Enemy Scouting Report - Austin FC
(image via Austin FC/Twitter)
The Houston Dynamo will open up the doors to the newly renovated and revamped Shell Energy Stadium this weekend. New seats, new concourse, new local food added to the menu; majority owner Ted Segal has done a lot of work to enhance the fan experience at the stadium. But now it’s general manager Pat Onstad and head coach Ben Olsen’s turn to to step up and energize the fan base by winning at home.
However, in-state rivals Austin FC will look to sour the party on Saturday night. Even after starting the season with a surprising defeat against newcomers St. Louis CITY SC and a devasting quick exit from the CONCACAF Champions League against a handicapped Violette AC from Haiti, Los Verdes are still pushing strong like they did last season.
Austin FC is a team hitting on all cylinders already to start of the season. However, they’ve taken some blows in their defensive group that has forced Josh Wolff to rotate his starting lineup early. This was never more evident than when a second string starting eleven appeared in the club’s first ever CONCACAF Champions League match against Violette AC, where they got embarrassed 3-0. Now the team will focus all their attention to the regular season where Sebastian Driussi looks to get another shot at finishing as the league’s MVP. In four matches played, Driussi has found the back of the net 3 times this season. However, Sebastian is not the only player that Houston will need to contain on Saturday, players like Emiliano Rigoni, Gyasi Zardes and defender Jon Gallagher, who loves to attack, are some of the players that will look to wreak havoc against the Dynamo.
Austin FC Record: 2W-1L-0D
Results in the last 30 days:
Feb. 25 – Austin FC 2-3 St. Louis CITY SC
Mar. 4 - Austin FC 1-0 CF Montreal
Mar. 7 - Violette AC 3-0 Austin FC (CCL)
Mar. 11 - Real Salt Lake 1-2 Austin FC
Mar. 14 - Austin FC 2-0 Violette AC (CCL)
Past Match Staring XI (from mlssoccer.com)
There will likely be some variation but look to see many of the players in the graphic starting.
2023 Active Roster
Goalkeepers: Matt Bersano, Brad Stuver, Damian Las
Defenders: Hector Jimenez, Amro Tarek, Nick Lima, Julio Cascante, AdamLundkvist, Jon Gallagher, Jhohan Romana, Zan Kolmanic, Kipp Keller, Charlie Asensio, Leo Vaisanen
Midfielders: Diego Fagundez, Ethan Finlay, Alex Ring, Daniel Pereira, Rodney Redes, Sebastian Driussi, Owen Wolff, Jhohjan Valencia, Sofiane Djeffal, CJ Fodrey, Emiliano Rigoni
Forwards: Will Bruin, Gyasi Zardes, Maximiliano Urruti, Alfonso Ocampo-Chavez, Moussa Djitte
Will the Houston Dynamo give the crowd a show and get their first points of the season?
