You could say that as Sebastián Driussi goes, so goes Austin FC.
Just look at the core numbers: In 2022, Driussi had 22 goals and seven assists, the team scored 65 goals (to 49 given up for a +16 goal differential), and the team’s 16-10-8 record was good for second in the West. In 2023, Driussi had 11 goals and five assists, including a secondary assist awarded on the season’s final day, for a team that scored 49 goals but gave up 55 (yipes) for a -6 goal differential and a much less sterling 10-15-9 record.
Part of the dropoff for Driussi in 2023 came a result of more injury and less time on the field than in 2022.
In Austin’s stellar season last year, Driussi challenged for the MVP by appearing in all 34 regular-season matches (with 32 starts and 2882 of the possible 3060 minutes, or 94.18 percent of the minutes). In this most recent season, Driussi played 2311 minutes, starting 26 matches and subbing in for two more (and maybe playing a couple of games that he shouldn’t have recovering from injury, but that’s a whole other conversation), or 75.52 percent of the available minutes.
That doesn’t entirely explain his goal output halved from the year before, but it’s certainly part of the mix. Dropoffs for notable 2022 players weren’t just limited to Driussi, of course. Hany Mukhtar, who beat out Driussi for the 2022 MVP, went from 23 goals to 15 goals in 2023 while picking up one more total regular-season minute, though his assist total stayed consistent both seasons with 11.
Also, Nashville, like both 2022 and 2023 Austin, slumped in the tail end of the season. Mukhtar didn’t score in his final eight regular-season appearances as the Yotes went 2-6-5 in the final 13 games of the season. Austin similarly went 2-7-4 in its final 13 matches of 2023, though Driussi did score five goals and added two assists in the fateful span after Leagues Cup.
If you look at 2022 Driussi vs. 2023 Driussi, there are some differences, but there’s still enough consistency in the numbers to show that Driussi’s an elite-level MLS player.
Let’s look at some sweet charts.
