Austin FC fell in a 3-1 loss to Mazatlán FC in the Club’s first-ever Leagues Cup match on Friday night at Q2 Stadium.
Neither side created many chances in the first half as each team lost a player to injury. Yoel Bárcenas came off for Mazatlán in the 11th minute, and Maxi Urruti replaced Gyasi Zardes seven (7) minutes later. Austin had the half’s best opportunity in the 40th minute, when Ethan Finlay got behind the Mazatlán defensive line and had his shot saved by Ricardo Gutiérrez.
Mazatlán took the lead early in the second half. Picking up the ball near the edge of the penalty area, Josué Colmán hit an accurate left-footed shot that snuck inside the far post.
Austin equalized with a penalty in the 65th minute. After Finlay drew a foul, Diego Fagundez expertly dispatched his spot kick to the top right corner. But parity lasted less than two (2) minutes, as Mazatlán’s Andrés Montaño scored from distance to restore the visitors’ advantage.
Will Bruin entered the match as a substitute for ATXFC and tapped in Rodney Redes’ cross, but the goal was ruled out for offside. Midfielder Valentin Noël came on in the closing stages to make his Austin FC first team debut, and though Austin continued to push, Eduard Bello netted the final goal of the night in the 88th minute for Mazatlán.
Goal-Scoring Summary
MZT (0-1) – Josué Colmán (assisted by Eduard Bello) 49’
ATX (1-1) – Diego Fagundez (penalty kick) 65’
MZT (1-2) – Andrés Montaño (unassisted) 67’
MZT (1-3) – Eduard Bello (unassisted) 88’
Next Match
Austin FC will play its second Leagues Cup group stage match at home against FC Juárez on Saturday, July 29 at 7:30 p.m. CT. The match will stream for free live 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.
