Both goals were welcome sights for a team that still rarely scores two.
In one of the fierier rivalries Austin FC finds itself in at this juncture of the 2025 season, the team traveled to Carson on Wednesday night and got goals from Mytro Uzuni and Owen Wolff to notch an important 2-1 road win against the mercurial LA Galaxy.
The match started with some weird vibes, including an inadequately deflated ball (see "One thing you might have missed"), an Edwin Cerillo yellow followed by what should have been a second yellow, a near own goal by Oleksandr Svatok, and a couple of would-be Osman Bukari assists left wanting.
Austin had its first real Galaxy-induced nervy moment in the 26th, with a turnover in the Galaxy's end turning into a break the other way that ended with a worrying number of Galaxy attackers in the box and a loosely guarded Joseph Painstil ripping a shot that went just wide of the post past a diving Brad Stuver.
Uzuni got on the scoresheet in the 40th minute, getting a pass fed to him by Diego Rubio near the edge of the box; he then weaved through three defenders and confidently took a strike with his left foot to score without hesitation or doubt, and it is so nice to finally type that after weeks of not typing that.
Soon after, there was a fracas that started with Cerillo appearing to punch Uzuni in the ribs (check it out at 42:41 on the replay), and somehow ended, not with Cerillo getting tossed for what could have been his third yellow (or just a straight red), but with an aggrieved-for-his-teammate Guilherme Biro and angry head coach Nico Estévez both getting yellow cards.
(We have a question out to PRO via our Galaxy counterpart about the non-call.)
After 15 minutes of 10 minutes of first-half stoppage time — yes, this was a ridiculous match – the teams returned from halftime with the hosts providing the first scary moment. In minute 49, Gabriel Pec got clear of defenders cutting in toward goal and let a shot rip that got past Stuver, hit the post, and squirted across the face of goal before the All-Star keeper was able to kick it out of danger.
Wolff sent Uzuni free moments after that for what was nearly his second, but Uzuni placed his shot where Galaxy 'keeper Novak Micovic was able to grab it.
But Uzuni was the catalyst on the second goal, forcing Micovic to commit as he went goalward; the ball somehow got loose, evading the keeper, and bounced over to Wolff, who kept his composure and got his shot in past a Galaxy defender trying to play goalie without using the two most important appendages a goalie has.
At the start of eight minutes of second-half stoppage time, Joseph Paintsil got a fortuitous penalty call from referee Ricardo Fierro (in case you want to remember that name) after tussling with Mikkel Desler on the end line. Maybe it was a push, maybe it was just allowable shoulder-to-shoulder defense, but Paintsil converted his own penalty to put the match's outcome into a bit more limbo.
Bukari very nearly made it moot a moment later, getting in through the box to seek an insurance goal, but his shot was right at Micovic. But Paintsil got one more chance off that Stuver had to dive to save, in the 11th minute of eight minutes of second-half stoppage time to close out the game.
Best Verde moment (that wasn’t a goal)
Bukari's move toward goal and feathered pass across the six early in the match would have given Austin the early lead had Uzuni been quick enough to get on it, but we're again seeing how good he's becoming.
Worst Verde moment (that wasn't a goal allowed)
That near own-goal from Svatok. Woof.
One thing you might have missed
About 5 1/2 minutes in, the match was stopped so they could get a ball that was pumped up enough to use, as Brad Stuver noted it didn't have sufficient air. There are other balls in the stadium, you know.
One nerdy tidbit
Austin finished with just seven shots to the Galaxy's 15.
Where this fits into the season's narrative
It's a welcome road win and it's got Verde on a 3-1-1 swing in their last five matches. Four points from their last six is pretty good, though six out of six would have been better considering how disappointing that Revs' home draw was.
A question we have heading into the press conference
I'm curious to know if Uzuni got any different guidance heading into this match, or did anything special to show confidence, or if this was just the law of averages kicking in.
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.
