At the Whistle: Austin FC 2, Minnesota United FC 2
An opening goal from Brendan Hines-Ike and a surprising (in how it ensued) goal from Myrto Uzuni was almost enough to seal a second straight opening day win. But then came the 90th minute.
Austin FC scored less than seven minutes into its 2026 season opener, making good on a Facundo Torres to Brendan Hines-Ike connection, starting a see-saw contest ending in a 2-2 draw with Minnesota United FC at Q2 Stadium on Saturday night.
The squad was down two players, Guilherme Biro and Besard Šabović — incidentally, the two players who received red cards against Sporting Kansas City in the final preseason match.
After some initial fun midfield control early on from Verde, Torres stepped up to take a 7th-minute corner, sending in a ball that Hines-Ike was able to head home for the early lead.
Wil Trapp earned the match's first yellow card, clipping Torres 25 minutes in to thwart Verde's forward progression near midfield, in what had been a relatively foul-free match to that point.
In the 40th minute, following a missed opportunity for Verde (see worst Verde moment), Minnesota won a corner and Joaquín Pereyra lofted a pass that Morgan Duggan, wriggling free from Ilie Sánchez, was able to latch on to the end of and equalize with relative ease.
In first-half stoppage time, Kelvin Yeboah had concerning amounts of time and space in front of goal, but Brad Stuver — not pressed into much first-half action — made a deft save to preserve the 1-1 scoreline headed into halftime.
Both Torres and a largely quiet Myrto Uzuni got shots in front of goal in the 53rd minute on an impressive attack made possible by a deft Jon Gallagher move toward goal. A minute later, the Loons had an attack blunted by Hines-Ike heading an oddly curving (and therefore dangerous) Pereyra shot out, and then Verde handled the resulting corner.
In the 58th minute, Gallagher nearly got on the board himself which a shot from outside the 18 that goalkeeper Drake Callender had to dive to save.
The Loons had the first subs of the match, getting Julian Gressel and Carlos Harvey on for Bongi Hlongwane and D.J. Taylor, in the 65th. Four minutes later, Austin FC head coach Nico Estévez pulled a highly effective Nelson in favor of Robert Taylor.
Taylor made good on the sub in the 76th, arcing in a far-post pass that Gallagher headed in front of goal, which then bounced off Uzuni and in.
Dani Pereira — who also had a relatively quiet night — nearly volleyed in an insurance goal in the 84th minute, following some solid end-line work from Taylor to circulate the ball back into the melee. Two minutes later, Torres blazed a shot just past the far post to continue heaping pressure on the Loons' defense.
But then, going the other way, the Loons got out on a break, and Devin Padelford, out on the left wing, sent a pass into an unmarked Yeboah for the 90th-minute equalizer.
Best Verde moment (that wasn’t a goal)
That Torres 53rd-minute shot was a good Callender save away from being his first goal in Verde. (Well, in mostly white with faintly visible mint stripes, but you know what I mean.)
Worst Verde moment (that wasn't a goal allowed)
Torres had a wish-I-could-have-it-back moment in the 39th, threading a ball through Loons defenders to a breaking-free Nelson, but sending the ball past him. (A minute later, what could have been a 2-0 match became a 1-1 match.)
One thing you might have missed
Jayden Nelson was feeling it, trying to hype up the crowd after winning a 19th-minute corner (which wasn't as good as the first one).
One nerdy tidbit
Not shockingly, given Minnesota's history of not wanting the ball last year, Verde had a 61-39% possession advantage 20 minutes in.
Where this fits into the season's narrative
It's the first draw in an opener in Verde's six seasons, after being mere minutes from closing out a win. The goal contributions from two designated players were encouraging, but this was — to return to a theme from last season — a case of a sole defensive lapse costing Verde valuable points.
A question we have going into the press conference
If someone doesn't ask it before me, would like to get some more details on the Biro and Šabović situation (as it does appear to be a situation).
