Austin FC comes back to beat 10-man RSL in wild MLS playoff affair

This one should’ve been over sooner, but Austin will take any win in the postseason

Austin FC probably should have defeated Real Salt Lake long before penalties in a wild MLS first-round playoff match on Sunday.

But, despite playing more than half of the 120 minutes with a man advantage, Austin needed some heroics from Brad Stuver in the shootout to finally surpass RSL at Q2 Stadium, advancing to the conference semifinal against either FC Dallas or Minnesota United next weekend.

RSL was up two goals inside 15 minutes, but after Sebastián Driussi pulled one back for the home side, the game was turned on its head by a boneheaded red card for RSL’s Rubio Rubín just after halftime.

From there on it was pure survival mode for RSL and they nearly got there, but Driussi’s stoppage-time penalty rescued Austin’s season and sent the game into extra time tied 2-2.

Austin would end up with a whopping 38 total shots, outshooting RSL 25-3 in the 67 minutes following Rubín’s red. But it would take a shootout to finally vanquish RSL.

Sergio Córdova gave RSL the lead just three minutes in when he headed home a perfectly placed cross from Andrew Brody.

It went from bad to worse for the favored home side just 10 minutes later when Jhojan Valencia was called for a handball in the box after a VAR review, and Córdova stepped up to give RSL a two-goal lead from the spot less than 15 minutes in.

But Austin got back into the the match 15 minutes later and unsurprisingly, it was the team’s MVP candidate Driussi who produced an excellent glancing header from Diego Fagundez’s inswinging cross.

 

After a horrendous miss from substitute Emiliano Rigoni from inches away, the game turned on a moment of madness from Rubín. Already on a yellow, the striker made an ill-advised slide while stretching for a through ball that was out of reach and caught Stuver on the leg. Referee Victor Rivas had an easy decision to show a second yellow.

Down a man and with most of the second half left to play, RSL went into a defensive shell. Austin appeared stumped and the visitors were on their way to a famous victory until a stoppage-time twist gave the home side the lifeline they needed.

Scott Caldwell was whistled for a handball in the box, giving Driussi the chance to complete his brace from the penalty spot and send the game into extra time. He made no mistake, and it was 2-2.

The home side would nearly score in extra time but was frustrated time and again, with Driussi seeing a goal chalked off for offside after previously having a goal disallowed in regulation for a handball.

But ultimately Stuver proved the hero, saving two RSL penalties in the shootout and then watching Tate Schmitt’s spot kick fly over the bar to clinch the win for Austin.

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