four seasons before being fired for losing the Pacific FC in the Canadian Championship and moving to LAFC as an assistant.

The biggest change he’s made is how LAFC sets up to get an additional player to join the attack along with Bouanga and Son. Under Cherundolo and early this season they’d line up with Son and Bouanga as strikers and then have a midfielder (Timothy Tillman, Mathieu Choiniere) or winger (Nathan Ordaz) join them. Recently under Dos Santos he’s flipped that, utilizing Ordaz as a striker with Bouanga and Son playing beneath him, allowing them space to run at defenders and force the opposing midfield to stay deep.

Prediction:
Austin FC: 0
LAFC: 3