By defeating Dallas FC 2-1 at home in the Major League Soccer (MLS) Cup Playoffs on Sunday, Austin FC achieved a couple of firsts.
Second-year Verde registered its first win over its in-state rival in the clubs’ sixth overall matchup, as well as clinched its first Western Conference Finals berth, per a report on MLS’s website.
“Alright, Austin, on to the conference finals,” goalie Brad Stuver said in a postgame video the team uploaded to Twitter. “As usual, you were amazing. [We] can’t thank you enough … Two more games. Let’s go!”
According to the MLS.com postgame recap, Austin FC’s next obstacle is in the form of LAFC, which eked out a 3-2 victory over intracity rivals L.A. Galaxy in the conference semifinals version of their El Tráfico matchup.
Head coach Josh Wolff called the triumph over Dallas FC “the culmination of four years,” referring to the Austin City Council’s approval of a land deal that paved the way for the construction of Q2 Stadium.
“Four years of work of building this thing … If you dreamt of it looking like this, it's exceeding expectations,” he said.
Austin NBC affiliate KXAN reported that star striker Sebastián Driussi came through for the upstart club again by drilling a first-half goal.
Forward Moussa Djitté chipped in Verde’s other first-half goal, the station reported.
Verde surrendered a goal in the 65th minute, but turned up the heat on defense the rest of the way, KXAN reported.
According to the station, Stuver recorded four saves on the afternoon, with one at the 87th minute to help seal the match for the hosts.
While Verde swept LAFC during the 2022 campaign, KXAN reported, Wolff believes those results don’t matter now.
“They’ve made some additions, and we’ll have to look at the film on them,” he said in the report. “It’ll be a challenge, and we’ll dive into it. We’re looking forward to the opportunity and we’ll have our hands full.”
The Western Conference Finals will be played at Los Angeles’ Banc of California Stadium on Sunday at 2 p.m, with the victor moving on to the MLS Cup.