Goals from Ruben Gabrielsen and Diego Fagundez pushed Austin FC to a 2-1 away win over Los Angeles FC on Wednesday night at Banc of California Stadium. The result sees ATXFC reclaim first place in both the MLS Western Conference and Supporters’ Shield standings.
The first half was played at a frenetic pace, and the Verde & Black took the lead 13 minutes in through Gabrielsen. Following a corner kick, Jhojan Valencia did well to win the ball back and find Gabrielsen. The Norwegian defender took an excellent touch to control and picked his spot at the far post.
Brad Stuver came up with a key double save to preserve Austin’s advantage four minutes later, denying LAFC star Carlos Vela’s ferocious follow-up strike from an initial stop. ATXFC was then inches away from a second goal when Fagundez’s shot rocketed off the crossbar.
In the second half, Austin went into game management mode, and did so very effectively. Stuver made more critical saves on multiple occasions, and ATXFC added another goal in brilliant fashion on 80 minutes. Sebastián Driussi played Fagundez in behind with a clever rabona, and this time Fagundez made no mistake with the finish.
LAFC pulled a goal back with a late Vela late penalty kick, setting up a nerve-wracking finish. But the Verde & Black held firm to claim one of the most significant victories in Club history.
THREE THINGS
- ONE FOR THE FUTURE: At 17 years and 139 days old, Owen Woff became the fourth-youngest player to start an MLS match this season, and the first Austin FC Homegrown player to start a match in Club history.
- DRIUSSI & DIEGO: Sebastián Driussi and Diego Fagundez have now directly combined for five goals in all competitions this season.
- BRAD’S BACK: On his return from injury, Brad Stuver was sensational, making six saves on the night.
UP NEXT
Austin FC will play its seventh home match and thirteenth match overall of the 2022 Major League Soccer regular season against Orlando City SC on Sunday, May 22 at 7:00 p.m. CT. 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.
