Austin FC rolls into the Emerald City in total roller-coaster form, fresh off advancing in the Leagues Cup but absolutely sputtering in league play. They’re sitting at a dismal 1-6-1 in their last eight MLS games. The gut punch? Under interim head coach Davy Arnaud, their *only* win in league play has been against our very own Seattle Sounders. You heard that right.
Verde’s Split Personality: Cup Winners, League Losers
It’s like Austin FC is playing two different seasons right now. In the Leagues Cup, they’ve been on fire, racking up two wins and even grabbing a penalty shootout victory over Club América. That sent them straight to the quarterfinals. But flip to MLS, and it’s a completely different story. They’ve gone 1-4-0 under interim coach Arnaud, with their lone victory, of course, coming at our expense. On the injury front, Owen Wolff’s bad luck continues with an ankle injury from a Leagues Cup match, but at least Jon Bell’s mysterious pubis injury is finally healed up. Good for him, I guess.
Young Guns and Goalies, While the Coach Plays Favorites
Despite their struggles, Austin’s got some talent that can absolutely hurt you. Eighteen-year-old homegrown standout Ervin Torres has been a revelation, bossing the midfield and even snagging his first goal recently. Then there’s Myrto Uzuni, their only reliable Designated Player, who went on a tear with a hat trick against Puebla and another goal against América. And you can’t forget Brad Stuver, their keeper. His goals-against numbers aren’t pretty, but that’s just because he’s constantly under fire. The man makes incredible saves and cleans up rebounds like a basketball player.
But here’s the kicker: Austin’s biggest concern right now isn’t the players, it’s their coach, Arnaud, and his wild rotation strategy. Or lack thereof. He only swapped out two players between their América and Dallas games, and the team looked totally gassed, losing 1-0 in first-half stoppage time. Jayden Nelson, who’s been looking like their most impactful player since coming back from the World Cup, is criminally underused.
So, what’s Arnaud going to do for our match? With a Leagues Cup knockout game looming next Wednesday and a home game against Philly on Saturday, you’d think he’d spread the minutes around. But the word is, he only trusts a handful of guys in his new inverted wingback system. Our Sounders need to be ready for an Austin team that might be tired, but also fired up because they know they can get a result against us. Let’s make sure that doesn’t happen again in the Emerald City.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Sounder at Heart.
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