Austin FC and D.C. United were the league’s lowest-scoring teams heading into Saturday’s matchup, with 17 goals in 22 games and 20 goals in 24 games, respectively.
However, in what could be the turning point of the season for the team’s attack, Austin FC’s offense clicked and scored a team goal while leading 2-1 in the 60th minute.
Starting in his own 18-yard box, goalkeeper Brad Stuver broke D.C.’s midfield line with a pass to Dani Pereira. The Venezuelan combined with fellow midfielder Owen Wolff on the left side of the field to bring the ball down to their opponent’s 18-yard box.
Pereira baited a defender into thinking he would shoot before slotting a ball in for forward Osman Bukari on the right side of the box. Bukari’s shot went through the goalkeeper’s legs before finding the back of the net.
“I think he made the right decision to give me the pass because I am always there, waiting for the ball,” Bukari said. “It’s either he scores or I score. It’s mature, and his decision-making is very well at this moment.”
The goal gave the Verde and Black its third goal, and the game ended 4-2. Austin FC’s four goals were a season-high for goals scored in a single game.
“(The offense) is something we’ve been working on since after May. It’s something we identified in all the games we had,” Austin FC head coach Nico Estévez said. “We had a clear plan and idea of how we could hurt on the attacking side. I think the players believed in what we told them, and they executed very well.”
Not only did the third goal show flashes of the dynamic movements and creativity that Austin may have been lacking throughout the season, but the first two goals could serve as confidence boosters for some of the team’s attackers.
Forward Myrto Uzuni and Wolff both scored for the second game in a row. Uzuni’s goal was in the 22nd minute after his movement around the defense opened a passing lane for a through ball to come his way. Wolff powered in a header off a Mikkel Desler cross just before the first half ended.
“The more you score, the more you get the confidence,” Bukari said. “This is the time confidence will be high. Once the goals are not coming, you start thinking too much. But once you start scoring, you’re just calm because you know (the goals are) going to come.”
The win has placed Austin FC in seventh, a position for an automatic bid to the playoffs. Real Salt Lake and the Colorado Rapids are two and three points behind in eighth and ninth, but have played more games than Austin.
Austin FC returns to Q2 Stadium on Aug. 9 to face the Houston Dynamo and then FC Dallas the following week.
