In their first U.S. Open Cup match of 2025, entering in the Round of 32, Austin FC found three late goals in the span of seven minutes to spare them the embarrassment of being ousted by a USL side, outlasting El Paso Locomotive FC 3-2 on Wednesday night at a decidedly-less-than-full Q2 Stadium.
If the intent of starting a lineup stacked with starters was to jump start the offense, it worked eventually, with Brandon Vázquez getting two goals and Myrto Uzuni getting the other, but a lot transpired before they scored.
Verde had two chances inside of four minutes — a Žan Kolmanič free kick at the 3-minute mark that nearly squeaked in, and an Uzuni one-on-one opportunity 30 seconds later that ended with him firing straight at Locomotive goalkeeper Jahmali Waite.
But after some additional chances that Uzuni and Vázquez couldn't make good on, an Austin player — well, a former Austin Bold player named Beto Avila you might remember, found open space in the box, nudged the ball past Julio Cascante (the closest defender on the play), and fired home to give the visitors the lead.
Austin then got a response full of chances, similar to what they mustered in their home match against Minnesota on Saturday, including a Vázquez shot that bounced off the crossbar. But then, as in that match, they let in a second goal at about the same juncture of the match.
In the 34th minute, Avila found himself on the end of a pass as the Locomotive moved forward, shot toward goal, and though Brendan Hines-Ike, got a head to it, it caromed right back to Avila, who got his shot past a diving Stefan Cleveland to double the lead and deflate the fans.
The halftime whistle brought something dramatic: Audible boos from Austin fans, a rare occurrence – even audible through the insulated press box windows.
Austin FC head coach Nico Estévez made two halftime subs, pulling Diego Rubio i favor of Robert Taylor and bringing in Osman Bukari for Jáder Obrian.
A would-be Hines-Ike goal on a Kolmanič free kick was waved off for being offside in the 50th minute, and Taylor got off a shot in the 52nd minute that tested White.
Estévez tried two more subs at the hour mark, getting Owen Wolff and Ilie Sánchez on for Besard Šabović and Nicolás Dubersarsky, followed closely by Guilherme Biro for Kolmanič.
Even with fresh starters in, it took until minute 73 for Verde to get on the board, getting there via a Wolff pass that split two defenders to lead Vázquez to goal.
Then, Myrto Uzuni got a goal in the 76th minute, with Vázquez chesting down a Biro pass to tee the frustrated Albanian up.
In the 79th, a play starting with a Cascante interception (!) led to another Wolff-to-Vázquez connection to give Verde their first lead since Vázquez put them up over the Galaxy late in the April 19 match — a span of 268 soccer minutes.
From there, Verde held on after some Adventures in Goalkeeping moments from Stefan Cleveland, continuing his tournament duties from last season.
Austin goes on to face the winner of the Houston-Phoenix match; Houston was up 1-0 midway through that match's first half as this match wrapped up.
Best Verde moment (that wasn’t a goal)
Kolmanič had a fancy spin move progressing the ball toward goal in the 28th minute, leading to a foul and a free kick that was promising, leading to ...
Worst Verde moment (that wasn't a goal allowed)
... a sequence following the free kick that included a Jáder Obrian whiff, a Besard Šabović shot that bounced off White, and then a Šabović bicycle kick that still had its training wheels attached, if you get my drift.
Something you might have missed
El Paso head coach Wilmer Cabrera exuded some big dad energy on the sidelines. We had the iPad to scan the Paramount Plus stream and really enjoyed the cutaways (and the Locomotive golf shirt he was sporting).
One nerdy tidbit
Austin led at halftime in shots, 9-7, before pulling out to a 21-14 edge heading into the 90th and an overall 21-18 advantage.
A question we have heading into the press conference
Does this win bring confidence given the goals came and the team pulled out a victory, or concern that it took so long and so many fresh starters to finally get more goals than a USL team?
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.
In their first U.S. Open Cup match of 2025, entering in the Round of 32, Austin FC found three late goals in the span of seven minutes to spare them the embarrassment of being ousted by a USL side, outlasting El Paso Locomotive FC 3-2 on Wednesday night at a decidedly-less-than-full Q2 Stadium.
If the intent of starting a lineup stacked with starters was to jump start the offense, it worked eventually, with Brandon Vázquez getting two goals and Myrto Uzuni getting the other, but a lot transpired before they scored.
