DENVER — Austin FC kicked off its second match of the 2021 MLS season Saturday against the Colorado Rapids.
Final:
Austin FC 3, Colorado Rapids 1
It took a second half effort, but Austin FC finally found the back of the net for the first time in franchise history and poured on the goals in the second half en route to a 3-1 victory over the Colorado Rapids. The 3-1 win secured the club's first win in club history.
The seal to Austin FC's goal-scoring drought was broken by Diego Fagundez, and then followed by two more goals from designated player Cecilio Dominguez within 10 minutes. Dominguez scored in the 67th minute and 71st minute, assisted by Jon Galllagher and Rodeny Redes, respectively.
"In the second half, I thought I had much more space to move freely," Dominguez said. "I was able to receive the ball to make passes and that's very important to be able to hurt our opponent. So, thankfully, it worked out in the end."
With the win, Austin FC got its first three points in the MLS standings and improved its record to 1-1 after losing to LAFC in the inaugural match.
"I'm excited for the team, organization and for the city," Austin FC head coach Josh Wolff said. "We fought together and we won together. It was a momentous day for this club and for the city."
One interesting note to keep an eye out for is the situation regarding Tomás Pochettino. Pochettino, one of the club's two designated players and a sure-fire starting caliber player, was left out of the starting XI. In the middle of the match, Austin FC released a statement saying his absence was due to a "potential league-related administrative issue" regarding his registration.
Ben Sweat went down with an apparent knee injury in the first half. He was substituted out for Žan Kolmanič. The team did not provide a specific injury update on Sweat after the game.
"We'll have to see what the images show, but he's a tough kid so he's got something going on in there" Wolff said. "We'll just wait and see what it looks like."
Austin FC will go on the road again in its next match on Saturday, May 1 to take on Minnesota United FC. Minnesota is 0-2-0 on the year following a 2-1 loss to Salt Lake in its home opener.
WATCH THE MATCH HIGHLIGHTS HERE:
Major League Soccer standings are ranked like the following: teams get three points for a win, one point for a draw and zero points for a loss. In the event of a tie in the standings, the tiebreaker goes to:
- Total number of wins
- Goal differential (goals scored/for minus goals against)
- Goals For (the amount of goals scored by team)
- Fewest Disciplinary Points* (calculated: Foul - 1 Point, Technical Area Warning - 2 Points, Yellow Card - 3 Points, 2nd Yellow Card - 7 Points, Straight Red Card - 7 Points, Coach Dismissal - 7 Points, Any Supplemental Discipline - 8 Points)
- Away Goals Differential
- Away Goals For
- Home Goals Differential
- Home Goals For
- Coin Toss (tie of two clubs) or Drawing of Lots (tie of three or more clubs)
Note: Records below are recorded as (win, loss, draw)
Western Conference:
- LA Galaxy – 6 pts, 2-0-0, +2 goal differential
- Seattle Sounders FC – 4 pts, 1-0-1, +4 goal differential
- Los Angeles FC – 4 pts, 1-0-1, +2 goal differential
- Sporting Kansas City – 4 pts, 1-0-1, +1 goal differential
- Vancouver Whitecaps FC – 4 pts, 1-0-1, +1 goal differential
- San Jose Earthquakes – 3 pts, 1-1-0, +1 goal differential
- Real Salt Lake – 3 pts, 1-0-0, +1 goal differential
- Austin FC – 3 pts, 1-1-0, 0 goal differential
- Houston Dynamo FC – 3 pts, 1-1-0, 0 goal differential
- Portland Timbers – 3 pts, 1-1-0, 0 goal differential
- Colorado Rapids – 1 pt, 0-1-1, -2 goal differential
- FC Dallas – 1 pt, 0-1-1, -2 goal differential
- Minnesota United FC – 0 pts, 0-0-2, -5 goal differential
Eastern Conference:
- CF Montréal – 4 pts, 1-0-1, +2 goal differential
- Atlanta United FC – 4 pts, 1-0-1, +2 goal differential
- New England Revolution – 4 pts, 1-0-1, +1 goal differential
- New York City FC – 3 pts, 1-1-0, +4 goal differential
- Inter Miami CF – 3 pts, 1-0-1, 0 goal differential
- D.C. United – 3 pts, 1-0-1, 0 goal differential
- Nashville SC – 2 pts, 0-0-2, 0 goal differential
- Orlando City SC – 2 pts, 0-0-2, 0 goal differential
- Columbus Crew – 1 pt, 0-0-1, 0 goal differential
- Philadelphia Union – 1 pt, 0-1-1, -1 goal differential
- Toronto FC – 1 pt, 0-1-1, -2 goal differential
- Chicago Fire – 1 pt, 0-1-1, -2 goal differential
- FC Cincinnati – 1 pt, 0-1-1, -5 goal differential
- New York Red Bulls – 0 pts, 0-2-0, -2 goal differential
Second half:
Austin FC 3, Colorado Rapids 1
Note: Austin FC notations are depicted in bold.
90' – Austin FC goal scoring chance: Rodney Redes put a shot on goal but the Rapids goalie made the save
87' – Colorado Rapids corner: Ball cleared by Austin FC.
84' – Austin FC substitution: Sebastian Berhalter and Kekutah Manneh come on for Austin FC's goal scorers of the night: Diego Fagundez and Cecilio Dominguez.
79' – Colorado Rapids corner kick: Balled cleared by Austin FC.
