WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: HOUSTON
Welcome back to What You Need To Know, a match preview for Austin FC fans to check in on their next opponent.
Opponent: Houston Dynamo
KICKOFF time: 7:39 PM
Location: Shell Energy Stadium, Houston, TX
Austin FC midfielder Ervin Torres. Photo courtesy of Chris Rodriguez (RDZ Flickz)
History vs. Austin FC:
Austin FC are 8-1-5 (W-D-L) against Houston all-time, including 2-0-4 at Shell Energy Stadium. Earlier this season, they beat the Dynamo 2-0 thanks to goals from Jayden Nelson and Myrto Uzuni.
Recent Matches:
The Dynamo drew DC United 1-1 at Shell Energy Stadium on Wednesday. They’re currently in 7th place in the Western Conference.
Players to Watch:
Duncan McGuire
The former Orlando City striker came to Houston on July 10 after a disappointing 2025 and start to 2026. He was part of one of the weirder transfer stories where he flew to England to join Blackburn Rovers only for the deal to fall through because they clicked ‘save’ instead of ‘submit” on an application. He’s here to start at striker over failed Designated Player signing Ezekiel Ponce (0 MLS goals in 14 appearances).
Mateusz Bogusz
You may remember him as Denis Bouanga’s best attacking partner for LAFC a couple of seasons ago, and after a move to Cruz Azul where he struggled for playing time, he’s back in MLS and at a team that will allow him to be an inside forward attacking player and hoping him and McGuire can form an attacking partnership for one of the few teams who has scored less than Austin FC this season.
Jack McGlynn
One of my favorite MLS players, the 23-year-old has a left foot with unlimited passing and shooting range and precision. He will take almost all of Houston’s corners and free kicks, and their midfield (Hector Herrera, Artur) is designed for him to be able to be the most forward of the three and contribute to the attack.
Keys to the Match:
The Benefits of Youth
This Wednesday Austin FC won 3-1 thanks to two assists from 18-year-old Ervin Torres, who was able to use some youthful exuberance to spring Myrto Uzuni on a through ball and then next time get it to Christian Ramirez in a dangerous position to seal the win. Many of us have wanted to see Torres on the field more (I’ve said it on the TopFlight Pod multiple times), but due to the roster construction, he was buried in the depth chart behind more expensive players (and a Sporting Director who seemingly had a vendetta against playing FC2 players with the first team). As I mentioned last week, Austin’s midfield is wide open for players to show their abilities and Ervin definitely did in front of the home fans on Wednesday, even if he was snubbed for Man of the Match.
Winless
Austin FC is winless on the road this season (0-3-5, GD -15), including a 5-0 loss at San Diego, a 3-0 loss at St Louis, and a 5-1 defeat to San Jose. This is a stark difference to their 4-2-2 home record and a big reason why they are 14th in the Conference. The team played with great energy and effort on Wednesday despite the sweltering heat. Still, we need to see them bring that same energy and effort in their travel bags for this team even to sniff a playoff spot or have a chance at being the first three-time winners of Copa Tejas.
Strike Force
Myrto Uzuni and Christian Ramirez both scored on Wednesday, upping their totals to six and five goals on the season and are the team’s top scorers. A striker has never led Austin FC in scoring on the season; it’s been wingers (Diego Fagundez, Cecilio Dominguez, Jadier Obrian) or an attacking midfielder (Sebastian Driussi, Owen Wolff). The record for goals from a striker is Maxi Urruti with nine in 2022, a figure both have a chance at besting this season. Uzuni said he wanted to break records during his time in Austin, and this is the first and hopefully not the only one he can break.
Prediction:
Austin FC: 1
Houston Dynamo: 1
WRITTEN BY: SCOTT SPECHT
