Austin FC clinched a berth in the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs for the first time in Club history with a 3-0 win over Real Salt Lake on Wednesday night at Q2 Stadium. Moussa Djitté came off the bench to score the first hattrick in Club history in front of a sellout crowd.
The two teams canceled each other out in the first half with the best chance falling to Maxi Urruti, who hit the crossbar in the 5th-minute. Early in the second half, Emiliano Rigoni denied RSL’s Diego Luna with a well-timed recovery tackle.
Austin then took the lead on the hour-mark. Receiving the ball on the left wing, Diego Fagundez played an inch-perfect cross for Djitté to poke in.
In the 76th-minute, Djitté smashed home a shot after Ethan Finlay’s effort from distance rebounded off the crossbar, and he rounded off an incredible performance four minutes later with a right-footed finish from close range.
THREE THINGS
- PLAYOFFS CLINCHED: Austin FC secured postseason soccer, which will begin the week of October 10. The team will now focus on finishing in the top four of the Western Conference, which would clinch home-field advantage in the first round.
- HATTRICK HERO: Djitté’s trio of goals marked the first hattrick in Austin FC history, and was only the sixth hattrick in MLS history scored by a substitute.
- SUPER SUBS: The Verde & Black have had 13 goals this season scored by substitutes, second-most in MLS.
UP NEXT
Austin FC will play its 16th home match and 32nd match overall of the 2022 Major League Soccer regular season against Nashville SC on Saturday, September 17 at 8:00 p.m. CT. The match will feature a regional TV broadcast in English language on The CW Austin (KNVA), as well as a livestream on AustinFC.com and the Austin FC app.
In Spanish language, the match will feature a regional TV broadcast on UniMás Austin, as well as livestreams on UnivisionAustin.com, the Univision Austin app, AustinFC.com and the Austin FC 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.
