At the 2025 U.S. Open Cup Final Whistle: Austin FC 1, Nashville SC 2
Austin FC equalized as they have throughout this epic run, but couldn't get the second equalizer they needed to send the match into extra time.
In the end, the team of destiny wasn't destined to win this one after all.
In arguably the most monumental match in Austin FC's five-year history, the U.S. Open Cup hosts fell 2-1 to Nashville SC on Wednesday night at Q2 Stadium.
Hany Mukhtar scored an early goal to bring the East reps up, Myrto Uzuni earned and then missed a potentially equalizing penalty kick moments later, but got a redemptive goal in first-half stoppage time.
The second half was punctuated by Sam Surridge regaining the lead on a PK given on a Dani Pereira set-piece foul, and some tense final moments without the equalizers they'd engineered at earlier points in the tournament.
The teams tentatively tested each other early, nibbling away at the opposing defenses without engineering any significant threats.
In the 12th minute, as as indication of that, Dani Pereira tried a one-on-five attack down the left flank, ended up looking like he was in the middle of a rondo, and it took Julio Cascante literally standing on his head making a clearance to prevent Hany Mukhtar from getting an open shot 12 yards from goal.
A Diego Rubio foul on Andy Najar led to a Mukhtar free kick headed wide in the 15th minute for a first real moment of danger for Verde.
Less than two minutes later, Mukhtar came through, chopping a shot past Stuver after getting clear of Guilherme Biro, the closest Austin player to him — but also the closest player to Jacob Shaffleburg, who nodded Surridge's pass out wide to Mukhtar for a lovely combo play.
Two minutes later, though, Uzuni won a penalty by beating diving Nashville goalkeeper Brian Schwake to a loose ball in the box, but then weakly hit the penalty kick he earned to Schwake's left, letting Nashville off the hook.
Owen Wolff forced Schwake into a 32nd-minute save with Verde's best chance of the game to that point, and then Osman Bukari freelanced a chance in the box a moment, not able to get the ball past Schwake in an awkward moment for all involved. Biro got free four minutes after that on a far-post run, but headed the tantalizingly floated pass from Mikkel Desler wide.
Then, in the first minute of first-half stoppage time, Ilié Sanchez fought through a challenge and got a leading pass in the box to Uzuni, who scored confidently and then did a tour along the sideline, pointing and rallying the crowd, before dissolving into a group coach hug.
Verde got one more chance at a goal before halftime, with Julio Cascante nodding a header just wide on a short corner; Surridge also got one more chance for Nashville, attempting a chip on Stuver and landing the ball harmlessly on the roof.
The second half started nearly as tightly as the first, with Stuver punching away one dangerous ball and defenses doing well to shut down the surges into their respective halves.
Then, in the 57th minute, on a corner kick, Nashville was granted a penalty kick when Pereira got his arms around Jeisson Palacios and pulled him down, following some testy moments between them as they were setting up for the set piece. Surridge stepped up to take it, some shenanigans ensued (with Rubio entering the box when Surridge stopped to reposition the ball), but Surridge was able to bury it to recapture the lead.
Verde played with more urgency after the goal, engineering a few chances, including a Bukari close-angle shot that Schwake had to parry away.
Finally, Austin FC head coach Nico Estévez brought in late-game hero CJ Fodrey in the 77th minute to attempt to salvage the match.
In the 83rd minute, Wolff drew a foul at the edge of the box, but Schwake caught the resulting free kick cleanly. From there, Estévez subbed in Jon Gallagher for Desler and Jáder Obrian for Ilie — a clearly offensive shift as Verde chased the game.
Wolff got a 90th-minute free kick from an opportune place, Bukari was able to engineer a corner in the resulting sequence, and with a 6 going up on the fourth official's board to indicate stoppage time, Austin kept pushing.
Stoppage time got heated, and referee Tori Perso didn't make a lot of friends in Austin with how she handled the rising tensions — though Mukhtat did come up before getting a second yellow that seemed more and more inevitable with each act of 'housery. Surridge did get a second yellow in what was supposed to be the final moment for interfereing with Stuver's goal kick.
Verde did get one more attack off, but it fell short, and as the final whistle blew, multiple Verde players slumped dejectedly to the turf, taking in the celebrations they weren't able to enjoy themselves.
Best Verde moment (that wasn’t a goal)
Ilie's movement and pass to Uzuni was clutch at a time when Verde needed a spark — from a player who's been on this Open Cup final stage before.
Worst Verde moment (that wasn't a goal allowed)
Right before Uzuni shot his ill-fated penalty, he did a stutter step which appeared to let Schwake know which direction he was going — and then he wasn't able to generate enough power on the shot. We don't know how that missed penalty instead made would have butterfly effected the game, but that's a goal Verde could have used in the final tally.
One thing you might have missed
There's now a fan in the audience dressed as Pollo, and another dressed as an armadillo. I'm very happy with this new dressing like mascots trend.
One nerdy tidbit
At halftime, Austin was up 10-5 on shots and 5-1 in shots on goal (with Nashville's one shot, of course, going in.)
Where this fits into the season's narrative
It was Verde's first chance at a trophy. Trophies are hard to win. This one's going to linger bitterly for a while, I have a feeling.
A question we have heading into the press conference
Starting Biro and Cascante seemed like moves to get a goal or two early and then be able to sub in more defensive-minded players later. Why those moves initially ... and then why so long to make subs?
Verde All Day is a reader-supported online publication covering Austin FC. Additional support is provided by Austin Telco Federal Credit Union. You can comment here if you’re a subscriber, or reach out via Bluesky.
