D.C. United hosted Western Conference side Austin FC at Audi Field on Saturday night, falling 4-2 to the visitors in the third ever meeting between the clubs.
The Black-and-Red made two changes to the previous lineup that narrowly lost to the Columbus Crew with midfielder Randall Leal getting his third MLS start, his first since June 14 against Real Salt Lake, and defender Matti Peltola coming into the backline. D.C. United were without defender Aaron Herrera who was serving a one game suspension after recevieing two yellow cards late in the match against the Columbus Crew.
Austin FC opened the scoring in the 22nd minute when forward Myrto Uzuni finished a left footed shot from the center of the box off a through ball from defender Brendan Hines-Ike. This marked Uzuni's third MLS goal of the season and put the visitors up 1-0. After a tightly contested defensive battle, Austin would break through again just before halftime with midfielder Owen Wolff scoring a header off a cross from Mikkel Desler in the 45th minute, doubling the lead for the visitors right before halftime. D.C. United ended the first half with four shots and 26 total duels won, with Austin FC controlling the majority of possession with 64%.
Interim Head Coach Kevin Flanagan made one change at half bringing on midfielder Boris Enow for Brandon Servania, who created one chance and had a 100% passing accuracy in 45 minutes played. Enow immediately made an impact putting pressure on Austin's backline which allowed midfielder Gabriel Pirani to have more space in the midfield. D.C. United responded quickly just three minutes into the second half when forward João Peglow finished a right-footed shot off a pass from fellow Brazilian Pirani to cut the defecit to one goal. This marked Peglow's third goal of the season and Pirani's fourth assist of the season.
The Black-and-Red continued to apply pressure to find the equalizer, but the visitors pulled away in the 59th minute when forward Osman Bukari found the back of the net. After a Pirani goal was overturned by VAR in the 62nd minute for offsides, Austin FC stayed compact on defense and limited D.C. United's chances. Flanagan made four more changes in the second half, brining on midfielders Jackson Hopkins and Jared Stroud in the 66th minute to get control of the midfielder and provide a spark on offense. Austin did well to adjust, making five changes of their own, and midfielder Robert Taylor would score the fourth goal for the Verde-and-Black in the second minute of stoppage time, making it 4-1. Forward Christian Benteke scored his eighth goal of the season in the seventh minute of stoppage time from the penalty spot to make the final score 4-2 in favor of the visitors
The Black-and-Red finished the match with 15 total shots and 12 crosses, applying consistent pressure throughout the second half in search for more goals. The team showed their commitment to sending players forward and creating chances, scoring in their fifth consecutive match, but ultimately fell short at home brining their all-time record against Austin FC to 0-3-0.
D.C. United now sit 14th in the Eastern Conference with a 4-14-7 record, with the focus now shifting to the New England Revolution on Saturday, August 9 at Gillette Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.
D.C. United Lineup: Luis Barraza, Lucas Bartlett, Matti Peltola (Jackson Hopkins 66'), Kye Rowles, Derek Dodson, David Schnegg (Conner Antley 87') João Peglow (Hosei Kijima 87'), Randall Leal (Jared Stroud 66'), Brandon Servania (Boris Enow 46'), Gabriel Pirani, Christian Benteke
Unused Substitutes: Kim Joon Hong, Garrison Tubbs, Dominique Badji, Jacob Murrell
Head Coach: Kevin Flanagan
Austin FC Lineup: Brad Striver, Mikkel Desler (Jon Gallagher 89'), Brendan Hines-Ike, Oleksandr Svatok, Guilherme Biro, Illie Sanchez (Nicolas Dubersarsky 89'), Dani Pereira, Osman Bukari (Jader Obrian 77'), Owen Wolff (Robert Taylor 72'), Myrto Uzuni, Diego Rubio (Besard Sabovic 72')
Unused Substitutes: Julio Cascante, CJ Fodrey, Zan Kolmanic, Stefan Cleaveland
Head Coach: Nico Estevez
