Goals from Alex Ring and Sebastián Driussi, as well as a penalty kick save from Brad Stuver, propelled Austin FC to a 2-0 win over Sporting Kansas City on Saturday night at Children’s Mercy Park. The away victory is Austin’s league-leading eighth of the 2022 season, and the Club has not lost in six consecutive road matches.
In the early stages of the first half, Austin had the ball in the back of the net three times, but the goals were ruled out for offside on all three occasions. The Verde & Black were handed a boost when Sporting KC’s Cam Duke received a red card in the 43rd-minute. Moments later Ring hit a low shot that squeezed through the hands of SKC goalkeeper John Pulskamp, giving ATXFC the lead heading into halftime.
Stuver then came to Austin’s rescue in the 63rd-minute, diving to his right to deny a penalty kick attempt from Daniel Salloi. It was Stuver’s second penalty kick save of the season, and he has now saved 4 of 8 penalty kicks faced in his MLS career.
The Verde & Black were unlucky not to score their second goal in the 67th-minute, when Diego Fagundez put the ball in the back of the net but the play was ruled offside – the team's fourth goal called back for offside.
Another goal arrived for Austin in the 90th-minute. Fagundez cleverly slid a pass into the path of Driussi, whose calm finish sealed the victory for the Verde & Black. With his 14th goal of the season, Driussi moved into sole possession of first place atop the MLS scoring charts.
THREE THINGS
- STUVER SAVES: Brad Stuver has now saved four of eight penalty kick attempts faced in his MLS career.
- AWAY DAYS: The Verde & Black lead MLS in away wins (8) and away points (26). The team has not lost in six consecutive road games.
- DRIUSSI & DIEGO: Fagundez and Driussi have now directly combined for six goals in all competitions this season.
UP NEXT
Austin FC will play its 11th home match and 24th match overall of the 2022 Major League Soccer regular season against San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday, August 6 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 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.
