For the second straight match, Verde gave up an early goal but clawed back a late equalizer. The good news is they're unbeaten in five; the bad news is they're getting draws yet need wins.
With its 2026 playoff hopes in limbo entering Wednesday night's match, Austin FC gave up an early goal to Paxton Aaronson but found a late Facundo Torres equalizer, leading to a 1-1 draw against Colorado Rapids at a relatively empty Q2 Stadium.
Myrto Uzuni once again failed to make the Matchday 20 with an increasingly shrouded-in-mystery injury, but the other two designated players, Facundo Torres and Brandon Vázquez, returned to a largely unrotated Starting XI, with only Jon Bell and Ilie Sánchez fresh to the crew that battled San Jose on Saturday.
It took just 46 seconds for Verde — or perhaps we need to call them Violet again for this one, given their third kits — to get off their first shot, with F-Torres firing just wide but authoritatively after having to claw back a Jon Gallagher pass that led him toward goal; he opted to work along the 18-yard line to get off the initial attempt. Several minutes later, Vázquez rushed a shot from the vicinity of the 18 which went Absolute Chimneys into the North End seats.
The first shot on target came in the 10th minute, though, from new Rapids arrival Youssef Maziz, who made a run similar to Beau Leroux's successful run for San Jose on Saturday — at nearly the same place on the field and juncture of the match. (This one, though, Brad Stuver saw and saved.)
In the 22nd minute, Aaronson got the opening goal, starting an attacking sequence by poaching a ball from Vázquez as Verde attempted to play the ball out of the back, and then after a Darren Yapi attempt was blocked and then lofted upfield (but mostly upward) by Bell, it floated right to Aaronson, able to volley it with enough to get past Stuver.
The Rapids lost Maziz to injury at the first-half hydration break, with Josh Atencio coming on as an unexpected early sub.
The game continued to progress with little noteworthy action, save for a 45th minute short corner that F-Torres lofted to Vázquez, for a header that was tipped over the bar thanks in part to a Rob Holding block (but it also seemed on its way over without the assistance). The resulting second corner ended with a Mikkel Desler shot that went over and wide, leaving Verde with zero shots on goal at halftime, with just 0.11 xG mounted — only 0.03 xG coming after the first 46 seconds.
Heading into the second half, interim head coach Davy Arnaud made his first substitute, putting Jorge Alastuey in for Ilie.
In the 53rd minute, one of the most confounding attacking moments of the season happened, when Vázquez got on the end of a good vertical ball with a defender trailing him. Rather than moving closer toward goal with the ball, he took a step and then sent in a cross ... even though he had no runners approaching the box, with a lone Rapids defender hanging out there.
Within five minutes of that play, Arnaud took Vázquez off as part of a double sub, putting on Christian Ramírez and then doing a Žan-for-Jon sub, putting Kolmanič on for Gallagher.
The Kolmanič-to-Ramírez almost paid dividends twice in the first five minutes they were on the field together, with the former feeding the latter for close-range attempts. Kolmanič also had a dangerous free kick into the goalmouth in the 75th that found Desler's head, but the ball went straight up rather than into goal, and another opportunity was left wanting.
Two minutes later, the Rapids nearly doubled the lead, with a ball sent direct and upfield leading to a four-on-three break, which led to Aaronson sending his shot just inside the far post, forcing a Stuver save.
Verde finally got on the board in the 79th, with Kolmanič sending in a great ball that F-Torres headed in, sparking some animated comments from him toward Arnaud and assistant coach Beto Gonzalez.
Verde nearly found their game winner on a 90th-minute Ramírez shot, on a play advanced by F-Torres before he was fouled, that the referee let Verde play advantage on (or blithely ignored the foul). They had four minutes of stoppage time, but couldn't convert.
Best Verde moment (that wasn’t a goal)
The Ramírez shot toward the end of regular time was oh-so-close to being a match winner, and he did make a visible difference.