Verde had two chances inside of four minutes — a Žan Kolmanič free kick at the 3-minute mark that nearly squeaked in, and an Uzuni one-on-one opportunity 30 seconds later that ended with him firing straight at Locomotive goalkeeper Jahmali Waite.
But after some additional chances that Uzuni and Vázquez couldn't make good on, an Austin player — well, a former Austin Bold player named Beto Avila you might remember, found open space in the box, nudged the ball past Julio Cascante (the closest defender on the play), and fired home to give the visitors the lead.
Austin then got a response full of chances, similar to what they mustered in their home match against Minnesota on Saturday, including a Vázquez shot that bounced off the crossbar. But then, as in that match, they let in a second goal at about the same juncture of the match.
In the 34th minute, Avila found himself on the end of a pass as the Locomotive moved forward, shot toward goal, and though Brendan Hines-Ike, got a head to it, it caromed right back to Avila, who got his shot past a diving Stefan Cleveland to double the lead and deflate the fans.
The halftime whistle brought something dramatic: Audible boos from Austin fans, a rare occurrence – even audible through the insulated press box windows.
Austin FC head coach Nico Estévez made two halftime subs, pulling Diego Rubio i favor of Robert Taylor and bringing in Osman Bukari for Jáder Obrian.
A would-be Hines-Ike goal on a Kolmanič free kick was waved off for being offside in the 50th minute, and Taylor got off a shot in the 52nd minute that tested White.
Estévez tried two more subs at the hour mark, getting Owen Wolff and Ilie Sánchez on for Besard Šabović and Nicolás Dubersarsky, followed closely by Guilherme Biro for Kolmanič.
Even with fresh starters in, it took until minute 73 for Verde to get on the board, getting there via a Wolff pass that split two defenders to lead Vázquez to goal.
Then, Myrto Uzuni got a goal in the 76th minute, with Vázquez chesting down a Biro pass to tee the frustrated Albanian up.
In the 79th, a play starting with a Cascante interception (!) led to another Wolff-to-Vázquez connection to give Verde their first lead since Vázquez put them up over the Galaxy late in the April 19 match — a span of 268 soccer minutes.
From there, Verde held on after some Adventures in Goalkeeping moments from Stefan Cleveland, continuing his tournament duties from last season.
Austin goes on to face the winner of the Houston-Phoenix match; Houston was up 1-0 midway through that match's first half as this match wrapped up.
Best Verde moment (that wasn’t a goal)
Kolmanič had a fancy spin move progressing the ball toward goal in the 28th minute, leading to a foul and a free kick that was promising, leading to ...
Worst Verde moment (that wasn't a goal allowed)
... a sequence following the free kick that included a Jáder Obrian whiff, a Besard Šabović shot that bounced off White, and then a Šabović bicycle kick that still had its training wheels attached, if you get my drift.
Something you might have missed
El Paso head coach Wilmer Cabrera exuded some big dad energy on the sidelines. We had the iPad to scan the Paramount Plus stream and really enjoyed the cutaways (and the Locomotive golf shirt he was sporting).
One nerdy tidbit
Austin led at halftime in shots, 9-7, before pulling out to a 21-14 edge heading into the 90th and an overall 21-18 advantage.
A question we have heading into the press conference
Does this win bring confidence given the goals came and the team pulled out a victory, or concern that it took so long and so many fresh starters to finally get more goals than a USL team?
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.
Read Next
'We needed one goal': Impressions from an epic improbable Austin FC comeback
Thanks to a comeback involving three goals in seven minutes, Verde will play its rivals in Orange with a chance to advance to the U.S. Open quarterfinals.
What's this about xG now? We look anew into what the metric might say about 2025 Austin FC
Verde head coach Nico Estévez explained his stance on Saturday night a little more completely. But the positives he points to might not be as encouraging as he lets on.
'I'm very proud of the team today, because we responded': Nico Estévez defends the arguably indefensible
Nico Estévez lauded his team for not folding in the face of adversity ... yet a 3-0 loss at home is a concerning inflection point for the 2025 season.
At the Whistle: Austin FC 0, Minnesota United FC 3
Saturday night brought some unusual sights, including a ball rolling through Brad Stuver's legs into the Verde goal. It also brought the dearth of offense defining the 2025 season.