AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin FC picked up its first-ever victory in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup with a 2-0 win over New Mexico United on Wednesday at Q2 Stadium.
After falling in their first-ever U.S. Open Cup match last year 2-1 to San Antonio FC, Verde and Black righted the ship in the tournament and advanced to the Round of 16 with the win. They’ll face the Chicago Fire in the next round either May 23 or 24 at Q2 Stadium, adding to an already-hectic May schedule of games. The specific date and time of the next match will be announced later.
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Rodney Redes and Maxi Urruti provided the offense, and it’s the third consecutive match across all competitions that Austin FC has scored at least two goals.
“It was a good example of what we’ve been building off in the past few matches,” Austin FC head coach Josh Wolff said. “We created a lot of chances, got some goals and it was good to see Rodney contribute and Maxi worked tirelessly.”
Redes got Verde and Black on the board in the 24th minute after a perfect corner kick by Emiliano Rigoni. Rigoni swung a corner in toward the near post, and Redes stepped to the ball and rose up. He clipped it with a header and it sailed over the New Mexico United keeper into the far post and the side of the net. It was the first goal of Redes’ career with Austin FC.
Rigoni had a hand in Austin’s second goal as well. He started an attack with a run down the middle, then he played a ball down the left flank for Adam Lundkvist. Lundkvist collected the pass and served a cross directly to Urruti who put it in with ease from about 8 yards away in the 36th minute.
Wolff said he was able to manage minutes and get substitutes into the match in the second half to keep guys relatively fresh. Julio Cascante played the entire second half to give Leo Vaisanen some rest and Sofiane Djeffal came on in the 63rd minute to give Dani Pereira a break. Alexsandar Radovanovic made his Austin FC debut when he was subbed in for Alex Ring to start the second half and Ethan Finlay went in for Rigoni in the 63rd minute.
“The Open Cup is about getting the win, first and foremost, and getting guys through it healthy,” Wolff said. “We did some of the things we’ve been working on, and I think from that standpoint, everybody is pretty pleased.”
Austin FC outshot New Mexico 13-9 with eight of the shots on goal. New Mexico had to clear the ball 28 times to Austin’s six and New Mexico was caught offside three times.
Verde and Black are back on the field in a hurry, hosting FC Dallas on Saturday in MLS play.