Worst Verde moment (that wasn't a goal allowed)
The giveaway that led to the opening goal was not as bad as some of the defensive lapses that have led to goals this season, but it sure appeared to be an offensive lapse.
One thing you might have missed
After wowing various media members on Saturday wearing a long-sleeve chambray shirt that Arnaud's wife and daughter both complimented (sending him off into Saturday's inferno), Arnaud opted for a sartorial 180, wearing a plain while T-shirt.
One nerdy tidbit
Aaronson's goal was the Rapids' first away goal in a regular-season match since ... May 23. (And it was only the 10th away goal scored by Colorado all season, with four of those coming in an early-season win over SKC.)
Where this fits into the season's narrative
Needing a win to realistically stay in the playoffs, Verde had one of its most lackluster offensive performances of the season, with the Uzuni-sized hole in the attack especially evident, before again salvaging a draw with a late goal — though not as dramatically as they did on Saturday.
A question we have heading into the press conference
What is going on with Uzuni?
Verde All Day is a reader-supported online publication covering Austin FC. Additional support is provided by Austin Telco Federal Credit Union. For more coverage, check out Emergency Podcast! (an Austin FC Podcast) wherever you get your podcasts.
Austin FC hosts Colorado Rapids in what could be one of the most vital matches remaining on its schedule. We checked in with a friend to learn more about the Rapids' new players (and if they'll play).
Some of you are wondering why Facundo Torres' goal was disallowed on Saturday ... and why it even went to video review. We sought answers from PRO and got them.
Despite managing just a single point on Saturday, interim head coach Davy Arnaud says there's reason to believe his team can reach the playoffs. But video review had a role in a needed win instead becoming a last-gasp draw.
Austin FC appeared to get an equalizer just two minutes after going down early. When it was waved away, it took more than 90 minutes to finally salvage the point at home.
With its 2026 playoff hopes in limbo entering Wednesday night's match, Austin FC gave up an early goal to Paxton Aaronson but found a late Facundo Torres equalizer, leading to a 1-1 draw against Colorado Rapids at a relatively empty Q2 Stadium.
Myrto Uzuni once again failed to make the Matchday 20 with an increasingly shrouded-in-mystery injury, but the other two designated players, Facundo Torres and Brandon Vázquez, returned to a largely unrotated Starting XI, with only Jon Bell and Ilie Sánchez fresh to the crew that battled San Jose on Saturday.
It took just 46 seconds for Verde — or perhaps we need to call them Violet again for this one, given their third kits — to get off their first shot, with F-Torres firing just wide but authoritatively after having to claw back a Jon Gallagher pass that led him toward goal; he opted to work along the 18-yard line to get off the initial attempt. Several minutes later, Vázquez rushed a shot from the vicinity of the 18 which went Absolute Chimneys into the North End seats.
The first shot on target came in the 10th minute, though, from new Rapids arrival Youssef Maziz, who made a run similar to Beau Leroux's successful run for San Jose on Saturday — at nearly the same place on the field and juncture of the match. (This one, though, Brad Stuver saw and saved.)
In the 22nd minute, Aaronson got the opening goal, starting an attacking sequence by poaching a ball from Vázquez as Verde attempted to play the ball out of the back, and then after a Darren Yapi attempt was blocked and then lofted upfield (but mostly upward) by Bell, it floated right to Aaronson, able to volley it with enough to get past Stuver.
The Rapids lost Maziz to injury at the first-half hydration break, with Josh Atencio coming on as an unexpected early sub.
The game continued to progress with little noteworthy action, save for a 45th minute short corner that F-Torres lofted to Vázquez, for a header that was tipped over the bar thanks in part to a Rob Holding block (but it also seemed on its way over without the assistance). The resulting second corner ended with a Mikkel Desler shot that went over and wide, leaving Verde with zero shots on goal at halftime, with just 0.11 xG mounted — only 0.03 xG coming after the first 46 seconds.
