In front of a sold-out crowd of 20,738 on Sunday afternoon at Q2 Stadium, Austin FC defeated Inter Miami CF 5-1, spurred on by two-goal performances from Sebastián Driussi and Ethan Finlay. It was the team’s second-consecutive home victory - and second-consecutive match scoring five goals - to begin the 2022 Major League Soccer season.
The Verde & Black dominated possession in the early stages, and were rewarded for their attacking intent with a pair of goals four minutes apart midway through the first half. Driussi and Diego Fagundez combined to good effect for the second game running, as Driussi met Fagundez’s cross in midair and tucked a clever finish inside the post.
Žan Kolmanič then picked out Julio Cascante from the play following a free kick, and the Costa Rican powered home a header to double ATXFC’s advantage. Brad Stuver stopped Miami from getting a goal back before halftime, making two smart low saves.
Austin didn’t let up on the other side of the break, with Driussi netting his second of the match and the team’s third in the 51st minute from an outside-of-the-boot flick. Miami got on the scoresheet through Leo Campana two minutes later, but Finlay restored the three-goal cushion on 64 minutes, nodding in a cross from Alex Ring.
Finlay rounded off another rampant attacking display with a right-footed rocket to the far post in the 90th minute, and Austin FC remained perfect through two matches of the 2022 MLS season.
THREE THINGS:
- GOALS GALORE: The Verde & Black’s 10 goals are the most scored by any team in the first two matches of a season in MLS history.
- HOME COOKING: ATXFC has now won 6 of its last 7 matches at Q2 Stadium, scoring 19 goals and conceding five in that stretch.
- BRACE YOURSELF: Sebastián Driussi and Ethan Finlay each scored two goals, the fifth and sixth multi-goal performances by Austin FC players in the Club’s history.
UP NEXT
Austin FC will play its first away match and third match overall of the 2022 Major League Soccer regular season against the Portland Timbers on Saturday, March 12 at 9:00 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 broadcast 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.
