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HIGHLIGHTS: Austin FC's Brad Stuver stands tall in 1-1 draw against Sporting KC

Here are the latest score updates, news and highlights from the Austin FC vs. Sporting Kansas City match.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Austin FC kicked off its eighth match of the 2021 Major League Soccer (MLS) season Saturday against Sporting Kansas City.

Final: Austin FC 1, Sporting KC 1

Much like the first matchup, Austin FC scored first. And once again, Austin FC did not leave Kansas City with a win. However, the club took one point home after tying with Sporting KC, 1-1, instead of a 2-1 loss in the first matchup.

Cecilio Dominguez scored his third goal of the season in the first half, which leads the team. 

Defensively, goalkeeper Brad Stuver stood tall in goal, making a number of highlight-reel saves. Stuver officially finished with a career-high nine saves on the day. Stuver's save of the game came arguably in the 43rd minute, when he tipped a shot over the crossbar. Sporting KC severely outshot Austin FC, 32 to 9. Eleven of those 32 shots were on frame.

Austin FC head coach Josh Wolff said Stuver has been a solid force for the club thus far to begin the season.

Stuver told the media after the game that the back line did a great job at using their bodies to block shots. He said that due to the way their style of playing the ball out of the back, they're going to give up chances for shots at times. Stuver said its on him and the back line to limit the number of "great chances" the opponent has.

"Credit to the guys in front of me. I mean, (Besler) had like seven to eight blocked shots and Julio (Cascante) had a couple. (Jhohan) Romana came in and had a couple. Diego (Fagundez) had a couple. So, it's a collective effort. I'm just the guy that gets the save stat."

Austin FC's lead was taken back after Dániel Sallói followed a deflection with a right-footed goal. 

With the draw, Austin FC has taken one point against each of the top two seeded teams in the MLS Western Conference in the past two matches (Sporting KC and Seattle Sounders).

Austin FC's eight-game road stretch is now finished. Wolff said, through these first eight games, playing on the road every week was much more difficult than he imagined entering the season. He said it's exciting to come home for the first time. 

"We look forward to playing in Q2," Wolff said. "It's going to be a good one."

The home opener is next. Austin FC will play its first home game of the inaugural MLS season on June 19 against San Jose Earthquakes. 

STATS

  • Possession: Austin FC 41%, Sporting KC 59%
  • Shots (on goal): Austin FC 9 (2), Sporting KC 32 (11)
  • Fouls: Austin FC 6, Sporting KC 8
  • Yellow Cards: Austin FC 1, Sporting KC 2
  • Red Cards: Austin FC 0, Sporting KC 0
  • Offsides: Austin FC 2, Sporting KC 2
  • Corner Kicks: Austin FC 2, Sporting KC 13
  • Saves: Austin FC 9, Sporting KC 1

Second half

Austin FC 1, Sporting KC 1

90' + 7: Game over. Austin FC ties Sporting KC, 1-1.

90' + 4: Sporting KC free kick: Blocked by Austin FC wall.

88': Khiry Shelton (Sporting Kansas City) right-footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner. 

87': Sporting KC substitution: Wilson Harris replaces Felipe Hernandez. 

87': Sporting KC corner: Cleared by Austin FC.

87': Sporting KC corner: Cleared out of bounds for another Sporting KC corner.

85': Khiry Shelton (Sporting Kansas City) right-footed shot from the center of the box is saved in the center of the goal. 

81': Rodney Redes (Austin FC) right-footed shot from the center of the box misses to the right.

80': Khiry Shelton (Sporting Kansas City) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left.

80': Khiry Shelton (Sporting Kansas City) header from the left side of the six yard box is saved in the bottom left corner.  

79': Austin FC substitution: Jhohan Romana replaces Diego Fagundez.

79': Austin FC yellow card: Matt Besler (Austin FC) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul. 

77': Johnny Russell (Sporting Kansas City) left-footed shot from the center of the box is saved in the center of the goal.  

76': Manny Perez (Austin FC) right-footed shot from the left side of the box misses to the right. 

71': Sporting KC goal: Dániel Sallói (Sporting Kansas City) right-footed shot from the center of the box.

71': Johnny Russell (Sporting Kansas City) left-footed shot from the center of the box is saved in the center of the goal. 

71': Gianluca Busio (Sporting Kansas City) right-footed shot from outside the box is blocked.  

70': Austin FC substitution: Kekuta Manneh replaces Cecilio Dominguez. Rodney Redes replaces Jared Stroud.

65': Roger Espinoza (Sporting Kansas City) header from the center of the box is saved in the top center of the goal. 

63': Sporting KC corner: Cleared by Austin FC.

63': Sporting KC corner: Cleared by Austin FC. 

61': Sporting KC corner: Cleared by Austin FC.

61': Johnny Russell (Sporting Kansas City) header from the right side of the six yard box misses to the left.  

60': Alexander Ring (Austin FC) left footed shot from the center of the box misses to the right. 

60': Jared Stroud (Austin FC) right-footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked.

60': Sporting KC corner: Cleared by Austin FC.

59': Austin FC substitution: Sebastian Berhalter replaces Tomás Pochettino. Manny Perez replaces Jon Gallagher.

57': Austin FC corner: Cleared by Sporting KC.