79' – Colorado Rapids shot on goal – Jonathan Lewis fired a right-footed shot from the right side of the box, which was saved by Brad Stuver.
74' – Austin FC corner kick: Ball played into the box and cleared by Colorado Rapids.
73' – Yellow Card: Daniel Pereira Gil (Austin FC) is shown the yellow card for a foul.
72' – Austin FC substitution: Gallagher and Redes have come on for Stroud and Hoesen.
71' – GOAL Austin FC: Cecilio Domínguez scored his second goal of the game on a right-footed shot from the top of the box.
69' – Colorado Rapids corner kick: Ball played into the box and cleared out by Austin FC.
68' – Colorado Rapids corner kick: Ball played into the box and cleared out for another corner kick.
66' – GOAL Austin FC: Cecilio Domínguez found a loose ball in the box and fired a right-footed shot into the goal to give Austin FC a 2-1 lead.
59' – GOAL Austin FC: Diego Fagundez scored the first goal in Austin FC history off of a rebound on a cross from opposite corner.
57' – Colorado Rapids corner kick: The ball was played short and cleared out by Austin FC.
54' – Colorado shot on goal: Diego Rubio (Colorado Rapids) fires a right-footed shot from outside of the 18-yard box, which was saved by Brad Stuver. (Austin FC)
52' – Austin FC corner kick: The corner kick was played into the box and headed out of bounds by Julio Cascante.
48' – Austin FC goal scoring chance: Cecilio Domínguez fired a shot on a free kick and hit the crossbar.
47' – Yellow Card: Jack Price (Colorado Rapids) is shown the yellow card for a foul.
46' – Austin FC shot on goal: Cecilio Domínguez fired a right-footed shot from outside the box, which was saved in the center of the goal.
Halftime:
Austin FC 0, Colorado Rapids 1
Austin FC controlled possession in the first half 53% to 47%, but set pieces in turned out to be the difference. The Rapids has three corners to Austin FC's one. One of Colorado's corner was headed in in the 36th minute.
There were a few notable names missing from Austin FC's starting lineup, for differing reasons. Defender Matt Besler stayed back in Austin to celebrate the birth of his son, Miller James Besler.
Tomás Pochettino was also left out of the starting lineup, but his absence was due to a "potential league-related administrative issue" regarding his registration, according to the club.
Through 45 minutes, Austin FC is still searching to break through with the club's first-ever goal in franchise history. Austin FC was able to garner one shot on goal in the first half, bringing the season total to four after three shots on goal in the inaugural match versus LAFC.
First Half
Score: Austin FC 0, Colorado Rapids 1
Note: Austin FC notations are depicted in bold.
45' + 5' – Daniel Pereira gets a shot on goal from outside the box, but was saved by William Yarborough.
40' – Yellow Card: Andre Shinyashiki (Colorado Rapids) is shown the yellow card for a foul.
UPDATE: Austin FC announces Tomás Pochettino was not in the club's lineup due to a "potential league-related administrative issue" regarding his registration. The club said that the MLS believes there are no issues, but still requested the team keep him from the starting lineup out of an abundance of caution.
36' – GOAL – Colorado Rapids corner: Ball played into the box and headed in by Andre Shinyashiki.
32' – Colorado Rapids corner: Ball played into the box and cleared out by Austin FC defense.
27' – Austin FC corner kick: Cecilio Dominguez crossed the ball into the box and it was cleared out.
23' – Austin FC Substitution: Žan Kolmanič enters the match for Ben Sweat due to an injury.
15' – Colorado takes a corner kick and heads a shot on goal, which was saved by Brad Stuver.
6' – Goal scoring chance: Jared Stroud shot the ball from the right corner of the 6-yard box across the goalkeeper's face, but the shot was wide left.
0' – Austin FC announces starting XI for the match against the Colorado Rapids: Brad Stuver; Jhohan Romana, Julio Cascante, Ben Sweat, Nick Lima; Alex Ring, Diego Fagundez, Daniel Pereira; Jared Stroud, Danny Hoesen, Cecilio Dominguez.
Pregame
Here is everything you need to know about the match:
Kickoff time
The game will kick off at 8 p.m. CST at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado.
How to watch
- AustinFC.com and the Austin FC & Q2 Stadium app (click here for availability)
- Pregame coverage begins at 7:45 p.m.
- iOS: http://austinisverde.co/ios.
- Android: http://austinisverde.co/android.
- Note: iOS devices can cast the livestream to Apple TV, and Android to Chromecast.
- ESPN+ (everywhere else in the U.S.)
How to listen
- ALT 97.5 FM (radio)
- iHeartRadio (online)
PREVIEW
Austin FC dropped its first game against LAFC in the club's MLS debut, 2-0. The Colorado Rapids tied in its first match of the season with FC Dallas, 0-0. Austin FC also played FC Dallas in the preseason La Copita tournament, where the clubs also tied, 3-3.
The Rapids play a 4-2-3-1 formation, with the following projected lineup: William Yarbrough; Keegan Rosenberry, Auston Trusty, Danny Wilson, Kellyn Acosta; Jack Price, Younes Namli; Michael Barrios, Cole Bassett, Andre Shinyashiki; Diego Rubio.
Austin FC's system is a 4-3-3 formation, with the following projected starting lineup: Brad Stuver; Nick Lima, Jhohan Romaña, Matt Besler, Ben Sweat; Daniel Pereira, Alex Ring, Tomás Pochettino; Rodney Redes, Danny Hoesen, Cecilio Domínguez.
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