Midfielder Owen Wolff has been the go-to corner kick taker for Austin FC all season, taking 91 corners on the year before Sunday’s game against LAFC.
However, while drawing 0-0 against LAFC in the 82nd minute, Austin FC opted for
defender Žan Kolmanič, who has the second-most corners on the team with 29, to take the set piece — stationing Wolff on the back post.
Wolff found himself in the right place at the right time.
After Kolmanič’s whipped ball into the box was deflected by an LAFC player, he headed the ball into an empty net. Wolff’s goal quickly raised the energy in Q2 Stadium’s final home game of the season as the Verde and Black won 1-0.
“We knew that (Wolff) had a lot of potential,” head coach Nico Estévez said. “Everyone in the club knew it, I knew even before I arrived here. Given the right steps, we have to keep working with him, and asking for more because we see that potential can increase also.”
Last Wednesday, Wolff, the club’s first homegrown talent, was voted to the 2025 MLS 22 Under 22 list, a list ranking the league’s best players under that age.
Wolff’s late goal saved Austin FC from its fourth goalless draw of the season in what was an uneventful defensive and tactical match. Neither team dominated possession, with time spent on the ball split 52% in favor of LAFC.
Interestingly, on the left side of defense, Estévez opted to have both wide defenders, Guilherme Biro and Jon Gallagher, to help form a five-man defensive shape. Typically, both players do not play on the back line together, either substituting for one another or Gallagher playing as a forward with Biro defending.
The Verde and Black’s defensive shape disabled LAFC’s counterattacking presence, only allowing 0.5 expected goals and two shots on target, despite having two more shots.
“It was a really difficult game because LAFC defend very well,” Estévez said. “They have a lot of numbers; it makes your game look really slow. It is difficult also because if you lose balls, they have quick players and they set up these transition moments where they’re very dangerous. It was a very tactical game.”
The win secured Austin FC’s sixth seed in the MLS playoffs, meaning that they will not have to play in the initial Wild Card matches and will advance straight into a best-of-three first-round series, starting on Oct. 24.
Securing the sixth seed also means they cannot climb up or down the standings. Austin FC will head into the final MLS matchday, nicknamed by the league as “Decision Day,” without needing points.
The Verde and Black will be able to use their final match day as an opportunity to either rest some of their best players or use it as a dress rehearsal for the playoffs.
“We have to first enjoy this win and sixth position, and then we’ll think about how we’re going to approach that game,” Estévez said. “We’re going to approach it in a way that we have to win because it can prepare us better for the playoffs. Obviously, we’ll have to check how different players, how their statuses are, (if) everyone is feeling okay.”
Austin FC’s Decision Day matchup will be an away game against the San Jose Earthquakes, with kickoff set for 8 p.m.
