Despite an early goal from Ethan Finlay, Austin FC fell in a 3-1 defeat to FC Juárez on Saturday night at Q2 Stadium.
Austin showed more attacking initiative in the early stages, with Rodney Redes and Sebastián Driussi both coming close in the first 20 minutes. Finlay found a reward for the Verde & Black’s promising play in the 23rd minute, tucking in an excellent finish to the far post following a precise through ball from Owen Wolff.
Juárez scored an equalizer 12 minutes later, with former MLS player Sebastián Saucedo finding the net from a free kick. The Mexican side then went ahead on the other side of halftime when Aitor García took advantage of an unfortunate deflection, hitting a volley from close range into the top corner.
García got his second and his team’s third goal of the night in the 69th minute. Receiving the ball on the left flank, the Spaniard cut inside on his right foot and finished with a low strike to seal the result for Juárez.
Defender Matt Hedges and winger CJ Fodrey both came on to make their Austin FC debuts in the second half.
Goal-Scoring Summary
ATX (1-0) – Ethan Finlay (assisted by Owen Wolff) 23’
FCJ (1-1) – Sebastián Saucedo (unassisted) 35’
FCJ (1-2) – Aitor García (unassisted) 62’
FCJ (1-3) – Aitor García (assisted by Ángel Zapata) 69’
Next Match
Austin FC will play its 12th away match and 24th match overall of the 2023 Major League Soccer regular season against St. Louis City SC on Sunday, August 20 at 8:30 p.m. CT. The match will stream live in English and Spanish on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app, and also feature a live national television broadcast in English on FS1.
On radio, the match will be broadcast on iHeart Radio’s ALT 97.5 in English, as well as on TUDN Radio Austin (104.3-HD2, KLQB) in Spanish.
