Redes Goal Powers Austin FC Into Next Round of U.S. Open Cup

Rodney Redes celebrates his first Austin FC goal with veterans Alex Ring and Maxi Urruti

Not this time, lower division foe!

After losing to San Antonio FC of the USL Championship in last year’s U.S. Open Cup, then getting bounced from the Concacaf Champions league by Haitian club AC Violette in March, Austin FC finally handled its business against inferior competition Wednesday night, defeating USL Championship side New Mexico United 2-0 in this year’s iteration of the Open Cup.

Rodney Redes scored his first ATXFC goal in a competitive match (continuing the “Redes-sance” as recently profiled in the Verde Report) and Maxi Urruti chipped in an insurance goal as El Tree advanced for the first time in a non-MLS competition.

“Thought it was a very good example of what we’ve been building off of over the last couple games,” coach Josh Wolff said of the performance. “This was a result we expected to get and obviously you’ve got to come out and get the goals and win the game.”

Wolff’s club has now scored six goals over its last three games, the same total it amassed over the preceding nine. But even as the goalscoring has improved recently, Wednesday night’s victory snapped a streak of seven straight games without a win.

“I think this was a massive step in the right direction,” said defender Adam Lundkvist, who assisted the second goal. “It can give you a little boost of momentum that takes you over the hump, and I think today was a good day. Really good day.”

For no player did that ring more true than Redes. His flick-on header off a corner kick in the 24th minute punctuated a stretch of several weeks in which the club’s first-ever signing has broken out from a multi-year residency in the soccer abyss. Beyond the goal, Redes was the club’s most involved attacking player for the entire 90 minutes, posing a constant threat for New Mexico and creating multiple scoring opportunities. It was enough to inspire the assembled masses at Q2 Stadium to chant “Rod-ney! Rod-ney!”

The moment that got the party started! 🤩 pic.twitter.com/D5tq5rsjAl

— Austin FC (@AustinFC) May 11, 2023

“Of course I heard it and it made me very happy,” Redes said through a translator. The 23-year-old mentioned that his confidence has grown with more consistent time on the field.

Austin FC will now await its next round opponent in the Open Cup, likely to be either the Houston Dynamo or Nashville SC after both clubs also won their fixtures this week. In the meantime, though, ATXFC will hope to carry momentum into an important MLS match on Saturday at home against FC Dallas.

For more Austin FC news and analysis, visit The Austin Chronicle's Austin FC hub. Follow “The Verde Report” columnist Eric Goodman on Twitter: @goodman.