Ethan Finlay recorded a goal and an assist within the first 17 minutes, and Sebastian Driussi scored his 11th goal of the season as Austin FC won its fourth straight road match 3-0 over struggling Atlanta United FC on Saturday night.
Even with Driussi and fellow star Maximiliano Urruti sitting to open the match, Austin (11-4-4, 37 points) struck via Felipe Martins in the ninth minute.
Finlay then increased the lead in the 17th after assisting on the opening tally for Austin, which completed a sweep of a three-match road swing at Charlotte FC, Colorado and Atlanta.
Among the top scorers in MLS, Driussi struck in the 57th minute on a rebound of Urruti’s shot that hit the near post. Amid a 4-0-1 overall stretch, upstart Austin is 7-1-3 on the road in 2022.
Atlanta (5-8-5, 20 points) recorded 19 shots, including four on target, but couldn’t convert any of them, dropping to 0-3-1 since a 2-0 home victory over Inter Miami CF on June 19. It’s the second time this season Atlanta has been shut out at home.
Controlling the ball in the Atlanta end, Finlay crossed to an unmarked Martins, who converted a header from 8-yards out less than 10 minutes into the contest. Just minutes later, Finlay found himself on the receiving end.
From below the box, Austin’s Diego Fagundez crossed in front of the Atlanta net. However, United’s Caleb Wiley didn’t get enough of his foot on the ball to clear. It then came to Finlay, who easily delivered his second goal in two games.
Atlanta showed life late in the first half and finally recorded its first shot on target thanks to Josef Martinez, whose shot floated into the hands of Austin goalkeeper Brad Stuver just before the halftime whistle.
United kept the pressure coming in the second half, but after Druissi’s goal, Stuver made key stops on George Campbell on the hour mark, and Luiz Araujo and Martinez in the 65th.
–Field Level Media
