Enemy Scouting Report - Austin FC
(image via Austin FC)
The Houston Dynamo bounced back with a win in Minnesota after seeing their win streak snapped by Chicago two weeks ago. Houston has won two of their three regular season road games so far this season. Such away success is new territory for the Dynamo, that is for sure. Now, Austin FC will visit Shell Energy Stadium and take on the Houston Dynamo for the first time in 2024.
Austin is coming off a road loss against St. Louis CITY SC last week. Los Verdes have not had the best of starts this season, with their only wins coming against the two bottom of the table teams in the Western Conference. Josh Wolff is in his fourth season as the head coach of the club and many fans wonder if the glamour has worn off in the state capital. Last season saw the team miss the playoffs after having a tremendous 2022 season. While some of the faces remain the same from that fantastic year, the form has not.
The spine of the team still includes Julio Cascante, Alexander Ring, and Sebastian Driussi but several new players around them will look to make an impact this season and beat Houston on Saturday. Guilherme Biro and Brendan Hines-Ike were signed during the offseason to bolster Austin’s defensive woes. Guilherme was brought in on a free from Mirassol FC from the Brazilian Serie B. Brendan was acquired as a free agent after his contract with DC United had ended. Both have seen plenty of minutes in the starting lineup under Wolff. As far as helping the attack, MLS veteran Diego Rubio was brought in. Diego is a well-known playmaker in the league after spending time with Sporting Kansas City and most recently with the Colorado Rapids. The Chilean attacker hopes to sync with Sebastian Driussi and revitalize the team and the city of Austin.
Austin FC Record: 2W-3D-3L
Results in the last 30 days:
March 16 - Austin 2-2 Philadelphia
March 23 - Orlando 2-0 Austin
March 30 - Austin 2-1 Dallas
April 6 - Austin 4-3 San Jose
April 14 - St. Louis 1-0 Austin
Past Match Staring XI (from fotmob.com)
There will likely be some variation but look to see many of the players in the graphic starting.
2024 Active Roster
Goalkeepers: Brad Stuver, Matt Bersano, Stefan Cleveland
Defenders: Matt Hedges, Brendan Hines-Ike, Leo Vaisanen, Hector Jimenez, Jon Gallagher, Zan Kolmanic, Guilherme Biro, Salvatore Mazzaferro, Antonio Gomez
Midfielders: Jhojan Valencia, Daniel Pereira, Emiliano Rigoni, Alexander Ring, Sebastian Driussi, Ethan Finlay, CJ Fodrey, Valentin Noel, Micah Burton, Owen Wolff
Forwards: Gyasi Zardes, Jader Obrian, Diego Rubio, Jimmy Farkarlun
Will the Houston Dynamo win in Hector Herrera’s awaited return?
