At the Whistle: Minnesota United FC 2, Austin FC 2
Verde got out to a 1-0 halftime lead on a Myrto Uzuni penalty kick, James had two assists to give Verde the lead, and then a former Loons legend provided Austin FC the equalizer.
In a rematch of the 2026 season opener, Myrto Uzuni put in an opening penalty kick, survived two separate Kelvin Yeboah penalty kicks, and then was plunged into a topsy-turvy, James-filled second half, eventually leading to a 2-2 draw between Austin FC and Minnesota United FC at Allianz Field on Sunday evening.
Verde started in similar fashion to the match prior, with Christian Ramírez and Uzuni up top, and with Owen Wolff, Dani Pereira, and Brandon Vázquez on the bench.
Uzuni nearly had the opener on an 11th-minute half-volley from a Ramírez back pass that Minnesota goalkeeper Drake Callender had to tip behind him over the bar for a corner kick. On the ensuing corner kick, Mikkel Desler got a shot off in the second phase that struck Nectarios Triantis in the left hand, outstretched from his body, visibly bending it back to necessitate the penalty shout.
That allowed Uzuni to step to the spot for Verde's first penalty kick of the season — and Uzuni's first attempt since his playoff mishap against LAFC to contribute to last season's ignoble end.
Then, in the 20th minute, former Minnesota player Joseph Rosales fouled former teammate Anthony Markanich in the box, leading to Yeboah stepping to the spot to equalize, leading to a crazy sequence requiring bullet points:
Stuver guessed right (to be technical, left) on Yeboah's attempt, blocking it after seeing how Yeboah was moving via a stutter step, but moved over the line doing so;
Markanich moved too quickly on his rebounded shot to be legal per soccer rules, which Stuver saved while still on the ground; but then
Tomas Chancalay fired in the rebound, triggering video review.
Referee Chris Penso determined Yeboah needed to retake the penalty, and banged it off the corner of the woodwork to keep the match 1-0 in Austin's favor.
Brendan Hines-Ike turned up with a non-contact injury in the 42nd, necessitating a first-half sub (this, for Jon Bell) for the sixth time this season.
On the restart from the sub, the Loons got a chance on a set piece, with Jefferson Diaz getting a head to a ball- in and glancing it off the post — which preceded the hilarious announcement of 12 minutes of first-half stoppage time.
Despite some delicious opportunities during that yawing stretch of time, the half ended 1-0.
Out of the break, Minnesota looked immediately more active, but then Verde engineered some chances to double the lead, including a 54th-minute Rosales shot blasted into the stadium's north end. (The beer hall end, not the Wonderwall end.)
In the 63rd minute, the Loons made a fascinating double sub, getting James and Wil Trapp on for Chancalay and Triantis.
In the 69th minute, the Loons equalized with James' first goal contribution, lofting a far-post assist to Markanich, who elevated over Ilie to head in the initial goal. Austin FC head coach Nico Estévez answered by getting Wolff and Pereira on for Ilie and Jon Gallagher a minute later.
Then, in the 77th, James and Pereyra executed a give-and-go that left every Austin defender flat-footed, taking the lead.
Then, Ramírez popped up in the 79th to get an equalizer against his former team, with Facundo Torres popping up with the assist after Guilherme Biro got a dangerous cross in to get the play moving.
To make things even more interesting, Michael Boxall was inserted in the match in the 80th minute and within several minutes of insertion, blocked an Uzuni shot that was a potential match winner.
Ramírez gave way to Vázquez in the 84th minute, and then when Bell came off for a concussion injury in the 89th minute, he was held on the sideline not allowed to come back in — which also sidelined Yeboah, as Bell and Yeboah clashing heads created the situation in, leading to an entertaining "Free Yeboah" chant from the crowd.
Žan Kolmanič was then a sub-for-a-sub in stoppage time, which also allowed Yeboah to get back in. But Verde was able to hold off the subsequent threats, not providing any of their own, to see out the draw.
Best Verde moment (that wasn’t a goal)
It was lost to the sands of VAR, and it still would have resulted in a goal given up should the play have stood, but Stuver's double save on Yeboah's first chaotic penalty attempt should further make Stuver's case to return to the All-Star Game (and we're still naively making the case to add him to the USMNT World Cup roster).
Worst Verde moment (that wasn't a goal allowed)
The Rosales foul to start the PK chaos looked decidedly soft, but there's no reason to put your team in such a situation (even though it worked out). I'm not saying Rosales is a double agent, but he's been smarter in every other match this season.
One thing you might have missed
Wait, did we learn before the match that Chris Penso was a former Ohio state trooper and then a Democratic mayoral candidate who lost the 2007 race in Dover, Ohio, to a Republican incumbent by seven votes?
One nerdy tidbit
The first half ended with six yellow cards — four for the Loons.
Where this fits into the season's narrative
A draw at Minnesota feels right, making it three unbeaten and a point gained, but it still leaves Verde under the playoff line, with the maximum possible at the World Cup break parked at 23. (That would, though, be 23 after 15 matches, which feels like a playoff-making performance, provided that Houston and LA above them drop points.)
A question we have heading into the press conference
Why did Estévez wait seven key minutes — and only after the equalizer was scored — to not match Minnesota's double midfield sub with one of his own?
