Austin FC will carry a two-game winning streak into play when they travel north to play St. Louis City on Sunday afternoon.
Austin FC (3-2-0, 9 points) have never beaten St. Louis City, losing three of the four all-time matches between the sides with one draw. Austin FC’s only point in the matchup came in a 2-2 tie at home in March of last season.
The Verde heads to the road after a 2-1 home win over first-year side San Diego FC last Sunday. Brandon Vasquez and Jon Gallagher scored for Austin FC in the opening 19 minutes before they conceded in the 27th minute and held on behind a three-save effort from goalkeeper Brad Stuver.
The Verde have found a winning formula over the past two weeks, morphing from a team that played for possession in its first three games to just 30.4 percent possession against San Diego FC as coach Nico Estevez has stacked Austin to play on the counterattack.
“I’m learning through every week,” Estevez said. “Just trying to do my best to put every player in the best position to perform. I think we’re getting close to connecting all the dots, and then (we’ll) see a team that is really fun to watch.”
St. Louis City (2-1-2, 8 points) heads home after a 1-0 loss at Philadelphia last Saturday. They played the final 24 minutes a man down after midfielder Eduard Lowen drew two yellow cards within 11 minutes.
St. Louis City managed just one shot on goal but stayed in the match thanks to eight saves from keeper Ben Lundt.
“I was really disappointed with the start of the match. It was not what we agreed upon,” St. Louis City coach Olof Mellberg said. “After that we were chasing the game. We need better quality on the ball.
“We have improved since the preseason and we are getting better with every practice, every game. We still have a lot of work to do.”
St. Louis has allowed just one goal, the least of any team this season. Austin is tied for second in the league with just three goals allowed over five matches.
Prior to the loss in Philadelphia, St. Louis City had produced two shutout wins, against the Los Angeles Galaxy and Seattle Sounders, respectively. They opened the season with back-to-back scoreless draws to tie a league record with four consecutive clean sheets to open a season.
–Field Level Media
