THE VERDE REWIND: LOUISVILLE CITY
The Result: Louisville City 2-1 Austin FC
Austin FC's return to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup after last year's run to the Final experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly as Louisville City FC won their first match against an MLS team in eight years, eliminating the visitors and spoiling Austin Goalkeeper Damian Las' return to Kentucky with a 2-1 home win.
Austin FC midfielder Nico Dubersarsky vs Louisville City. Photo courtesy of Austin FC.
How it happened:
Austin FC's play was flat from the start, with one shot on target in the first half to counter two Louisville goals. Austin Manager Nico Estevez rolled out a half-rotated lineup from Saturday's 1-2 loss to the LA Galaxy, but with the same starting trio of Jayden Nelson, Myrto Uzuni, and Facundo Torres up front. Louisville peppered the Austin net with 9 shot attempts and 5 shots on target by halftime, with 3 saved by Las and goals by Center Back Sean Totsch and Center Forward Tola Showumni (his 4th of this USOC) six minutes apart.
The Second Half began like the first, with Louisville outplaying Austin and enjoying most of the offensive chances until the 70th minute, when last year's Open Cup hero CJ Fodrey won a free kick, to be taken by Joseph Rosales, and then headed it in to cut the hosts' lead to 2-1. It was only the 2nd shot on target in the match at that point for the Verde and Black. Austin continued to look for an equalizer, but Louisville remained resolute defensively and held on to secure the upset.
Austin FC forward CJ Fodrey and defender Jon Bell after the 2-1 running to the halfway line ready to restart the match. Photo courtesy of Austin FC.
Las, who spent the last two seasons on loan from Austin FC as Louisville's starting Goalkeeper, did what he could to keep Austin in the match. Including a big save on Louisville's Zach Duncan in the 83rd minute to keep the score 2-1. But, after failing to score a quick equalizer, Austin FC sputtered across the finish line as Louisville effectively controlled the final minutes. The Verde and Black recorded only 2 shots on target in the match, with 21 total touches in Louisville's box and a visibly slow pace and tempo for much of the match. Austin attempted 27 crosses at 26% accuracy, mirroring their main offensive tactic in last Saturday's home loss to the Galaxy.
Of additional concern is the health of Midfielder Daniel Pereira, who went down minutes into the match, favoring the same leg in which he suffered a hamstring injury earlier this season, and was replaced by Besard Sabovic. Pereira had only returned to the pitch as a late sub against the Galaxy. Austin still awaits the impending return of key players Owen Wolff and Brandon Vazquez. The Verde and Black will be hoping they can provide a spark to lift a team now more deeply mired in a poor start.
Analysis and What's Next:
This is the 2nd elimination in the US Open Cup for Austin FC at the hands of a USL team. After granting the Galaxy their first away win in 2024, Austin gave Louisville their first win over an MLS team since 2018. The Verde and Black have 9 goals in 8 total matches this season and continue to consistently underperform in that regard following a 2025 season where Estevez's squad only managed 35 goals in 34 MLS matches. In 2024, Estevez was relieved from his previous role as Manager of FC Dallas after a poor start in which FCD scored 10 goals in 10 matches.
Austin FC, currently 13th in the Western Conference, now travels to play Toronto FC (3-2-2) in a cross-conference match this Saturday, followed by what could be an extremely difficult midweek away match at San Jose (6-0-1) the following Wednesday. The Verde and Black return to Q2 Stadium to face Houston (2-0-4) the following Saturday.
