This match had nearly everything ... except for an Austin FC player scoring a goal, or Austin FC getting a result. The team's first road match of 2026 was, in a word, nightmarish.
Austin FC, on the road for the first time in the 2026 season, had a nightmare of a match involving a red card to Guilherme Biro, a should-have-been-a-red-card for Liel Abada, and an own goal working in Verde's favor, resulting in a 3-1 loss against Charlotte FC at Bank of America Stadium.
Head coach Nico Estévez rolled out the exact same lineup as the week prior, with Mikkel Desler apparently still sidelined with injury. (Based on what we'd heard from Estévez on Thursday, there was a chance he would make the roster.)
Verde got the first legitimate chance in the 7th minute, with Myrto Uzuni attempting to volley a Facundo Torres pass that led him toward goal, only to hit it well over the crossbar.
Charlotte gave Verde some level of fits in the 12th minute, and when the defense struggled to clear the ball, they have the hosts a second chance at attack, leading to Brendan Hines-Ike colliding with Idan Toklomati in the box (but not in a penalty kind of way). Though Hines-Ike seemed momentarily shaken up, he did enough to thwart the potential attempt at goal.
Wilfried Zaha, who got in a tussle with Joseph Rosales earlier in the match, got the first yellow in the 18th minute for toppling Jon Gallagher, which he demonstratively was not happy about.
Not to be outdone, Guilherme Biro got a 23rd-minute red card for stepping on Toklomati's leg — a questionable call, to be sure, and initially yellow until center referee Rosendo Mendoza was called over to view video and dubbed the foul to be "serious."
Estévez then made a tactical defensive sub, getting Jon Bell on for Jayden Nelson to keep a full back four, in the 28th minute.
A minute later, Bell was accountable in two different ways for Charlotte's opening goal, first failing to clear a ball in the box beyond Charlotte players around the 18, and then failing to snuff out Zaha's cross that found Toklomati at the far post.
But then Austin FC got a lifeline, when Ilie Sánchez sent a long ball Uzuni's way, only for promising-but-still-young center back Morrison Agmeyang getting to the ball first, but heading it past goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina to level the match.
A weird first half got weirder in the 35th, when Pereira went down with what appeared to be a hamstring injury, with Nicolás Dubersarksy subbing in for him.
In eight minutes of first-half stoppage time, Verde survived a free kick just outside the 18 resulting from Uzuni clocking Zaha with an elbow, as well as Zaha taking an undefended shot on goal that zipped just over the crossbar.
Charlotte put Austin back on its heels in the second minute of the second half, with Harry Toffolo banging a recycled ball from fairly deep, but fortunately within reach of Oleksandr Svatok's head to avert the danger.
A confusing moment in the 53rd minute, in which Mendoza initially appeared to call for a corner kick on a ball that bounced off Ashley Westwood's back and out. That led to a free kick, which Westwood floated to a freely running Biel in the middle of the 18-yard box. Biel hit it well for what appeared to be a goal, but video review revealed that it hit Brandt Bronico's arm on the way in, and the goal was waved off.
(Somehow, right after that goal reversal, Uzuni got a yellow card, apparently for dissent.)
Then, in the 64th, Liel Abada elbowed Dubersarsky in the face, and Mendoza flagged it as a yellow; somehow, VAR did not get involved as happened with the Biro yellow-that-became-red.
Four minutes later, Abada — who perhaps shouldn't have been on the field — fed Biel for a go-ahead goal, on a play where the hosts did just enough to pick off the defense. (Bell was also closest to Biel on the goal; it was not a great outing for him.)
Right after, Charlotte head coach Dean Smith wisely pulled Abada for Kerwin Vargas. Estévez made his own kitchen sink sub, getting Christian Ramírez, CJ Fodrey, and Besard Šabović for Uzuni, Rosales, and Ilie.
A possible handball shout to benefit Verde in the 81st minute came to naught, as did a rare (for this match) Verde corner in the 83rd.
Biel got a second goal in the third minute of second-half stoppage time to increase the lead to 3-1.
Best Verde moment (that wasn’t a goal)
I can't believe it's that 7th-minute attempt, but that's when Austin looked at its most offensively cohesive.
Worst Verde moment (that wasn't a goal allowed)
It's a toss-up between the Biro red card and the Pereira injury. Neither were great!
One thing you might have missed
In the first minute, Pereira made contact with Mendoza ... but on purpose, helpfully, trying to get some type of armband gadget back on his bicep. (So much for that gesture of goodwill.)
One nerdy tidbit
The own goal was, obviously, Austin's first of the season, and so Owen Goal is now among the team's goal co-leaders three matches in. Given that Verde only had one shot on goal in the first half (and, indeed, for the entire match), Owen Goal effectively doubled that.
Where this fits into the season's narrative
Given the preseason, we were bound to get a down-a-man match at some point; Match 3 seems a bit early for that, but it involving Biro somehow seems fitting (and a little worrying given that he sat out the first match to seemingly send a lesson about getting red cards). Despite Verde fighting to stay in it, their first true MLS After Dark match of 2026 is also their first loss, bumping them down to 1-1-1 on the season.
A question we have going into the press conference
We're curious about why, once Biro went off, Estévez subbed off Nelson for Bell. Left back is not Bell's optimal position. Estévez could have slotted Rosales in at left wingback, and dropped Nelson down a bit as right wingback, and then have Torres float as attacking center mid moving high to either wing. Tactically, this makes more sense than what actually happened, but then again, no one has ever paid me to coach soccer.
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.