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 players felt they were the better team on Saturday night against Minnesota. An unlucky injury led to the 90th-minute goal that turned three points into one.
Austin FC head coach Nico Estévez says this team wants to be brave and greedy in 2026. He made the case Thursday that they're readying themselves to be that.
Austin FC scored less than seven minutes into its 2026 season opener, making good on a Facundo Torres to Brendan Hines-Ike connection, starting a see-saw contest ending in a 2-2 draw with Minnesota United FC at Q2 Stadium on Saturday night.
The squad was down two players, Guilherme Biro and Besard Šabović — incidentally, the two players who received red cards against Sporting Kansas City in the final preseason match.
After some initial fun midfield control early on from Verde, Torres stepped up to take a 7th-minute corner, sending in a ball that Hines-Ike was able to head home for the early lead.
Wil Trapp earned the match's first yellow card, clipping Torres 25 minutes in to thwart Verde's forward progression near midfield, in what had been a relatively foul-free match to that point.
In the 40th minute, following a missed opportunity for Verde (see worst Verde moment), Minnesota won a corner and Joaquín Pereyra lofted a pass that Morgan Duggan, wriggling free from Ilie Sánchez, was able to latch on to the end of and equalize with relative ease.
In first-half stoppage time, Kelvin Yeboah had concerning amounts of time and space in front of goal, but Brad Stuver — not pressed into much first-half action — made a deft save to preserve the 1-1 scoreline headed into halftime.
Both Torres and a largely quiet Myrto Uzuni got shots in front of goal in the 53rd minute on an impressive attack made possible by a deft Jon Gallagher move toward goal. A minute later, the Loons had an attack blunted by Hines-Ike heading an oddly curving (and therefore dangerous) Pereyra shot out, and then Verde handled the resulting corner.
In the 58th minute, Gallagher nearly got on the board himself which a shot from outside the 18 that goalkeeper Drake Callender had to dive to save.
The Loons had the first subs of the match, getting Julian Gressel and Carlos Harvey on for Bongi Hlongwane and D.J. Taylor, in the 65th. Four minutes later, Austin FC head coach Nico Estévez pulled a highly effective Nelson in favor of Robert Taylor.
Taylor made good on the sub in the 76th, arcing in a far-post pass that Gallagher headed in front of goal, which then bounced off Uzuni and in.
Dani Pereira — who also had a relatively quiet night — nearly volleyed in an insurance goal in the 84th minute, following some solid end-line work from Taylor to circulate the ball back into the melee. Two minutes later, Torres blazed a shot just past the far post to continue heaping pressure on the Loons' defense.
But then, going the other way, the Loons got out on a break, and Devin Padelford, out on the left wing, sent a pass into an unmarked Yeboah for the 90th-minute equalizer.
Best Verde moment (that wasn’t a goal)
That Torres 53rd-minute shot was a good Callender save away from being his first goal in Verde. (Well, in mostly white with faintly visible mint stripes, but you know what I mean.)
Worst Verde moment (that wasn't a goal allowed)
Torres had a wish-I-could-have-it-back moment in the 39th, threading a ball through Loons defenders to a breaking-free Nelson, but sending the ball past him. (A minute later, what could have been a 2-0 match became a 1-1 match.)
One thing you might have missed
Jayden Nelson was feeling it, trying to hype up the crowd after winning a 19th-minute corner (which wasn't as good as the first one).
One nerdy tidbit
Not shockingly, given Minnesota's history of not wanting the ball last year, Verde had a 61-39% possession advantage 20 minutes in.
Where this fits into the season's narrative
It's the first draw in an opener in Verde's six seasons, after being mere minutes from closing out a win. The goal contributions from two designated players were encouraging, but this was — to return to a theme from last season — a case of a sole defensive lapse costing Verde valuable points.
A question we have going into the press conference
If someone doesn't ask it before me, would like to get some more details on the Biro and Šabović situation (as it does appear to be a situation).
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.
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