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Austin FC's Diego Fagundez pushed the club over the edge in a 1-1 comeback draw against the Seattle Sounders Sunday. (Austin FC/Twitter)
Despite a troubling first half, Austin FC held strong to its home fortress as the Verde and Black took their first draw of 2022 in a 1-1 game against the Seattle Sounders on Sunday afternoon.
Echoes of last season's woes haunted the Verde and Black as its hot start appeared to crumble to start the match. But thanks to a second-half goal from Diego Fagundez, the club saw a late spurt of energy to stay alive and stay undefeated at Q2 Stadium.
Here are three takeaways from the match:
1. Austin played its worst half yet—then kicked it into gear
First start of the year & first goal of the year for @wbruin. 🐻 pic.twitter.com/NZ2o4olIA9
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 20, 2022
Make no mistake—even with a not-so-troubling scoreline, Austin FC revealed some very worrying signs for much of the match.
Austin FC's new era of quick, snarky passes and hustle plays shone through in the first 10 minutes of play. But that new home-game Verde confidence gave way to clumsy errors, slow reactions and a lack of cohesion for the rest of the first half.
Seattle used that to their advantage, making four scoring attempts and holding the ball hostage to threaten Austin's goal before Seattle's Will Bruin broke through with a close-range tap to score in the 43rd minute of play.
Austin left the first half resembling its near-last place self last season. The Verde back line, which shone in last week's Portland match, struggled to keep up with a pressuring Seattle offense, while striker Moussa Djitte and the rest of the starting offense couldn't quite capitalize on any chances at goal.
But fans who switched on the TV for the second half saw a different story. Austin FC put up a fight in the match, and their 21 shots (eight of which were on target) were stopped time and time again from the near-impenetrable Seattle keeper Stefan Cleveland.
The club's improvement this season was especially seen in Austin's resiliency, head coach Josh Wolff said. The club, which struggled with endurance and a "second-half curse" for much of its first season, bounced back and never stopped attacking, logging 22 crosses and nine corner kicks in the match.
"Right away, I think there's a different mentality, there's better leadership... more character and resolve," Wolff said after the match. "You know you're in a good place when your guys are fighting and competing in training, and there are some fights going on. And that's a sign of a good team."
2. Diego is the drumbeat of the team
Austin goes crazy‼️ Thank you, @DiegolFagundez! 👏 pic.twitter.com/ZnQZxOVEvk
— Austin FC (@AustinFC) March 20, 2022
For the first time since last September, Diego Fagundez didn't take the pitch as a starter for Austin FC this match.
And it showed—the winger, who was Austin's first goalscorer and has become the unsung hero for the Verde and Black, scored Austin's sole goal of the match in the 73rd minute to change the trajectory of the game.
"It's a physical group, so I wanted to have some sort of presence in there that could get on the end of things and hold things up," Wolff said on subbing out Fagundez and fellow starter Maxi Urruti. "Some verticality and physicality are what we wanted, knowing the game was going to probably slow down a little bit...it's nice to have depth, and those guys came in and performed."
Both Fagundez and fellow starter Urruti injected new energy into the match as they subbed into the match in the 57th minute of play, something Fagundez said they were eager to do from the bench.
"We know that we were hungry to go in, no one wants to sit on the bench," Fagundez said. "But at the same time, we know at some point everybody's going to have to, and we knew that when you're on the bench you need to bring energy to the game and change it... I think everybody who came into the game made an impact, and I think if we had five or six more minutes we could've won this game."
Despite starting out as an underdog, Fagundez tied for the most goals scored last season (7) and has scored 61 goals in his 300+ career appearances. He'll be needed more on the pitch than off of it for both his skills and spirit if the team hopes to advance to the playoffs.
3. Can Austin beat the big boys?
Live view from the south end! 🗣 pic.twitter.com/BalcGz77OA
— Austin FC (@AustinFC) March 20, 2022
Austin FC wowed the league with back-to-back five-goal matches to kick off its season. But none of that matters if the club can't get points on the board against their own conference teams.
The Verde and Black easily beat FC Cincinnati and Inter Miami, and they did make history with those goal-heavy scores—but that's exactly what they were supposed to do against two teams that have never pushed past the bottom tier of their conference.
Since losing 5-1 to Austin, Inter Miami has scored just one more goal and sits at the bottom of MLS East with three losses and a draw. FC Cincinnati has already been more successful than seasons past, but that's not saying much: the team has drummed up two wins and two losses to reach the middle of the conference.
