With a contingent of several hundred Verde faithful cheering them on in a corner of Snapdragon Stadium, Austin FC made its first-ever trip to play expansion side San Diego FC. Luca de la Torre scored at the hour mark and Milan Iloski delivered a stoppage-time insurance goal to give the hosts a 2-0 win over Verde, who are now eight matches without a win, finishing 0-3-4 in what ended up being a futile May.
In the first half, San Diego engineered a few dangerous chances but Verde did well to snuff them out, including Julio Cascante sliding in to break up a connection between Luca Bombino and Onni Valakari that might have resulted in a goal.
Austin, conversely, didn't have much of the ball in the first half — though that wasn't surprising given SDFC's propensity to possess and this being a match in which bunkering and countering was evidently the best approach to take. They also absorbed some late first-half pressure (see worst Verde moments that weren't goals below) to get to halftime without giving up a goal.
Verde nearly scored almost straight out of halftime, with Osman Bukari keeping a play alive by lofting a ball into Brandon Vázquez, who headed in a shot in front of goal that CJ dos Santos needed to save — Austin FC's first shot on goal all match.
But their defense failed an hour in, with Hirving "Chucky" Lozano leading a break and de la Torre being the beneficiary, making a late run into open space to get off a high-percentage shot that went in.
Head coach Nico Estévez infused some life into the lineup with a 72nd-minute triple sub getting Diego Rubio, Robert Taylor, and Mikkel Desler into the match, ending the nights for Vázquez, Jon Gallagher, and Nicolás Dubersarksky, and Austin got off two chances almost immediately after, courtesy of Myrto Uzuni and Dani Pereira.
By the 80th minute, Estévez removed his other two designated players, with Jáder Obrian and CJ Fodrey spelling Bukari and Uzuni. But the most dangerous chance the rest of the 90 came from a Marcus Ingvartsen header that Brad Stuver saved, and then Iloski got the insurance goal in stoppage time.
Best Verde moment (that wasn’t a goal)
Dani Pereira nearly scored a banger from distance in the sixth minute and didn't even injure his hip flexor doing it.
Worst Verde moment (that wasn't a goal allowed)
Verde let Alejandro Alvarado in toward goal in the 37th minute on a recycled chance, and his resulting bicycle kick just went over the bar. Three minutes later, Dreyer just went wide similarly free to shoot, though he had a more standard approach on his attempt.
Where this fits into the season's narrative
We're now at the halfway point of the 2025 season, and with the result, Austin's at 5-7-5 on the season, on pace for just 22 goals.
One nerdy tidbit
About 20 minutes in, Apple TV did a touch comparison between Lozano and Uzuni. Lozano already had 10 touches; Uzuni had a mere two. The two would, speaking of touching, collide in the 28th minute, resulting in a dangerous free kick opportunity that sizzled just wide of the post. (Uzuni would finish with 19 touches in another mostly quiet outing.)
A question we have heading into the press conference
Defensive lapses and offensive struggles are defining the 2025 season – I'm wondering how Estévez sees this first half of the season, and what gives him believe that this could be a team that peaks toward the end of the season to make noise in the playoffs.
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.
With a contingent of several hundred Verde faithful cheering them on in a corner of Snapdragon Stadium, Austin FC made its first-ever trip to play expansion side San Diego FC. Luca de la Torre scored at the hour mark and Milan Iloski delivered a stoppage-time insurance goal to give the hosts a 2-0 win over Verde, who are now eight matches without a win, finishing 0-3-4 in what ended up being a futile May.
In the first half, San Diego engineered a few dangerous chances but Verde did well to snuff them out, including Julio Cascante sliding in to break up a connection between Luca Bombino and Onni Valakari that might have resulted in a goal.
Austin, conversely, didn't have much of the ball in the first half — though that wasn't surprising given SDFC's propensity to possess and this being a match in which bunkering and countering was evidently the best approach to take. They also absorbed some late first-half pressure (see worst Verde moments that weren't goals below) to get to halftime without giving up a goal.
Verde nearly scored almost straight out of halftime, with Osman Bukari keeping a play alive by lofting a ball into Brandon Vázquez, who headed in a shot in front of goal that CJ dos Santos needed to save — Austin FC's first shot on goal all match.
But their defense failed an hour in, with Hirving "Chucky" Lozano leading a break and de la Torre being the beneficiary, making a late run into open space to get off a high-percentage shot that went in.
Head coach Nico Estévez infused some life into the lineup with a 72nd-minute triple sub getting Diego Rubio, Robert Taylor, and Mikkel Desler into the match, ending the nights for Vázquez, Jon Gallagher, and Nicolás Dubersarksky, and Austin got off two chances almost immediately after, courtesy of Myrto Uzuni and Dani Pereira.
By the 80th minute, Estévez removed his other two designated players, with Jáder Obrian and CJ Fodrey spelling Bukari and Uzuni. But the most dangerous chance the rest of the 90 came from a Marcus Ingvartsen header that Brad Stuver saved, and then Iloski got the insurance goal in stoppage time.
Best Verde moment (that wasn’t a goal)
Dani Pereira nearly scored a banger from distance in the sixth minute and didn't even injure his hip flexor doing it.
Worst Verde moment (that wasn't a goal allowed)
Verde let Alejandro Alvarado in toward goal in the 37th minute on a recycled chance, and his resulting bicycle kick just went over the bar. Three minutes later, Dreyer just went wide similarly free to shoot, though he had a more standard approach on his attempt.
Where this fits into the season's narrative
We're now at the halfway point of the 2025 season, and with the result, Austin's at 5-7-5 on the season, on pace for just 22 goals.
One nerdy tidbit
About 20 minutes in, Apple TV did a touch comparison between Lozano and Uzuni. Lozano already had 10 touches; Uzuni had a mere two. The two would, speaking of touching, collide in the 28th minute, resulting in a dangerous free kick opportunity that sizzled just wide of the post. (Uzuni would finish with 19 touches in another mostly quiet outing.)
A question we have heading into the press conference
Defensive lapses and offensive struggles are defining the 2025 season – I'm wondering how Estévez sees this first half of the season, and what gives him believe that this could be a team that peaks toward the end of the season to make noise in the playoffs.
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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