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 and Minnesota United FC resume what's been a fun series to follow on Sunday night. We get some intel about the Loons, including insights on why James didn't work out.
Both Christian Ramírez and Myrto Uzuni are approaching their 2025 goal contribution totals this season. How does that compare to what the underlying per-90 numbers say?
The first goal took a while to arrive ... and it was very nearly a St. Louis goal in transition. But the shutout win is giving Austin FC more confidence heading into two straight away matches.
It took a while for Austin FC to score — but then the hosts did so, twice, leading to a second straight win. Three long-absent players also saw minutes for Verde in the effort.
In a rematch of the 2026 season opener, Myrto Uzuni put in an opening penalty kick, survived two separate Kelvin Yeboah penalty kicks, and then was plunged into a topsy-turvy, James-filled second half, eventually leading to a 2-2 draw between Austin FC and Minnesota United FC at Allianz Field on Sunday evening.
Verde started in similar fashion to the match prior, with Christian Ramírez and Uzuni up top, and with Owen Wolff, Dani Pereira, and Brandon Vázquez on the bench.
Uzuni nearly had the opener on an 11th-minute half-volley from a Ramírez back pass that Minnesota goalkeeper Drake Callender had to tip behind him over the bar for a corner kick. On the ensuing corner kick, Mikkel Desler got a shot off in the second phase that struck Nectarios Triantis in the left hand, outstretched from his body, visibly bending it back to necessitate the penalty shout.
That allowed Uzuni to step to the spot for Verde's first penalty kick of the season — and Uzuni's first attempt since his playoff mishap against LAFC to contribute to last season's ignoble end.
Then, in the 20th minute, former Minnesota player Joseph Rosales fouled former teammate Anthony Markanich in the box, leading to Yeboah stepping to the spot to equalize, leading to a crazy sequence requiring bullet points:
Referee Chris Penso determined Yeboah needed to retake the penalty, and banged it off the corner of the woodwork to keep the match 1-0 in Austin's favor.
Brendan Hines-Ike turned up with a non-contact injury in the 42nd, necessitating a first-half sub (this, for Jon Bell) for the sixth time this season.
On the restart from the sub, the Loons got a chance on a set piece, with Jefferson Diaz getting a head to a ball- in and glancing it off the post — which preceded the hilarious announcement of 12 minutes of first-half stoppage time.
Despite some delicious opportunities during that yawing stretch of time, the half ended 1-0.
Out of the break, Minnesota looked immediately more active, but then Verde engineered some chances to double the lead, including a 54th-minute Rosales shot blasted into the stadium's north end. (The beer hall end, not the Wonderwall end.)
In the 63rd minute, the Loons made a fascinating double sub, getting James and Wil Trapp on for Chancalay and Triantis.
In the 69th minute, the Loons equalized with James' first goal contribution, lofting a far-post assist to Markanich, who elevated over Ilie to head in the initial goal. Austin FC head coach Nico Estévez answered by getting Wolff and Pereira on for Ilie and Jon Gallagher a minute later.
Then, in the 77th, James and Pereyra executed a give-and-go that left every Austin defender flat-footed, taking the lead.
Then, Ramírez popped up in the 79th to get an equalizer against his former team, with Facundo Torres popping up with the assist after Guilherme Biro got a dangerous cross in to get the play moving.
To make things even more interesting, Michael Boxall was inserted in the match in the 80th minute and within several minutes of insertion, blocked an Uzuni shot that was a potential match winner.
Ramírez gave way to Vázquez in the 84th minute, and then when Bell came off for a concussion injury in the 89th minute, he was held on the sideline not allowed to come back in — which also sidelined Yeboah, as Bell and Yeboah clashing heads created the situation in, leading to an entertaining "Free Yeboah" chant from the crowd.
Žan Kolmanič was then a sub-for-a-sub in stoppage time, which also allowed Yeboah to get back in. But Verde was able to hold off the subsequent threats, not providing any of their own, to see out the draw.
Best Verde moment (that wasn’t a goal)
It was lost to the sands of VAR, and it still would have resulted in a goal given up should the play have stood, but Stuver's double save on Yeboah's first chaotic penalty attempt should further make Stuver's case to return to the All-Star Game (and we're still naively making the case to add him to the USMNT World Cup roster).
Worst Verde moment (that wasn't a goal allowed)
The Rosales foul to start the PK chaos looked decidedly soft, but there's no reason to put your team in such a situation (even though it worked out). I'm not saying Rosales is a double agent, but he's been smarter in every other match this season.
One thing you might have missed
Wait, did we learn before the match that Chris Penso was a former Ohio state trooper and then a Democratic mayoral candidate who lost the 2007 race in Dover, Ohio, to a Republican incumbent by seven votes?
One nerdy tidbit
The first half ended with six yellow cards — four for the Loons.
Where this fits into the season's narrative
A draw at Minnesota feels right, making it three unbeaten and a point gained, but it still leaves Verde under the playoff line, with the maximum possible at the World Cup break parked at 23. (That would, though, be 23 after 15 matches, which feels like a playoff-making performance, provided that Houston and LA above them drop points.)
A question we have heading into the press conference
Why did Estévez wait seven key minutes — and only after the equalizer was scored — to not match Minnesota's double midfield sub with one of his own?
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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