Heading into the second half, interim head coach Davy Arnaud made his first substitute, putting Jorge Alastuey in for Ilie.
In the 53rd minute, one of the most confounding attacking moments of the season happened, when Vázquez got on the end of a good vertical ball with a defender trailing him. Rather than moving closer toward goal with the ball, he took a step and then sent in a cross ... even though he had no runners approaching the box, with a lone Rapids defender hanging out there.
Within five minutes of that play, Arnaud took Vázquez off as part of a double sub, putting on Christian Ramírez and then doing a Žan-for-Jon sub, putting Kolmanič on for Gallagher.
The Kolmanič-to-Ramírez almost paid dividends twice in the first five minutes they were on the field together, with the former feeding the latter for close-range attempts. Kolmanič also had a dangerous free kick into the goalmouth in the 75th that found Desler's head, but the ball went straight up rather than into goal, and another opportunity was left wanting.
Two minutes later, the Rapids nearly doubled the lead, with a ball sent direct and upfield leading to a four-on-three break, which led to Aaronson sending his shot just inside the far post, forcing a Stuver save.
Verde finally got on the board in the 79th, with Kolmanič sending in a great ball that F-Torres headed in, sparking some animated comments from him toward Arnaud and assistant coach Beto Gonzalez.
Verde nearly found their game winner on a 90th-minute Ramírez shot, on a play advanced by F-Torres before he was fouled, that the referee let Verde play advantage on (or blithely ignored the foul). They had four minutes of stoppage time, but couldn't convert.
Best Verde moment (that wasn’t a goal)
The Ramírez shot toward the end of regular time was oh-so-close to being a match winner, and he did make a visible difference.
Worst Verde moment (that wasn't a goal allowed)
The giveaway that led to the opening goal was not as bad as some of the defensive lapses that have led to goals this season, but it sure appeared to be an offensive lapse.
One thing you might have missed
After wowing various media members on Saturday wearing a long-sleeve chambray shirt that Arnaud's wife and daughter both complimented (sending him off into Saturday's inferno), Arnaud opted for a sartorial 180, wearing a plain while T-shirt.
One nerdy tidbit
Aaronson's goal was the Rapids' first away goal in a regular-season match since ... May 23. (And it was only the 10th away goal scored by Colorado all season, with four of those coming in an early-season win over SKC.)
Where this fits into the season's narrative
Needing a win to realistically stay in the playoffs, Verde had one of its most lackluster offensive performances of the season, with the Uzuni-sized hole in the attack especially evident, before again salvaging a draw with a late goal — though not as dramatically as they did on Saturday.
A question we have heading into the press conference
What is going on with Uzuni?
Verde All Day is a reader-supported online publication covering Austin FC. Additional support is provided by Austin Telco Federal Credit Union. For more coverage, check out Emergency Podcast! (an Austin FC Podcast) wherever you get your podcasts.
Read Next
Foreign Exchange: Three questions with Burgundy Wave's Matt Pollard
Austin FC hosts Colorado Rapids in what could be one of the most vital matches remaining on its schedule. We checked in with a friend to learn more about the Rapids' new players (and if they'll play).
On Facundo Torres' disallowed goal: A response from PRO
Some of you are wondering why Facundo Torres' goal was disallowed on Saturday ... and why it even went to video review. We sought answers from PRO and got them.
'I don't know what happened to clear and obvious': Austin FC rues 'two points dropped' but still sees path to the playoffs
Despite managing just a single point on Saturday, interim head coach Davy Arnaud says there's reason to believe his team can reach the playoffs. But video review had a role in a needed win instead becoming a last-gasp draw.
At the Whistle: Austin FC 1, San Jose Earthquakes 1
Austin FC appeared to get an equalizer just two minutes after going down early. When it was waved away, it took more than 90 minutes to finally salvage the point at home.