It didn’t take long for Austin FC to establish itself as a legitimate threat within Major League Soccer. Founded in October of 2018, Austin FC’s inaugural 2021 season finished with an overall record of 9-21-4, but the team has surged to fourth place in the Western Conference this year with a mark of 7-4-3 as of Monday, June 6. Thanks to the progress made by Austin FC, head coach Josh Wolff has already had his contract extended through the end of the 2025 campaign. “I’m very grateful to Anthony (Precourt), the Austin FC ownership group and Claudio for their continued faith and confidence,” Wolff said in mid-May. “This is still a young, growing Club but seeing our vision for Austin FC come to life on and off the field has been one of the great honors of my career.
My staff and I will keep working every day to represent the city, and to develop our team both competitively and as human beings. The best is yet to come.”North Austin’s Q2 Stadium has become a rowdy home for the club, which has been embraced by Texas’ Capital City. The venue has also hosted FIFA World Cup qualifying matches, international friendlies and even CONCACAF Gold Cup contests.The leading goal scorer for Austin FC thus far during 2022 is forward Sebastian Driussi. The striker from Buenos Aires, Argentina has put in eight tallies in 14 games played.
Fellow Argentinian forward Maximiliano Urruti has added four goals for Austin FC, while midfielder Diego Fagundez of Uruguay leads the club in assists with seven. Goalkeeper Brad Stuver has started 12 matches for Austin FC and holds a goals against average of 1.35 while sporting a 7-2-3 record. Defenders Julio Cascante, Ruben Gabrielsen, Alexander Ring and Daniel Pereira have helped their keeper with solid work along the back line. Austin FC has an international friendly scheduled for June 11 against Mexican professional squad C.F. Pachuca and will look to bounce back from a 4-1 setback to the LA Galaxy when it resumes its MLS schedule on June 18 in Montreal.
From there, a busy summer continues with MLS matches against Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, New York, San Jose, Kansas City, Colorado, Charlotte and LA. If Austin FC can navigate that tough slate — as well as a brutal Texas summer — then it can perhaps make a push for the MLS Cup Playoffs, which are set to begin in October of 2022.There’s no doubt that it’s an exciting time to be a soccer fan in Austin, where the financial and emotional investments appear to already be paying dividends.
The inaugural season of Austin’s first major league soccer team, the Austin FC, was met with overwhelming excitement and support. From the building of the $260 millon brand new Q2 stadium to the fifth highest ranked attendance in the MLS with an average of over 20k fans a game, Austin showed it is more than just a college football town. With the final match of a 34-match season over, the outcome was less than Austin had hoped for. With a record of 9W-4D-21L for the regular season the team and coaching staff have a lot to reevaluate over the off-season, before the start of the new MLS regular season on Feb 26th
2022 (getting an earlier start than the previous year in order to finish before the 2022 Fifa World Cup in Qatar). The club started with a decent roster and later added a few feathers to it’s cap. Some of the top players include: Sabastián Driussi, a striker from Argentina, who came from the Argentine Primera División and Russian Premier League coming in mid-season with a $2.7 million contract. Cecilia Domínguez, a winger from Paraguay, who played for Sol de América, Cerro Porteño, América and Independiente. Tomás Pochettino a midfielder from Argentina, who played for Boca Juniors and Talleres. Diego Fagúndez, attacking midfielder from Uruguay who came from MLS New England Revolution.
Alexander Ring, a midfielder from Finland, who came from MLS New York City FC. Jared Stroud, a forward from New Jersey, who came from New York Red Bulls II.Austin FC is coached by Josh Wolff. Born in Georgia, the 44 year old is a former player having played on Chicago Fire, Kansas City Wizards, 1860 Munich and D.C. United. Wolff retired and began as an assistant coach for D.C. United in 2012. From there he was an assistant coach for Columbus Crew SC for four years.
Wolff stated at the close of their last home game of the season, “We are a resilient bunch. We lost more games then we should have. We’ve done a great job of building and bringing this organization in to the community and league. We are an expansion team, there is a level of expectation I had with this season. We performed in some areas and certainly under performed in others. Getting better is the priority.”
There were some notable highlights this season which includes: Beating Colorado Rapids 3-1 (4/24) with goals from Fagundez, Domínguez(2), Austin’s first ever win. Beating Minnesota United FC 1-0 (5/1) with a goal from Fagundez. Beating the Portland Timbers 4-1 (7/1) with goals from Gallagher, Fagundez, Ring, and Jimenez. Beating the Huston Dynamo 3-2 (8/4) with goals by Pochettino(2), Domínguez. Beating the Portland Timbers 3-1 (8/21) with goals from Domínguez, Fagundez and Driussi. Beating the LA Galaxy 2-0 (9/26) with goals from Djitté and Gaines. Beating Real Salt Lake 2-1 (10/2) with both goals from Cecilia Domínguez. Beating the Houston Dynamo 2-1 (oct 24th) with goals by Maric and Drussi. Beating Sporting Kansas City 3-1(Nov 3rd) with goals by Driussi, Cascante and Stroud, for their final home game of the season.
A key component to some of these victories and a fan favorite for the Austin FC club is Brad Stuver, a goalkeeper from Ohio, who came from MLS New York City FC. Stuver, who played in 32 matches this season has a total of 137 saves. In a letter to the fans Stuver writes, “Although results on the field have not been where we’d like them to be, we cannot put into words how grateful we are knowing we have your support. Every time we put on the Austin FC crest, we know that we are playing for all of you. We know that we represent more than just the name on the back of the jersey, we represent the crest displayed on our chest. The same one you wear on yours.
Austin FC is more than just players. It is more than the technical staff. It is more than the stadium, the training ground, the supporters’ section, the banners, and the songs. It is more than what people assume we are. Austin FC is about the culture, and the direct representation of the community we call home.”
Stuver closed with, “We are a tight-knit group of people who look out for one another, we stand by each other regardless of the circumstances and we rally behind each other in the good times and the bad. We embrace the road ahead knowing that it will not be easy, but we face that challenge with hundreds and thousands of people at our side willing to battle for one another.”
Although this was not a winning season, don’t overlook the impact of the fans, they are huge part of the morality of this team. The Verde fan section is a group of die-hard fans that will see Austin FC through the darkest of times and will celebrate every victory with infectious eruptions of elation.Through every home match this group of people whole heartedly cheer, sing songs, exult and support for the full 90 mins. With painted faces, loud voices and a love of the game these dedicated fans are reason enough to attend a match in person. At the end of home matches the players unite on the field, many of them with their children, to interact with the fans and celebrate this new Verde community.
Head coach Josh Wolff had this to say about the season, “Our last game at Q2 and I am extremely proud of our players. Really proud of this organization, obviously it has been an exciting, long year. We did not get the results we wanted at home, but our fans, support and community have been behind us from the outset. It’s been incredible to see that, it’s been incredible to fuel that and to be a part of this organization. Nothing but love for our supporter section, they are the heartbeat of this team.”
We have so much to be proud of with this club, but it starts with our fans and community. We are going to get better. We are going to add players. We are already a competitive team. We have to get more consistent and more ruthless and those things will be welcomed in 2022.”
