Austin FC's tough Open Cup draw against a top USL Championship team manifested in a 2-1 loss to knock them out of the tournament. That's two first-round losses in four seasons.
Austin FC started and ended its U.S. Open Cup journey on Tuesday night, ceding two first-half goals and ultimately falling 2-1 to Louisville City FC at Lynn Family Stadium in Louisville, Ky.
Damian Las got his first start for Verde's first team, in a stadium he's quite familiar with from two years of USL loan success, and Mateja "Hot Dog" Đorđević also got the start, but otherwise, it looked like a mostly first-choice lineup.
That didn't quite last long, though, with Dani Pereira suffering a leg injury inside of 10 minutes and having to sub off for Besard Šabović.
Verde got off some early chances, including a 13th-minute corner kick that ended up with Uzuni getting off a similar shot to the one he scored on Saturday against the Galaxy, that did not have the same good fortune.
They then weathered some scary moments, with Ray Serrano leaving Đorđević sitting on the turf during one attack on goal, and then Las having to come out to snuff out a Tola Showunmi attempt, and Evan Davila putting the rebound wide.
In the 25th minute, Las had to get down and make a kick save to keep Taylor Davila's shot from crossing the line. On the corner following, Taylor Davila found Sean Totsch elevating over Nicolás Dubersarsky to head in the opener.
Verde very nearly got an equalizer on a Facundo Torres corner kick to answer immediately after, but Guilherme Biro put the loose ball in front of goal wide.
But then, in the 32nd minute, Louisville set up down the right side and ended up freeing Showunmi to best Brendan Hines-Ike in front of goal and double the lead.
At halftime, Austin FC head coach Nico Estévez attempted to wrest some normalcy into his squad, subbing in Joseph Rosales for Đorđević.
Dubersarsky was able to draw a yellow card foul on Taylor Davila in the 52nd minute to blunt Louisville's momentum coming out of the break, even though Louisville continued to play more forward.
Torres was able to get a shot off several minutes later which was deflected but hung suspended in the air before bouncing unthreateningly off the crossbar.
In the 70th minute, Verde finally got its opening goal, with Rosales sending in a free kick and CJ Fodrey heading in for the finish.
Torres sent a 79th-minute cross in front of the six, but no teammates were there to meet it, and Louisville goalkeeper Hugo Fauroux was able to paw it away — which turned out to be one of Austin's best chances to equalize.
Stoppage time held a couple of surprises, including Fauroux holding the ball long enough for Verde to be awarded a corner, but the visitors weren't able to find the elusive second goal, and the match ended with the home crowd delighted.
Best Verde moment (that wasn’t a goal)
This might be cheating, but Rosales' free kick to lead to the goal was the best-placed pass that an Austin player managed all day, with Torres' wanting cross late in the match a close second.
Worst Verde moment (that wasn't a goal allowed)
It could have been (more) disastrous early: Las had a second-minute mishap on a goal kick where he nearly went down without the ball going anywhere, leaving him vulnerable to giving up a goal against a hard-charging Tola Showunmi before recovering and avoiding the howler. Nerves?
One thing you might have missed
The broadcasting crew, Devin Kerr and Mike Watts, once worked 235 Taylor Swift song titles into a Richmond Kickers vs. Maryland Bobcats U.S. Open Cup match. There was no such placement on Tuesday, though they were highly entertaining and mused on Gregg Berhalter at Detroit City FC's Keyworth Stadium, which has English League Two vibes about it.
We did get an Offspring "Keep 'Em Separated" reference, though. And then they hit with a Jelly Roll concern reference, saying that he'd play "Lighter" (the World Cup anthem) "nine or twelve times until you like it."
One nerdy tidbit
Louisville got to a 2-0 lead seven minutes faster than Violette FC did in the fateful Concacaf Champions Cup match on March 7, 2023, that still stands as Verde's most shocking cup competition loss.
Where this fits into the season's narrative
This was supposed to be Austin's reset and escape from the early challenges of the MLS regular season; instead, it's heaping more misery upon Estévez and his team.
A question we have heading into the press conference
What happened?
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 plays Louisville City on Tuesday at 6 pm CT to start its 2026 Open Cup campaign. The match comes at a moment in which the team's league form is far from ideal.
