Austin FC Clinches No. 6 Seed With Win in Home Finale

Austin FC wrapped up its regular season home slate in cathartic fashion Sunday night, defeating LAFC 1-0 off a late corner kick goal and locking up the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference playoffs with a week to spare.

ATX came into the penultimate game of the regular season knowing it could not climb any higher than sixth, nor drop any farther than seventh in the West standings. Los Angeles, meanwhile, had the potential to finish anywhere in the top four, including as the No. 1 seed. 

With both sides missing key players to international duty – including Myrto Uzuni and Oleksandr Svatok for Austin and Denis Bouanga and Son Hueng-Min for LAFC – the entertainment quality of the match certainly suffered. Both sides combined for just eight total shots and 24 fouls.

Things got so dull in the first half, in fact, that rather than play out the two minutes of stoppage time for which the fourth official signaled at the end of the half, referee Rosendo Mendoza mercifully blew his whistle on the stroke of 45 minutes and send both teams to the locker room early.

As it turned out, ATX head coach Nico Estévez made the key adjustment between himself and LA’s Steve Cherundolo, when Estévez brought on Žan Kolmanič as a substitute in the 70th minute.

Typically, Owen Wolff takes Austin’s corner kicks regardless of whether they’re from the left corner flag or the right. But with the left-footed crossing specialist Kolmanič on the pitch, he takes over from the right flank, allowing Wolff to join the fray in the 18-yard box. And as luck would have it, that’s exactly the situation the Verde and Black found themselves in at the stroke of the 83rd minute.

Kolmanič fired in a perfect in-swinging delivery, which deflected off LA’s Eddie Segura right into the path of Wolff at the back post, who headed the ball past Huge Lloris for the only goal of the night.

“I was just excited. We’ve been working a lot on the set piece plays,” Kolmanič said. “I’m always happy to see Owen score.”

It was the sixth goal of the MLS campaign, to go along with eight assists, for the young American who has taken over a starring role in the club’s attack this season and is a huge reason why Austin FC is headed to the playoffs for just the second time in the club’s history.

With Austin locked into the No. 6 seed, it can treat the regular season finale – away against the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday – effectively as a tune-up match for the first round of the playoffs. Estévez said ATXFC will approach that match with the intention of winning it, but he obviously won’t risk leaving any of his players compromised for the playoffs.

He may also keep half an eye on several other Western Conference matches on Decision Day, and Austin FC still waits to learn who its first round opponent will be. San Diego FC, LAFC and Minnesota United all have the potential to finish as the No. 3 seed and match up against the Verde and Black in a best-of-three first round series, which will include one guaranteed playoff game at Q2 Stadium.

For more Austin FC news and analysis, visit The Austin Chronicle’s Austin FC hub. Follow The Verde Report columnist Eric Goodman on X: @goodman.

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