Following Austin FC's 2-0 win over Houston Dynamo FC on Saturday, the locker room was a subdued form of jovial, with victory thrusting Wednesday's 5-1 loss to San Jose a little bit deeper into the recesses. Some of the answers from players were almost shocking in their obviousness — letting in zero goals is better than letting in five goals, scoring a goal in front of a cheering crowd is fun, and one win does not a season make, even as satisfying as this one might have been.
"It's by no means the end of the season when we lose like that, five one to San Jose, and it's by no means that we're firmly in a playoff position," said Brendan Hines-Ike regarding the win. "It's good to finalize the week with a win, but at the same time, we have five more important games before the break, and we have to maximize points."
As one of the anchors of a defense that recorded the team's third shutout (and second shutout win) of the season, Hines-Ike explained that the team took a back-to-basics approach in shoring up a defense that, on Wednesday, gave up five goals in a 21-minute span after carrying a 1-0 lead into the 68th minute.
