No second star (yet): A first look back at Austin FC II's playoff exit
Austin FC II lost via a heartbreaking stoppage-time goal at home on Sunday night to end its playoff run. Head coach Jason Shackell saw it, ultimately, as a learning opportunity for his players.
Sometimes, late goals giveth, and sometimes, late goals taketh away.
Just a week after Austin FC II got an 88th-minute goal from Patrick Gryczewski to get its first home playoff win in its history, Austin FC II gave up a stoppage-time goal to LAFC 2's Sebastian Nava on Sunday night for a 1-0 defeat and a heartbreaking playoff exit — ending the season's quest for a second star and a chance to host an MLS Next Pro Cup the day after the first team's Decision Day.
While it's been a remarkable season for Austin FC II — finishing the season atop the league with a 19W 3L 6D record (with two shootout wins), for an impressive 65 points — the loss stung for a squad that's had its share of challenges, including two of its early season stars, Ervin Torres and Jorge Alastuey, graduating to the first team, and Djaka Barro suffering a season-ending injury after taking the mantle as team captain.
MLS Next Pro Coach of the Year Jason Shackell, speaking to Verde All Day's Moisés Chiullán after the match, expressed disappointment while acknowledging that a playoff loss provides a painful yet powerful learning lessson to players still developing.
"It is a learning experience," he said. "They get to feel what it's like to be in a playoff game, and sometimes that there's the pain of getting dumped out the competition. It's a real growing moment. They're going to feel this, and it just shows if you come off your level a little bit, there are some really good teams, and LAFC 2 deserve the deserved the win today. Again, we'll sit down and analyze it like we always do, and and have a look at what we can do about it.
"They put in a great effort," he added. "Super proud of the effort they put in, and when you leave a tournament, it's really tricky. But, gain, they've got to grow and they've got to learn that these opportunities,when they come around, you've got to try your best to to grasp them. As much as we didn't play as well as we can, I'm super proud of the work ethic as always. They tried, they kept fighting to the end, and that's all you can ever ask for."
LAFC 2 will go on to a Western Conference final on Oct. 30 doubling as an El Tráficito (do they call it that? can we call it that?) against Galaxy-affiliated Ventura County FC, which vanquished Austin FC II's kryptonite team, Minnesota United FC 2, en route to the conference final. The winner faces the Eastern Conference championship (either Chattanooga FC or Columbus Crew 2) in the title match — which is most likely on Nov. 8, despite the official league site declaring it TBD.
Strangely, Crown Legacy FC, the East's top seed, was knocked out by the Crew 2 on Sunday, leaving them the highest-remaining seed in the tournament. The West final is actually a 3-6 match, which, with normal playoff seeding, would have been a first-round match. But because of the pick-your-opponent format which is one of the league's most fun features, LAFC 2 started its journey by knocking out Dynamo 2 in penalty kicks, preventing the possibility of VerDos facing off against its rivals.
For now, there's definitely a bit of "what could have been" permeating across the fan base, but there's also recognition for an amazing season and questions about what next year's squad will look like — starting with its own sprint season, with newly-arriving first-team head coach Jim Curtin likely influencing second-team matters.
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, and join us on Instagram to get updates on all our stories and podcast releases.
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Sometimes, late goals giveth, and sometimes, late goals taketh away.
Just a week after Austin FC II got an 88th-minute goal from Patrick Gryczewski to get its first home playoff win in its history, Austin FC II gave up a stoppage-time goal to LAFC 2's Sebastian Nava on Sunday night for a 1-0 defeat and a heartbreaking playoff exit — ending the season's quest for a second star and a chance to host an MLS Next Pro Cup the day after the first team's Decision Day.
While it's been a remarkable season for Austin FC II — finishing the season atop the league with a 19W 3L 6D record (with two shootout wins), for an impressive 65 points — the loss stung for a squad that's had its share of challenges, including two of its early season stars, Ervin Torres and Jorge Alastuey, graduating to the first team, and Djaka Barro suffering a season-ending injury after taking the mantle as team captain.
MLS Next Pro Coach of the Year Jason Shackell, speaking to Verde All Day's Moisés Chiullán after the match, expressed disappointment while acknowledging that a playoff loss provides a painful yet powerful learning lessson to players still developing.
"It is a learning experience," he said. "They get to feel what it's like to be in a playoff game, and sometimes that there's the pain of getting dumped out the competition. It's a real growing moment. They're going to feel this, and it just shows if you come off your level a little bit, there are some really good teams, and LAFC 2 deserve the deserved the win today. Again, we'll sit down and analyze it like we always do, and and have a look at what we can do about it.
"They put in a great effort," he added. "Super proud of the effort they put in, and when you leave a tournament, it's really tricky. But, gain, they've got to grow and they've got to learn that these opportunities,when they come around, you've got to try your best to to grasp them. As much as we didn't play as well as we can, I'm super proud of the work ethic as always. They tried, they kept fighting to the end, and that's all you can ever ask for."
LAFC 2 will go on to a Western Conference final on Oct. 30 doubling as an El Tráficito (do they call it that? can we call it that?) against Galaxy-affiliated Ventura County FC, which vanquished Austin FC II's kryptonite team, Minnesota United FC 2, en route to the conference final. The winner faces the Eastern Conference championship (either Chattanooga FC or Columbus Crew 2) in the title match — which is most likely on Nov. 8, despite the official league site declaring it TBD.
Strangely, Crown Legacy FC, the East's top seed, was knocked out by the Crew 2 on Sunday, leaving them the highest-remaining seed in the tournament. The West final is actually a 3-6 match, which, with normal playoff seeding, would have been a first-round match. But because of the pick-your-opponent format which is one of the league's most fun features, LAFC 2 started its journey by knocking out Dynamo 2 in penalty kicks, preventing the possibility of VerDos facing off against its rivals.
For now, there's definitely a bit of "what could have been" permeating across the fan base, but there's also recognition for an amazing season and questions about what next year's squad will look like — starting with its own sprint season, with newly-arriving first-team head coach Jim Curtin likely influencing second-team matters.
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, and join us on Instagram to get updates on all our stories and podcast releases.
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