Sebastián Driussi came off the bench to make his first appearance since April 29 due to injury, and scored a match-winning goal in the 82nd minute as Austin FC defeated Minnesota United FC 2-1 on Wednesday night in front of a sold-out crowd at Q2 Stadium.
Alex Ring had a big opportunity to give the Verde & Black an early lead in the 10th minute, but was denied from close range by Minnesota goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair. Jon Gallagher popped up to open the scoring nine (9) minutes later though, expertly volleying in a cross from Adam Lundkvist.
The lead didn’t last long, as Minnesota’s Joseph Rosales found an equalizer in the 26th minute off a setup from Ménder GarcÃa.
Austin FC created three (3) great chances after halftime, with Gyasi Zardes, Ethan Finlay, and Gallagher all nearly scoring the team’s second goal in quick succession. The Verde & Black continued their push forward when Head Coach Josh Wolff brought on the Argentine attacking trio of Driussi, Emiliano Rigoni, and Maxi Urruti with about 30 minutes remaining.
The introduction of Driussi proved decisive with eight (8) minutes remaining, as last year’s MLS MVP runner-up was in the right place at the right time to score off a pass from Julio Cascante. Brad Stuver made several excellent saves to preserve the victory in the closing minutes, a result which moves the Verde & Black above the playoff line in the Western Conference.
Goal-Scoring Summary
ATX (1-0) – Jon Gallagher (assisted by Adam Lundkvist, Julio Cascante) 19’
MIN (1-1) – Joseph Rosales (assisted by Ménder GarcÃa, Bongokuhle Hlongwane) 26’
ATX (2-1) – Sebastián Driussi (assisted by Julio Cascante) 82'
Next Match
Austin FC will play its ninth home match and sixteenth match overall of the 2023 Major League Soccer regular season against Real Salt Lake on Saturday, June 3 at 7:30 p.m. CT. The match will stream live for free in English and Spanish on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app.
On radio, the match will be broadcast on iHeart Radio’s ALT 97.5 in English, as well as on TUDN Radio Austin (104.3-HD2, KLQB) in Spanish.
