Owen Wolff’s first MLS goal was the difference as visiting Austin FC defeated Real Salt Lake 2-1 on Saturday in a rousing, back-and-forth, Western Conference match in Sandy, Utah.
Wolff, an 18-year-old midfielder in his third season with Austin FC and the son of Austin coach Josh Wolff, sent home a wicked, right-footed blast from outside the box and into the bottom-left corner of the goal in the 33rd minute off the hand of RSL goalkeeper Zac MacMath.
Daniel Pereira got the assist on Wolff’s goal for Austin (2-1-0, six points), which snaped a five-game road losing streak.
Wolff became part of the eighth father-son duo to each score in MLS.
Austin lit the board first in the match’s ninth minute when Jon Gallagher took an assist from Wolff, turned away from the defense and scored from distance with his left foot into the top-right corner past MacMath.
Real Salt Lake (1-2-0, three points) answered in the 22nd minute on Justen Glad’s right-footed shot from the left side of the 6-yard box to the bottom left corner that was too much for Austin keeper Brad Stuver to keep out of the net. The goal was assisted by Damir Kreilach with a headed pass following a corner from Andrew Brody.
Soon after Wolff’s goal, RSL’s Damir Kreilach was shown the red card for a rough tackle against Pereira. After VAR decision, the red was reversed to a yellow, allowing Kreilach to stay in the game.
The second half was scoreless but Real Salt Lake looked to have produced the equalizer in the 74th minute when Anderson Julio found the net but was flagged for being offside.
Austin’s Maximiliano Urruti hit the right post with a right-footed shot from the left side of the box in match’s final seconds, but the visitors had enough to hang on.
The match was RSL’s home opener and its second straight loss. RSL plays four of its next six, and six of its next nine matches at home.
–Field Level Media
