D.C. United suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat to Austin FC on Sunday afternoon at Q2 Stadium in their first road match of the 2026 MLS season. Despite a strong defensive showing for much of the match and eight saves from goalkeeper Sean Johnson, a late headed goal from Austin substitute Christian Ramírez in the 82nd minute was the difference as the Black-and-Red dropped their first result of the season.
Head Coach René Weiler made two changes to the starting XI from last week's 1-0 victory over the Philadelphia Union, bringing midfielders Hosei Kijima and Jared Stroud into the lineup for Gabriel Pirani and Jackson Hopkins. D.C. United set up in a 4-4-2 with Tai Baribo and João Peglow leading the line. The back four of captain Lucas Bartlett, Kye Rowles, Silvan Hefti, and Keisuke Kurokawa remained unchanged from the opener.
Austin came out with early pressure, but Johnson was up to the task from the start, recording five first-half saves and denying all three of Austin's big chances in the opening 45 minutes. Kijima had D.C. United's first shot on target in the 25th minute, but Austin goalkeeper Brad Stuver made the save. Peglow tested Stuver with a volley from distance in the 34th minute, but the Verde keeper handled it. Austin held the edge in the first half, outshooting D.C. United and holding 61.5% of possession, but the teams went into the break level at 0-0.
Weiler made halftime adjustments, bringing on Gabriel Pirani for Kijima and Jackson Hopkins for Stroud. Pirani settled into the match quickly, finishing with a 91% passing accuracy after coming on. The second half saw continued pressure from Austin FC as Facundo Torres forced a save from Johnson in the 57th minute with a left-footed shot from outside the box. Johnson came up big again in the 68th minute with saves to deny Oleksandr Svatok and Brendan Hines-Ike in quick succession off an Austin corner kick.
Austin head coach Nico Estévez made a double substitution, introducing Besard Sabovic for Ilie Sánchez in the 67th minute and Christian Ramírez for Jayden Nelson in the 68th minute. Weiler responded in the 77th minute by bringing on Louis Munteanu for Peglow.
The decisive moment came in the 82nd minute when Austin capitalized on a set piece just outside the box. Sabovic fired a right-footed shot from the left side of the box that was blocked. The deflection fell to Ramírez on the right side of the six-yard box, who headed the ball into the bottom right corner to give Austin the lead. Ramírez, acquired off waivers from the LA Galaxy just two days prior, scored on his Austin FC debut.
The Black-and-Red pushed for an equalizer in the closing stages. Munteanu got a shot off from outside the box in the 89th minute, but it was blocked by Svatok. Weiler made his final change in the 90th minute, bringing on 2026 MLS SuperDraft first overall selection Nikola Markovic for Brandon Servania. After continued pressure from the Black-and-Red, Austin remained organized defensively to see out the result.
Captain Lucas Bartlett won five aerial duels across 90 minutes played, while Kijima, making his first start for D.C. United since August 23, 2025, against Inter Miami CF, recorded one shot on target and three recoveries in 45 minutes played.
Austin finished with a 55.5%-44.5% possession advantage and outshot D.C. United 16-8, including 9-2 on target. Johnson recorded eight saves off nine shots on target but it wasn’t enough and D.C. United fell to 1-1-0 with three points on the season.
The Black-and-Red return home to host Inter Miami CF at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore on Saturday, March 7 with kickoff set for 4:30 p.m. ET.
D.C. United Lineup: Sean Johnson, Lucas Bartlett, Silvan Hefti, Kye Rowles, Keisuke Kurokawa, Matti Peltola, Brandon Servania (Nikola Markovic 90'), Hosei Kijima (Gabriel Pirani 46'), Jared Stroud (Jackson Hopkins 46'), João Peglow (Louis Munteanu 77'), Tai Baribo
Unused Substitutes: Alex Bono, Conner Antley, Sean Nealis, Gavin Turner, Jacob Murrell
Head Coach: René Weiler
Austin FC Lineup: Brad Stuver, Brendan Hines-Ike, Oleksandr Svatok, Jon Gallagher, Guilherme Biro, Ilie Sánchez (Besard Sabovic 67'), Dani Pereira, Jayden Nelson (Christian Ramírez 68'), Facundo Torres, Myrto Uzuni, Joseph Rosales (CJ Fodrey 77')
Unused Substitutes: Damian Las, Jonathan Bell, Nicolás Dubersarsky, Zan Kolmanic, Mateja Djordjevic, Ervin Torres
Head Coach: Nico Estévez