57': Cecilio Domínguez (Austin FC) right-footed shot from the center of the box is saved in the top center of the goal.

57': Johnny Russell (Sporting Kansas City) left-footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked.  

54': Dániel Sallói (Sporting Kansas City) right-footed shot from the center of the box is too high following a corner. 

52': Sporting KC corner: Ball shot over the goal for Austin FC goal kick.

49': Sporting KC corner: Cleared by Austin FC.

47': Johnny Russell (Sporting Kansas City) left-footed shot from a difficult angle and long range on the right is high and wide to the right. 

47': Felipe Hernandez (Sporting Kansas City) right-footed shot from very close range is saved in the center of the goal.

46': Second half is kicked off.

Halftime: Austin FC 1, Sporting KC 0

Austin FC has taken a first-half lead on Sporting KC for the second time this season. In the first matchup, it was Jon Gallagher who scored. This time, it was Cecilio Dominguez. Dominguez found the back of the net in the 26th minute after a 1-2 pass combination at the top of the box. Dominguez's goal was his third of the season, which leads the team. 

Austin FC goalkeeper Brad Stuver made two big-time saves in the first half. From point-blank range, Stuver saved a shot from Roger Espinoza in the 34th minute, then followed with a highlight-reel save in the 43rd minute as well. 

STATS

  • Shots (on goal): Austin FC 3 (1), Sporting KC 10 (3)
  • Fouls: Austin FC 3, Sporting KC 6
  • Yellow Cards: Austin FC 0, Sporting KC 1
  • Red Cards: Austin FC 0, Sporting KC 0
  • Offsides: Austin FC 2, Sporting KC 2
  • Corner Kicks: Austin FC 1, Sporting KC 4
  • Saves: Austin FC 2, Sporting KC 0

First half

Austin FC 1, Sporting KC 0

45' + 5: Jon Gallagher (Austin FC) left-footed shot from the left side of the box is close, but misses to the left. 

44': Roger Espinoza (Sporting Kansas City) header from the center of the box is blocked.

44': Ilie Sánchez (Sporting Kansas City) header from very close range is blocked. 

43': Dániel Sallói (Sporting Kansas City) right-footed shot from very close range is saved in the top center of the goal by Brad Stuver. 

40': Sporting KC substitutions: Felipe Hernandez replaces Rémi Walter. Jaylin Lindsey replaces Graham Zusi.

37': Sporting KC corner: Cleared by Austin FC.

34': Roger Espinoza (Sporting Kansas City) left-footed shot from the center of the box is saved by Brad Stuver. 

32': Sporting KC yellow card: Rémi Walter (Sporting Kansas City) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

29': Dániel Sallói (Sporting Kansas City) left-footed shot from the left side of the box misses to the right.

28': Dániel Sallói (Sporting Kansas City) right-footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked.

26': Austin FC goal: Cecilio Dominguez right-footed shot from outside the 18-yard box scores first goal. Assisted by Zan Kolmanic.

22': Dániel Sallói (Sporting Kansas City) right-footed shot from a difficult angle on the right is too high.

21': Sporting KC corner: Volley struck too high over the goal. Austin FC goal kick.

17': Austin FC corner: Cleared by Sporting KC.

16': Jared Stroud (Austin FC) left-footed shot from the right side of the box is saved.

3': Gianluca Busio (Sporting Kansas City) right-footed shot from outside the box misses to the right. 

1': Game is kicked off. 

Pregame

Austin FC announced its starting lineup, which is the same one from the last match against the Seattle Sounders. 

Sporting KC announces its starting lineup: 

Kickoff time

The game will kick off at 2 p.m. CST on Saturday, June 12, at Children's Mercy Park, Kansas City, Kansas.

How to watch

How to listen

  • ALT 97.5 FM (radio) 
  • Spanish: TUDN Radio Austin (104.3-HD2, KLQB)

Official Watch Party

Where to watch: Austin FC Pub Club

Preview

Austin looks to capture revenge against Sporting KC after giving up a 1-0 first-half lead, ultimately losing 2-1 in the first matchup between the two teams. 

In that first meeting, Jon Gallagher gave Austin the lead in the seventh minute on a ball played in from the right wing by Jared Stroud. Alex Ring got the first red card of his career in the second half, which contributed to the two-goal comeback. 

RELATED: HIGHLIGHTS: Austin FC playing a man down from red card, let up 2 goals in second half, lose 2-1

As of late, Austin FC seems to be turning the tide, breaking its three-game losing streak with a 0-0 tie with MLS point leader, Seattle Sounders in its last match.

Sporting KC comes into the match fresh off of a 3-2 win against the Houston Dynamo. Gianluca Busio scored his second goal of the season from a stunning free kick and Gadi Kinda scored his third goal of the season. Alan Pulido converted a penalty kick for his fifth goal of the season (tied for third in the MLS Golden Boot standings) – his fourth goal in the last three games.

This eighth road game will be the final one before Austin FC's home opener on June 19 against the San Jose Earthquakes. Q2 Stadium will be held at 00% capacity.

For the latest Austin FC news, visit kvue.com/austinfc. And to get the latest Austin FC news straight to your phone, text "SOCCER" to 512-459-9442.

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