Austin FC was unable to overcome a first-half onslaught from FC Dallas, losing at home five-to-three. Dallas scored four goals in the first half, including three in the span of about five minutes. The Verde and Black scored two early in the second to get back in the match, but could not finish the comeback.
Dallas opened the scoring early in the fifth minute after some nervy moments to start from both sides. Ricardo Pepi pressured Brad Stuver, and Jesus Ferreira was able to pounce on the ball to give FCD an early lead.
Austin quickly found its answer in the 13th minute. After a set piece, Cascante stayed in the final third and the recycled ball eventually landed on the left foot of Žan Kolmanič. The Slovenian fired in a cross that got to the head of Cascante and the center back redirected the header back to the far post. It was his first goal for the Verde & Black.
The teams traded plenty of chances over the next 20 minutes before Dallas took the lead again. After building up through the Austin midfield, Szabolcs Schön hit Ricardo Pepi with a pass just inside the top of the box and the 18-year-old slotted his shot into the bottom left corner. Two (2) minutes later Ferreira added his second of the match off a rebound to put Dallas up 3-1.
Dallas went up 4-1 before the break when Pepi found himself in open space after being played through to Stuver. The US international finished his second of the match and 11th on the season.
The score jumped to 5-1 in the 53rd minute when Jáder Obrian ended up through on goal after a goal kick. The winger didn’t make a mistake and scored another one for the visitors.
Austin got one back in the 59th minute off a high press. Sebastián Driussi won the ball off a tackle and slipped a ball to Diego Fagundez, who timed his run perfectly. Fagundez scored and tied Cecilio Domínguez for the team lead with five (5) goals.
ATXFC poured on the pressure after the goal, and found its third goal in the 68th minute. Driussi hooked up with Hector Jimenez and the substitute’s cross hit Alex Ring perfectly. The captain headed the ball down and past Phelipe Megiolaro to bring the scoreline to 5-3.
Josh Wolff’s team continued to push over the final 20-plus minutes, but it could not find more goals to earn a hard-earned point at home.
Up next for the club is a trip to Canada to face the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday.
Goal-Scoring Summary
DAL (0-1) – Jesús Ferreira 5’ (unassisted)
ATX (1-1) – Julio Cascante 13’ (assisted by Žan Kolmanič, Nick Lima)
DAL (1-2) – Ricardo Pepi 36’ (assisted by Szabolcs Schön)
DAL (1-3) – Jesús Ferreira 38’ (unassisted)
DAL (1-4) – Ricardo Pepi 40’ (assisted by Szabolcs Schön)
DAL (1-5) – Jáder Obrian 53’ (unassisted)
ATX (2-5) – Diego Fagundez 59’ (assisted by Sebastián Driussi)
ATX (3-5) – Alex Ring 68’ (assisted by Hector Jimenez)