Maybe you're dismissive of the nerdery inherent in the goals added metric that American Soccer Analysis uses to measure player impact. But what if it tells you Austin FC's one of the best teams in the league?
Austin FC, on the road for the first time in the 2026 season, had a nightmare of a match involving a red card to Guilherme Biro, a should-have-been-a-red-card for Liel Abada, and an own goal working in Verde's favor, resulting in a 3-1 loss against Charlotte FC at Bank of America Stadium.
Head coach Nico Estévez rolled out the exact same lineup as the week prior, with Mikkel Desler apparently still sidelined with injury. (Based on what we'd heard from Estévez on Thursday, there was a chance he would make the roster.)
Verde got the first legitimate chance in the 7th minute, with Myrto Uzuni attempting to volley a Facundo Torres pass that led him toward goal, only to hit it well over the crossbar.
Charlotte gave Verde some level of fits in the 12th minute, and when the defense struggled to clear the ball, they have the hosts a second chance at attack, leading to Brendan Hines-Ike colliding with Idan Toklomati in the box (but not in a penalty kind of way). Though Hines-Ike seemed momentarily shaken up, he did enough to thwart the potential attempt at goal.
Wilfried Zaha, who got in a tussle with Joseph Rosales earlier in the match, got the first yellow in the 18th minute for toppling Jon Gallagher, which he demonstratively was not happy about.
Not to be outdone, Guilherme Biro got a 23rd-minute red card for stepping on Toklomati's leg — a questionable call, to be sure, and initially yellow until center referee Rosendo Mendoza was called over to view video and dubbed the foul to be "serious."
Estévez then made a tactical defensive sub, getting Jon Bell on for Jayden Nelson to keep a full back four, in the 28th minute.
A minute later, Bell was accountable in two different ways for Charlotte's opening goal, first failing to clear a ball in the box beyond Charlotte players around the 18, and then failing to snuff out Zaha's cross that found Toklomati at the far post.
But then Austin FC got a lifeline, when Ilie Sánchez sent a long ball Uzuni's way, only for promising-but-still-young center back Morrison Agmeyang getting to the ball first, but heading it past goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina to level the match.
A weird first half got weirder in the 35th, when Pereira went down with what appeared to be a hamstring injury, with Nicolás Dubersarksy subbing in for him.
In eight minutes of first-half stoppage time, Verde survived a free kick just outside the 18 resulting from Uzuni clocking Zaha with an elbow, as well as Zaha taking an undefended shot on goal that zipped just over the crossbar.
Charlotte put Austin back on its heels in the second minute of the second half, with Harry Toffolo banging a recycled ball from fairly deep, but fortunately within reach of Oleksandr Svatok's head to avert the danger.
A confusing moment in the 53rd minute, in which Mendoza initially appeared to call for a corner kick on a ball that bounced off Ashley Westwood's back and out. That led to a free kick, which Westwood floated to a freely running Biel in the middle of the 18-yard box. Biel hit it well for what appeared to be a goal, but video review revealed that it hit Brandt Bronico's arm on the way in, and the goal was waved off.
(Somehow, right after that goal reversal, Uzuni got a yellow card, apparently for dissent.)
Then, in the 64th, Liel Abada elbowed Dubersarsky in the face, and Mendoza flagged it as a yellow; somehow, VAR did not get involved as happened with the Biro yellow-that-became-red.
Four minutes later, Abada — who perhaps shouldn't have been on the field — fed Biel for a go-ahead goal, on a play where the hosts did just enough to pick off the defense. (Bell was also closest to Biel on the goal; it was not a great outing for him.)
Right after, Charlotte head coach Dean Smith wisely pulled Abada for Kerwin Vargas. Estévez made his own kitchen sink sub, getting Christian Ramírez, CJ Fodrey, and Besard Šabović for Uzuni, Rosales, and Ilie.
A possible handball shout to benefit Verde in the 81st minute came to naught, as did a rare (for this match) Verde corner in the 83rd.
Biel got a second goal in the third minute of second-half stoppage time to increase the lead to 3-1.
Best Verde moment (that wasn’t a goal)
I can't believe it's that 7th-minute attempt, but that's when Austin looked at its most offensively cohesive.
Worst Verde moment (that wasn't a goal allowed)
It's a toss-up between the Biro red card and the Pereira injury. Neither were great!
One thing you might have missed
In the first minute, Pereira made contact with Mendoza ... but on purpose, helpfully, trying to get some type of armband gadget back on his bicep. (So much for that gesture of goodwill.)
One nerdy tidbit
The own goal was, obviously, Austin's first of the season, and so Owen Goal is now among the team's goal co-leaders three matches in. Given that Verde only had one shot on goal in the first half (and, indeed, for the entire match), Owen Goal effectively doubled that.
Where this fits into the season's narrative
Given the preseason, we were bound to get a down-a-man match at some point; Match 3 seems a bit early for that, but it involving Biro somehow seems fitting (and a little worrying given that he sat out the first match to seemingly send a lesson about getting red cards). Despite Verde fighting to stay in it, their first true MLS After Dark match of 2026 is also their first loss, bumping them down to 1-1-1 on the season.
A question we have going into the press conference
We're curious about why, once Biro went off, Estévez subbed off Nelson for Bell. Left back is not Bell's optimal position. Estévez could have slotted Rosales in at left wingback, and dropped Nelson down a bit as right wingback, and then have Torres float as attacking center mid moving high to either wing. Tactically, this makes more sense than what actually happened, but then again, no one has ever paid me to coach soccer.
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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