Nico Estévez asserted that if Saturday's match against the Revolution were played ten times, Austin would win nine of those. Here's some perspective on that apparent 10th game.
In one of the fierier rivalries Austin FC finds itself in at this juncture of the 2025 season, the team traveled to Carson on Wednesday night and got goals from Mytro Uzuni and Owen Wolff to notch an important 2-1 road win against the mercurial LA Galaxy.
The match started with some weird vibes, including an inadequately deflated ball (see "One thing you might have missed"), an Edwin Cerillo yellow followed by what should have been a second yellow, a near own goal by Oleksandr Svatok, and a couple of would-be Osman Bukari assists left wanting.
Austin had its first real Galaxy-induced nervy moment in the 26th, with a turnover in the Galaxy's end turning into a break the other way that ended with a worrying number of Galaxy attackers in the box and a loosely guarded Joseph Painstil ripping a shot that went just wide of the post past a diving Brad Stuver.
Uzuni got on the scoresheet in the 40th minute, getting a pass fed to him by Diego Rubio near the edge of the box; he then weaved through three defenders and confidently took a strike with his left foot to score without hesitation or doubt, and it is so nice to finally type that after weeks of not typing that.
Soon after, there was a fracas that started with Cerillo appearing to punch Uzuni in the ribs (check it out at 42:41 on the replay), and somehow ended, not with Cerillo getting tossed for what could have been his third yellow (or just a straight red), but with an aggrieved-for-his-teammate Guilherme Biro and angry head coach Nico Estévez both getting yellow cards.
(We have a question out to PRO via our Galaxy counterpart about the non-call.)
After 15 minutes of 10 minutes of first-half stoppage time — yes, this was a ridiculous match – the teams returned from halftime with the hosts providing the first scary moment. In minute 49, Gabriel Pec got clear of defenders cutting in toward goal and let a shot rip that got past Stuver, hit the post, and squirted across the face of goal before the All-Star keeper was able to kick it out of danger.
Wolff sent Uzuni free moments after that for what was nearly his second, but Uzuni placed his shot where Galaxy 'keeper Novak Micovic was able to grab it.
But Uzuni was the catalyst on the second goal, forcing Micovic to commit as he went goalward; the ball somehow got loose, evading the keeper, and bounced over to Wolff, who kept his composure and got his shot in past a Galaxy defender trying to play goalie without using the two most important appendages a goalie has.
At the start of eight minutes of second-half stoppage time, Joseph Paintsil got a fortuitous penalty call from referee Ricardo Fierro (in case you want to remember that name) after tussling with Mikkel Desler on the end line. Maybe it was a push, maybe it was just allowable shoulder-to-shoulder defense, but Paintsil converted his own penalty to put the match's outcome into a bit more limbo.
Bukari very nearly made it moot a moment later, getting in through the box to seek an insurance goal, but his shot was right at Micovic. But Paintsil got one more chance off that Stuver had to dive to save, in the 11th minute of eight minutes of second-half stoppage time to close out the game.
Best Verde moment (that wasn’t a goal)
Bukari's move toward goal and feathered pass across the six early in the match would have given Austin the early lead had Uzuni been quick enough to get on it, but we're again seeing how good he's becoming.
Worst Verde moment (that wasn't a goal allowed)
That near own-goal from Svatok. Woof.
One thing you might have missed
About 5 1/2 minutes in, the match was stopped so they could get a ball that was pumped up enough to use, as Brad Stuver noted it didn't have sufficient air. There are other balls in the stadium, you know.
One nerdy tidbit
Austin finished with just seven shots to the Galaxy's 15.
Where this fits into the season's narrative
It's a welcome road win and it's got Verde on a 3-1-1 swing in their last five matches. Four points from their last six is pretty good, though six out of six would have been better considering how disappointing that Revs' home draw was.
A question we have heading into the press conference
I'm curious to know if Uzuni got any different guidance heading into this match, or did anything special to show confidence, or if this was just the law of averages kicking in.
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.
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