Saturday's loss to St. Louis City SC completed the team's first three-match losing streak since May. Verde can still make the playoffs today, but may not avoid the play-in game.
You've heard this before, but Austin FC can qualify for the playoffs this weekend — even if they lose. And there's a record we fully expect Brad Stuver to break on Saturday night regardless of results.
In the end, the team of destiny wasn't destined to win this one after all.
In arguably the most monumental match in Austin FC's five-year history, the U.S. Open Cup hosts fell 2-1 to Nashville SC on Wednesday night at Q2 Stadium.
Hany Mukhtar scored an early goal to bring the East reps up, Myrto Uzuni earned and then missed a potentially equalizing penalty kick moments later, but got a redemptive goal in first-half stoppage time.
The second half was punctuated by Sam Surridge regaining the lead on a PK given on a Dani Pereira set-piece foul, and some tense final moments without the equalizers they'd engineered at earlier points in the tournament.
The teams tentatively tested each other early, nibbling away at the opposing defenses without engineering any significant threats.
In the 12th minute, as as indication of that, Dani Pereira tried a one-on-five attack down the left flank, ended up looking like he was in the middle of a rondo, and it took Julio Cascante literally standing on his head making a clearance to prevent Hany Mukhtar from getting an open shot 12 yards from goal.
A Diego Rubio foul on Andy Najar led to a Mukhtar free kick headed wide in the 15th minute for a first real moment of danger for Verde.
Less than two minutes later, Mukhtar came through, chopping a shot past Stuver after getting clear of Guilherme Biro, the closest Austin player to him — but also the closest player to Jacob Shaffleburg, who nodded Surridge's pass out wide to Mukhtar for a lovely combo play.
Two minutes later, though, Uzuni won a penalty by beating diving Nashville goalkeeper Brian Schwake to a loose ball in the box, but then weakly hit the penalty kick he earned to Schwake's left, letting Nashville off the hook.
Owen Wolff forced Schwake into a 32nd-minute save with Verde's best chance of the game to that point, and then Osman Bukari freelanced a chance in the box a moment, not able to get the ball past Schwake in an awkward moment for all involved. Biro got free four minutes after that on a far-post run, but headed the tantalizingly floated pass from Mikkel Desler wide.
Then, in the first minute of first-half stoppage time, Ilié Sanchez fought through a challenge and got a leading pass in the box to Uzuni, who scored confidently and then did a tour along the sideline, pointing and rallying the crowd, before dissolving into a group coach hug.
Verde got one more chance at a goal before halftime, with Julio Cascante nodding a header just wide on a short corner; Surridge also got one more chance for Nashville, attempting a chip on Stuver and landing the ball harmlessly on the roof.
The second half started nearly as tightly as the first, with Stuver punching away one dangerous ball and defenses doing well to shut down the surges into their respective halves.
Then, in the 57th minute, on a corner kick, Nashville was granted a penalty kick when Pereira got his arms around Jeisson Palacios and pulled him down, following some testy moments between them as they were setting up for the set piece. Surridge stepped up to take it, some shenanigans ensued (with Rubio entering the box when Surridge stopped to reposition the ball), but Surridge was able to bury it to recapture the lead.
Verde played with more urgency after the goal, engineering a few chances, including a Bukari close-angle shot that Schwake had to parry away.
Finally, Austin FC head coach Nico Estévez brought in late-game hero CJ Fodrey in the 77th minute to attempt to salvage the match.
In the 83rd minute, Wolff drew a foul at the edge of the box, but Schwake caught the resulting free kick cleanly. From there, Estévez subbed in Jon Gallagher for Desler and Jáder Obrian for Ilie — a clearly offensive shift as Verde chased the game.
Wolff got a 90th-minute free kick from an opportune place, Bukari was able to engineer a corner in the resulting sequence, and with a 6 going up on the fourth official's board to indicate stoppage time, Austin kept pushing.
Stoppage time got heated, and referee Tori Perso didn't make a lot of friends in Austin with how she handled the rising tensions — though Mukhtat did come up before getting a second yellow that seemed more and more inevitable with each act of 'housery. Surridge did get a second yellow in what was supposed to be the final moment for interfereing with Stuver's goal kick.
Verde did get one more attack off, but it fell short, and as the final whistle blew, multiple Verde players slumped dejectedly to the turf, taking in the celebrations they weren't able to enjoy themselves.
Best Verde moment (that wasn’t a goal)
Ilie's movement and pass to Uzuni was clutch at a time when Verde needed a spark — from a player who's been on this Open Cup final stage before.
Worst Verde moment (that wasn't a goal allowed)
Right before Uzuni shot his ill-fated penalty, he did a stutter step which appeared to let Schwake know which direction he was going — and then he wasn't able to generate enough power on the shot. We don't know how that missed penalty instead made would have butterfly effected the game, but that's a goal Verde could have used in the final tally.
One thing you might have missed
There's now a fan in the audience dressed as Pollo, and another dressed as an armadillo. I'm very happy with this new dressing like mascots trend.
One nerdy tidbit
At halftime, Austin was up 10-5 on shots and 5-1 in shots on goal (with Nashville's one shot, of course, going in.)
Where this fits into the season's narrative
It was Verde's first chance at a trophy. Trophies are hard to win. This one's going to linger bitterly for a while, I have a feeling.
A question we have heading into the press conference
Starting Biro and Cascante seemed like moves to get a goal or two early and then be able to sub in more defensive-minded players later. Why those moves initially ... and then why so long to make subs?
Verde All Day is a reader-supported online publication covering Austin FC. Additional support is provided by Austin Telco Federal Credit Union. You can comment here if you’re a subscriber, or reach out via Bluesky.
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