Austin FC Earns Ugly Draw In First Road Match of 2024

Austin FC midfielder Jhojan Valencia warms up ahead of the club's first road match versus the Seattle Sounders. (credit: Austin FC)

If Major League Soccer ever came out with a line of officially licensed fortune cookies, “A point on the road is a point well-earned” would appear on more than a few white strips of paper, maybe opposite some lucky numbers.

Following that logic, Austin FC’s journey north by northwest to Seattle was, at the most granular level, a successful one. El Tree escaped Lumen Field with its first point of the season after a lopsided 0-0 draw against the Seattle Sounders.

But, man, it was a brutal watch to get there.

Austin FC, once again absent Sebastián Driussi with a nagging hamstring injury, recorded just two shots over the 90 minutes, while surrendering 22. The Verde and Black hardly spent any time in Seattle’s defensive third (exemplified by zero corner kicks), while the Sounders practically lived in Austin’s (nine corners).

And yet, thanks to some shoddy Seattle finishing, four solid saves from Brad Stuver, and some old school good luck, the Austin players boarded the flight home with a clean sheet and their heads held high.

“Very proud of the work we put in tonight,” defender Matt Hedges said. “As a back line and as a unit, we gained a lot of confidence from this performance.”

Hedges added that, from a defender’s point of view, matches like Saturday night are the kind he enjoys the most.

“Those clean sheets are some of my favorites where you’re under the gun and battling for the whole 90 minutes,” Hedges said. “I know it’s frustrating for the opponents, so that’s my favorite thing.”

But while Austin’s defense was frustrating the Sounders, Austin’s lack of offense was frustrating its fans. Head coach Josh Wolff downplayed those attacking concerns.

“I'm not too worried about coming to Seattle and not out-possessing or outperforming Seattle at their home field. They’re a good team, they’re one of the best in the league,” Wolff said.

Austin FC did earn itself one shout at a penalty in the second half when Seattle defender Jackson Ragen laid a shoulder into ATX midfielder Dani Pereira in the 18-yard-box, but referee Rafael Santos – one of the league’s “replacement” refs standing in for the locked-out regulars – waved play on.

The Verde and Black now return home for two consecutive matches at Q2 Stadium, starting with St. Louis City on Saturday, March 9, in a rematch of the club’s nightmarish season-opening loss a year ago.

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