In front of a sold-out crowd of 20,738 at Q2 Stadium, Austin FC came back to defeat Houston Dynamo FC 3-1 on Tuesday night thanks to goals from Diego Fagundez, Maxi Urruti, and Alex Ring. The result moves Austin into first place in the MLS Supporters’ Shield standings, and makes the Club the first to reach 40 points in the league this season.
Houston took the lead in the 11th-minute through Adalberto Carrasquilla, but the Verde & Black equalized just four minutes later. Sebastián Driussi drew a foul in a dangerous position, and Fagundez slotted the ensuing free kick into the top corner to level the score.
In the 57th-minute, Austin found its second goal via a wonderful combination from its two Argentine playmakers. Driussi battled to win possession at the edge of the 18-yard box before sliding a pass to Urruti on the left wing. Urruti hit a wonderful first-time strike that flew inside the far post, his seventh goal of the season and league-leading fifth match-winner.
Club Captain Alex Ring then put the result beyond doubt in the 70th-minute, heading home a brilliant cross from Ethan Finlay, his third assist in as many matches. An excellent save from Brad Stuver preserved the scoreline late on, and the victory improved Austin’s home record in its last 14 matches to 9-3-2.
THREE THINGS
- FLIPPING THE SCRIPT: ATXFC has now come from behind to earn 15 points (four wins, three draws) this season, the most of any team in MLS.
- MAXI MAKES THE DIFFERENCE: In addition to being his league-leading fifth match-winning goal of the season, it was the 23rd match-winner of Urruti’s career, ranking 4th among active players and 19th all-time.
- COPA TEJAS CLASH: Austin FC will contest the final MLS Copa Tejas match of the season on Saturday. With a win or draw against Dallas, the Verde & Black would win the 2022 Copa Tejas, the fan-created trophy awarded to the team with the most points from intra-Texas matchups in a season.
UP NEXT
Austin FC will play its 12th away match and 21st match overall of the 2022 Major League Soccer regular season against FC Dallas on Saturday, July 16 at 8:00 p.m. CT. The match will feature a regional TV broadcast in English language on KNVA (The CW Austin), as well as a livestream on AustinFC.com and the Austin FC app.
In Spanish language, the match will feature a regional TV broadcast with a delayed start on UniMás Austin, as well as a livestream on UnivisionAustin.com and the Univision Austin app.
On radio, the match will be broadcast on KASE-FM (ALT 97.5) in English, as well as on TUDN Radio Austin (104.3-HD2, KLQB) in Spanish.
