Who’s the Odd Man Out of a Healthy Austin FC Attack?

Another match, another gut punch for Austin FC, which dropped its match over the weekend to Real Salt Lake, 2-1, thanks to a tie-breaking 88th-minute strike from distance by RSL substitute Stijn Spierings.

The late goal robbed the Verde and Black of what would’ve been a precious point on the road, especially considering the dire injury situation the club finds itself in just a month into the 2026 season.

Then again, it’s the absences of key players – namely midfielder Owen Wolff and striker Brandon Vázquez – that represent the largest source of hope for the club’s future despite the 4-points-out-of-a-possible-12 start.

As usual, scoring goals has been a struggle for Austin so far, especially from open play. Of the five goals the club has scored in its four matches, one has come in the flow of the match; three have come from set pieces; and one was an own goal. 

“It’s true that we need to provide more [from open play],” head coach Nico Estévez asserted after the match.

Integrating Wolff, a creator, and Vázquez, a finisher, into the fold when those players return over the next few weeks certainly projects to make the club more dangerous with the ball. Adding that pair to an attack that has already seen promising signs from offseason attacking acquisitions Facundo Torres, Jayden Nelson, and Joseph Rosales (not to mention veteran backup striker Christian Ramirez) is an exciting proposition.

However, it also raises an important question, one that Estévez will have to answer when the time comes: Who starts and who sits when everyone is healthy?

Assuming the Spanish coach sticks to the 4-2-3-1 formation he’s deployed for every match of the season to date (or some variation of it), that leaves four spots available in the attack, and six players with a realistic claim to a starting role.

Of those six, two are bona fide locks. When healthy, it’s impossible to see Estévez leaving either Wolff or Torres on the bench. Austin’s best playmakers embody similar styles and are both comfortable playing in midfield and on the wing. The most natural configuration probably features Torres out wide at right wing and Wolff in the center of the attack as a No. 10, and it will be exciting to see how the dynamic chance-creators complement each other when they eventually share the pitch.

Things are less clear-cut when it comes to the other two spots on the pitch, striker and left wing. As it pertains to Vázquez, the American has pretty much exclusively played striker in his pro career. Once he recovers fully from the knee operation that prematurely ended his 2025 season, he’ll need an opportunity to prove that he’s still capable of leading Austin’s lines from the striker position.

Which brings us to Myrto Uzuni, the club’s record signing in his second season with Austin. The Albanian has started all four of ATXFC’s games as striker this season. He’s scored one goal (a tap-in) and has struggled mightily to impact the attack otherwise.

During his four successful seasons with Granada in Spain, Uzuni spent much of his time on the pitch at left wing. That’s also where he started as an Austin FC player last season when both he and Vázquez were healthy. It wasn’t a massive sample size, but things certainly did not immediately click for Uzuni in that configuration.

Perhaps Estévez will give it another try, sending Nelson and Rosales to substitute duty in the process. At some point, though, if Austin cannot get regular production from Uzuni, Estévez will have no choice but to relegate the club’s record signing to the bench. 

Up next: Austin FC plays LAFC Saturday, March 21, 7:45pm at home.

For more Austin FC news and analysis, visit The Austin Chronicle’s Austin FC hub. Sign up for The Verde Report newsletter to get the latest news delivered straight to your inbox, and follow The Verde Report columnist Eric Goodman on X: @goodman.

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