Austin FC head coach Nico Estévez talked about wanting to win versus what his team actually did on Saturday. We have some troubling data points bulleted for your consideration.
After two feel-good draws against two of the best teams in the league, Austin FC dropped a home match to a Galaxy team that hasn't won on the road in nearly 18 months. The loss leaves Verde winless in their last five.
You know this team, but with the offseason changes they made, perhaps you don't really know them. Here's an update on what the Galaxy bring to the table.
Austin FC started and ended its U.S. Open Cup journey on Tuesday night, ceding two first-half goals and ultimately falling 2-1 to Louisville City FC at Lynn Family Stadium in Louisville, Ky.
Damian Las got his first start for Verde's first team, in a stadium he's quite familiar with from two years of USL loan success, and Mateja "Hot Dog" Đorđević also got the start, but otherwise, it looked like a mostly first-choice lineup.
That didn't quite last long, though, with Dani Pereira suffering a leg injury inside of 10 minutes and having to sub off for Besard Šabović.
Verde got off some early chances, including a 13th-minute corner kick that ended up with Uzuni getting off a similar shot to the one he scored on Saturday against the Galaxy, that did not have the same good fortune.
They then weathered some scary moments, with Ray Serrano leaving Đorđević sitting on the turf during one attack on goal, and then Las having to come out to snuff out a Tola Showunmi attempt, and Evan Davila putting the rebound wide.
In the 25th minute, Las had to get down and make a kick save to keep Taylor Davila's shot from crossing the line. On the corner following, Taylor Davila found Sean Totsch elevating over Nicolás Dubersarsky to head in the opener.
Verde very nearly got an equalizer on a Facundo Torres corner kick to answer immediately after, but Guilherme Biro put the loose ball in front of goal wide.
But then, in the 32nd minute, Louisville set up down the right side and ended up freeing Showunmi to best Brendan Hines-Ike in front of goal and double the lead.
At halftime, Austin FC head coach Nico Estévez attempted to wrest some normalcy into his squad, subbing in Joseph Rosales for Đorđević.
Dubersarsky was able to draw a yellow card foul on Taylor Davila in the 52nd minute to blunt Louisville's momentum coming out of the break, even though Louisville continued to play more forward.
Torres was able to get a shot off several minutes later which was deflected but hung suspended in the air before bouncing unthreateningly off the crossbar.
In the 70th minute, Verde finally got its opening goal, with Rosales sending in a free kick and CJ Fodrey heading in for the finish.
Torres sent a 79th-minute cross in front of the six, but no teammates were there to meet it, and Louisville goalkeeper Hugo Fauroux was able to paw it away — which turned out to be one of Austin's best chances to equalize.
Stoppage time held a couple of surprises, including Fauroux holding the ball long enough for Verde to be awarded a corner, but the visitors weren't able to find the elusive second goal, and the match ended with the home crowd delighted.
Best Verde moment (that wasn’t a goal)
This might be cheating, but Rosales' free kick to lead to the goal was the best-placed pass that an Austin player managed all day, with Torres' wanting cross late in the match a close second.
Worst Verde moment (that wasn't a goal allowed)
It could have been (more) disastrous early: Las had a second-minute mishap on a goal kick where he nearly went down without the ball going anywhere, leaving him vulnerable to giving up a goal against a hard-charging Tola Showunmi before recovering and avoiding the howler. Nerves?
One thing you might have missed
The broadcasting crew, Devin Kerr and Mike Watts, once worked 235 Taylor Swift song titles into a Richmond Kickers vs. Maryland Bobcats U.S. Open Cup match. There was no such placement on Tuesday, though they were highly entertaining and mused on Gregg Berhalter at Detroit City FC's Keyworth Stadium, which has English League Two vibes about it.
We did get an Offspring "Keep 'Em Separated" reference, though. And then they hit with a Jelly Roll concern reference, saying that he'd play "Lighter" (the World Cup anthem) "nine or twelve times until you like it."
One nerdy tidbit
Louisville got to a 2-0 lead seven minutes faster than Violette FC did in the fateful Concacaf Champions Cup match on March 7, 2023, that still stands as Verde's most shocking cup competition loss.
Where this fits into the season's narrative
This was supposed to be Austin's reset and escape from the early challenges of the MLS regular season; instead, it's heaping more misery upon Estévez and his team.
A question we have heading into the press conference
What happened?
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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