Austin FC had an abysmal week capped by a 2-0 loss to Houston Dynamo on Saturday. In only its second-ever loss to the H-town squad, Verdes looked hapless in the final third. Defensively, the undermanned backfield collapsed late in the match. A reckless Lundkvist handball led to a penalty-kick goal in the 71st minute, followed by Héctor Herrera’s goal in the 86th to ice the game.
Match Summary
Houston Dynamo 2 – Austin FC 0
Saturday, March 18, 2023
Venue: Shell Energy Stadium
Referee: Drew Fischer
Assistants: Felisha Mariscal, Diego Blas
VAR: David Barrie
Attendance: 19,047
ATX Scoring Summary
None
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Misconduct Summary
ATX – L. Väisänen (foul) 19’
ATX – D. Fagúndez (foul) 52′
HOU – I. Franco (foul) 59′
ATX – A. Lundkvist (handball) 70′
HOU – A. Carrasquilla (foul) 79′
Austin FC Stats vs Dynamo
Total shots: 13
Shots on Goal: 7
Total Passes: 464
Crosses: 13
Corners: 4
Saves: 5
Austin FC Post-Match Quotes
Head Coach Josh Wolff
On the lack of goal contributions this season:
“Sebastian is a tremendous player, but we can’t rely on Sebastian only. Diego needs to contribute. Emi needs to contribute…Gyasi…Maxi…Will…all of our attackers.”
On the Starting XI changes from week to week:
“There’s some performances that are poor. There’s some efforts that are poor. When that happens we’re going to continue to make changes when that’s needed.”
On subbing out Diego Fagundez in the match:
“It was a poor performance. If you have a poor performance, it’s fair to come out. For Diego the standard that he has had here in Austin for two years, the ability to do what he has done, and certainly got rewarded with a good contract…there’s a responsibility to everything.” Wolff went on to say, “For him in the first part of the season so far, he’s not performing to his standards. He’s getting fit still…We need Diego.”
On the performance of the team:
“I thought the first half we did a good job. We took the sting out of the game. We’re coming in here knowing it’s a home opener and they’ve [Houston] got a lot of new players. I thought we managed the first half quite well. We didn’t reward ourselves with a goal. We did a nice job of getting into their box…getting around them…going through them. So, you got to reward yourself with goals. On the road now, they step on the gas a little in the second half and maybe we didn’t match it all that much.”
On the handball penalty by Lundkvist late in the match:
“The penalty changes the landscape of the game. It’s an important moment. I’ll have to look at it again, but at the end of the day, these guys [PRO refs] get to look at it on VAR and make the decisions that they make. But, that certainly swung things and now you’re chasing.”
On Emi Rigoni’s performance:
“He’s got to score. I’d say he’s our most consistent guy getting in great spots. He has not broken that seal. His performances are good. His output is quite good physically. He has to find the back of the net.”
Austin FC vs Houston Dynamo Full Press Conference Recording
Cover image courtesy Apple TV
CAPITAL CITY SOCCER 