Austin played against two big guns in Portland and Seattle, and neither match proved who was the better team. The club will need to get some stats on the board as it embarks on a five-match stretch of slightly easier opponents in April before it can prove it deserves to sit with the best in the West.
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Popular
Austin FC kept rival FC Dallas to a draw Saturday night as it pulled off a 2-2 comeback. (Austin FC/Twitter)
Despite a 2-0 deficit, there was a pot of gold for Austin FC after all as it celebrated its annual Pride Night with rainbows and a 2-2 comeback draw to FC Dallas Saturday night.
After three FC Dallas losses last season, the Dallas derby draw marks the first time Austin FC has tied against its Copa Texas rival. Austin continues to edge over FC Dallas as it sits at 3rd in the MLS West.
Here are the biggest takeaways from the match:
A somber start
¡Ya Basta! Enough! End Gun Violence. #uvaldestrong
— Los Verdes (@LosVerdesATX) June 26, 2022
📷 @arubiophotospic.twitter.com/3PiVdTPtik
Decked out in colorful hues for LBGTQ+ Pride, Verde fans started the match on a somber note as they held up banners to take a stand against gun violence before the match.
As the national anthem began, fans held up banners with the names of each child that was killed in the Uvalde school shooting and a plea to "end gun violence."
The supporters' section was also dotted with Pride flags and a "Bans off Our Bodies" banner in protest of the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
(Claire Partain/Austonia)
(Claire Partain/Austonia)
FC Dallas earns a 2-0 lead
Paul Arriola is there to put it away and put @FCDallas ahead! pic.twitter.com/Z4AMmM6lp3
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) June 26, 2022
That sober tone continued onto the pitch. With midfielder Daniel Pereira's absence due to a red card, the Verde and Black lost two goals to FC Dallas by the 70th minute of play.
FC Dallas played it sneaky for the first half of the match, giving Austin FC plenty of room to hold possession as it waited to strike on a Verde error. That mentality proved dangerous for Austin as Dallas' Paul Arriola took advantage of Brad Stuver's deflection to score the first goal of the night in the 57th minute of play.
Dallas struck once more as Brandon Servant pushed past the Verde line to score the second goal of the match.
#DTID double their lead!
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) June 26, 2022
The substitute Brandon Servania with a fine finish within five minutes of coming on. 💥 pic.twitter.com/IZm0YsPxG5
Austin FC strikes back
Sebastián Driussi pulls one back!#AustinFC are still in this one. 👀 pic.twitter.com/Yoi0x768jb
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) June 26, 2022
But energy quickly returned to Austin's favor thanks to Designated Player Sebastian Driussi, who scooted past several FC Dallas defenders alongside Moussa Djitte to snag an unlikely first goal for Austin.
A full Verde comeback
Late drama in this Texas Derby!@AustinFC ties it up, Danny Hoesen with the diving header. 😱 pic.twitter.com/Jk2f4fIEXG
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) June 26, 2022
Austin's subs proved deadly as momentum returned to the home team toward the end of the match. A well-placed cross from Nick Lima—and a diving header from a fresh-legged Danny Hoesen—helped the team secure the draw with a second Verde goal in the 84th minute of play.
Hoesen, who was Austin's first starting striker last season, has now scored two goals with the team after a yearlong injury stuck him on the bench.
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(Bob Daemmrich)
Hours following the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark ruling that guaranteed a constitutional right to an abortion, on Friday, about 1,000 people gathered in Republic Square with signs calling for change.
The rally, organized by the group Rise Up 4 Abortion Rights Texas, started at the federal courthouse on Republic Square on Friday at 5 p.m. before the crowd marched to the Texas Capitol. More protests are expected to ensue over the weekend.
People showed up with all types of signs like Mindy Moffa holding up, "Keep your filthy laws off my silky drawers."
Austin joined cities across the country that saw protests for a women's right to an abortion after the ruling.
According to a recent UT poll, 78% of Texas voters support abortion access in most cases.
Sabrina Talghade and Sofia Pellegrini held up signs directed at Texas laws. A Texas trigger law will ban all abortions from the moment of fertilization, starting 30 days after the ruling. When state legislators passed the trigger law last summer, it also passed laws for more protection of firearms, including the right to open carry without a permit.
Lili Enthal of Austin yells as around 1,000 Texans marched to the Texas Capitol.
From the Texas Capitol, Zoe Webb lets her voice be heard against the Supreme Court ruling.
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