Austin FC fell in a 2-1 defeat on Saturday night against Real Salt Lake after playing with 10 men for nearly the entire second half at Rio Tinto Stadium.
After dominating control of the ball in the opening stages, the Verde & Black got their reward in the 24th minute. Picking up the ball at the edge of the area, Diego Fagundez slid a through ball into an advancing Alex Ring. Ring beat RSL goalkeeper Zac MacMath at his near post with a clever finish to give ATXFC the lead.
Andrew Tarbell then came up with a fantastic save 10 minutes later to preserve that lead, reacting sharply to tip a close-range effort from Salt Lake’s Sergio Córdova over the bar.
The start of the second half did not go to plan for ATXFC. Dani Pereira was sent off for denying RSL’s Bobby Wood a clear goal scoring opportunity in the 47th minute, and the hosts equalized in the 55th minute through Maikel Chang.
Austin’s defense held firm and came very close to earning a draw, only to be denied when Andrew Brody scored from outside the area in the 88th minute. Sebastián Driussi had two opportunities to level the score late, but MacMath denied the Argentine on both occasions.
THREE THINGS
- DIEGO THE CREATOR: Fagundez’s assist on Ring’s goal was his league-leading seventh of the season. It was also the 57th of his MLS career, a total which ranks sixth among active players.
- TEEN WOLFF: 17-year-old Owen Wolff made the longest appearance of his MLS career to date, playing 30 minutes and impressing on the night. Wolff completed 11 of 12 passes, won three duels, and created two big chances.
- MARQUEE MIDWEEK MATCHUP: In one of the most anticipated matches of the season so far, Austin FC will look to bounce back when it takes on Western Conference leaders Los Angeles FC on Wednesday night.
UP NEXT
Austin FC will play its sixth away match and twelfth match overall of the 2022 Major League Soccer regular season against Los Angeles FC on Wednesday, May 18 at 9:30 p.m. CT/7:30 p.m. PT. The match will feature a regional TV broadcast in English language on KBVO (MyNetworkTV), as well as a livestream on AustinFC.com and the Austin FC app.
In Spanish language, the match will feature 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.
