AUSTIN, TX – AUGUST 16: Defender Lalas Abubakar #5 of FC Dallas and Forward Myrto Uzuni #10 of Austin FC miss the ball while challenging each other for a header in the box during the MLS match between Austin FC and FC Dallas on August 16, 2025, at Q2 Stadium in Austin, TX. (Photo by David Buono/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Icon Sportswire/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
AUSTIN, TEXAS – AUGUST 16: Owen Wolff #33 of Austin FC and Logan Farrington #23 of Dallas FC battle for the ball during the match at Q2 Stadium on August 16, 2025 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Scott Wachter/Getty Images)
Scott Wachter/Getty Images
Austin FC’s troubling trend of dropping points at home to teams below the playoff line continues.
A week after blowing a 2-0 lead to Houston in the final 10 minutes, the Verde & Black tied FC Dallas 1-1 on Saturday at Q2 Stadium.
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Owen Wolff’s second-half header evened the game and ultimately gave Austin FC a point. Shaquell Moore’s goal late in the first half that followed a strange bounce near the Verde & Black’s box put the visitors ahead 1-0.
Here are some key takeaways from the match as Austin FC (9-8-8, 35 points) falls to eighth place in the Western Conference entering Saturday’s match at Montreal:
Austin FC isn’t producing at home
Besides scoring — the Verde & Black have the second-worst offense in the MLS with 24 goals — protecting its home field is the other major element Austin FC has struggled with this season.
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The Verde & Black fell to 4-2-7 at Q2 Stadium in league matches with an even goal differential. Its 19 points puts Austin FC 19th in the MLS in home performance, and the only team below it in that regard who is in a playoff position is Chicago.
“There’s just a lot of points that we’ve left out there, and there’s a lot more that we can do to win the games,” Austin FC goalie Brad Stuver said. “We have to find a way to win these games, especially this late in the year.”
Perhaps most damning, the Verde & Black are failing to beat bad teams at home. Besides Dallas and Houston, Austin FC has home draws with New England, Atlanta and Real Salt Lake, all of whom are 10th or worse in their respective conferences.
If the Verde & Black miss the playoffs for a third straight season, their failure to get more points out of these five matches will be a major reason why.
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Verde & Black attack was lacking
It was a blasé performance from Austin FC in the first half that resulted in a wasted 45 minutes. Though they dominated possession with 70% — which was due to Dallas sitting back and letting them have the ball — the Verde & Black didn’t produce a significant scoring chance.
“The ball was stuck in the first half,” Austin FC coach Nico Estévez said. “We were too slow in circulating it. … Dallas is a tricky team who likes to counter. This is why I think we were so cautious.”
Austin FC was far more energetic and constructive with its passing in the second half, yet aside from Wolff’s goal, it still created only a few opportunities to score.
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“We have very good combination attackers, and I think getting them closer to goal would be my main (observation),” Stuver said of the club’s attack. “When we play some of these teams, a lot of their attackers are in between the width of the posts. I think for us, we’re so far wide because we want to create overloads and do all these things that we need to bring the other side in (closer to goal).”
Austin FC man of the match: Owen Wolff
Wolff’s goal came on a perfectly timed run to the back post off an exceptional cross from Mikkel Desler.
As he has been multiple times this season, Wolff was Austin FC’s best player. Though he’s always been a solid performer, he seems to be playing this season with a confidence that hasn’t been seen before. His play has risen to a new level, and he or Stuver would be the club’s player of the year if the season ended today.
Still 20 years old, it’s becoming more and more probable that he won’t be around for the 2027 season. European teams will surely have noticed his quality, so expect him to be sold at some point in the next 18 months.
Myrto Uzuni a nonfactor
Forward Myrto Uzuni played the entire match. But you’d be hard-pressed to think of any combination of passes he was involved in. (He also strangely let a ball go by him just outside the box early in the second half that he should have taken a shot on.)
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Estévez mostly credited this to Dallas playing a five-man backline. But after seeming to find a rhythm in late July with a few goals and assists and overall solid play, Uzuni’s production reverted to his early season form.
Bottom line
It was another missed chance for Austin FC.
The Verde & Black were mostly the better side and again settled for one point.
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As Stuver noted, if the club had won its last two contests, it would be in a position where it could dream about home-field advantage in the playoffs.
Instead, it enters the Montreal match fighting to get out of a play-in game spot.