February 26, 2022 – Major League Soccer (MLS) – Austin FC News Release
Austin, TEXAS – Austin FC began its 2022 Major League Soccer season in style on Saturday night in front of a sold-out crowd at Q2 Stadium, beating FC Cincinnati 5-0 in a performance highlighted by two goals from Cecilio Domínguez and a clean sheet. It was the Club’s 18th consecutive MLS home sell-out, extending the league’s record sell-out streak.
It was a dream start to the match for the Verde & Black as Head Coach Josh Wolff’s team scored twice in the opening 15 minutes. Domínguez popped up at the back post to start the scoring in the second minute after a free kick from Žan Kolmanič made it through a crowd of bodies untouched, and Alex Ring added another goal 12 minutes later with a volley that bounced over Cincinnati goalkeeper Alec Kann.
Sebastián Driussi increased Austin’s lead to three before the break, dropping his shoulder to beat his defender after receiving a pass from Diego Fagundez inside the 18 and beating Kann with a powerful strike. The Argentine then turned provider in the second half, setting up Domínguez for his second and ATXFC’s fourth goal of the night.
From there, Austin set up shop. The latter stages of the match saw one defensive debutant replace another as Ruben Gabrielsen came on for Kipp Keller, and four other offseason arrivals also saw their first minutes in Verde & Black: Maxi Urruti as a starter, and Ethan Finlay, Jhojan Valencia, and Felipe Martins as substitutes.
A resolute defensive performance saw Cincinnati register just two shots on goal, and a bit of brilliant play from Moussa Djitté forced an own goal from Kann in stoppage time to wrap up a wonderful result to kick off the 2022 season for Austin FC.
Goal-Scoring Summary
ATX (1-0) – Cecilio Domínguez (assisted by Žan Kolmanič) 2′
ATX (2-0) – Alex Ring (assisted by Nick Lima) 14′
ATX (3-0) – Sebastián Driussi (assisted by Diego Fagundez) 43′
ATX (4-0) – Cecilio Domínguez (assisted by Sebastián Driussi) 61′
ATX (5-0) – Alec Kann (own goal) 90+3′
Misconduct Summary
CIN – Allan Cruz (caution) 12′
ATX – Kipp Keller (caution) 33′
ATX – Jhojan Valencia (caution) 74′
CIN – Yuya Kubo (caution) 76′
Media Assets
Austin FC Head Coach Josh Wolff and Austin FC Captain Alex Ring digital press conferences
Boxscore
Austin FC vs. FC Cincinnati | Q2 Stadium (Austin, TX) | February 26, 2022
Lineups
Austin FC: Brad Stuver, Žan Kolmanič, Kipp Keller (Ruben Gabrielsen 65′), Julio Cascante, Nick Lima, Daniel Pereira, Alex Ring © (Jhojan Valencia 71′), Sebastián Driussi (Felipe Martins 85′), Cecilio Domínguez (Ethan Finlay 65′), Maxi Urruti (Moussa Djitté 85′), Diego Fagundez
Substitutes not used: Andrew Tarbell, Hector Jimenez, Jon Gallagher, Rodney Redes
Head Coach: Josh Wolff
TOTAL SHOTS: 19; SHOTS ON GOAL: 5; FOULS: 16; OFFSIDE: 0; CORNER KICKS: 3; SAVES: 2
FC Cincinnati: Alec Kann, Ronald Matarrita (Haris Medunjanin 85′), Tyler Blackett, Geoff Cameron (Alvas Powell 70′), Raymon Gaddis, Allan Cruz (Harrison Robledo 61′), Junior Moreno (Zico Bailey 70′), Yuya Kubo, Luciano Acosta ©, Nick Markanich (Dominique Badji 61′), Brandon Vazquez
Substitutes: Isaac Atanga, Brenner, Nick Hagglund, Kenneth Vermeer
Head Coach: Pat Noonan
TOTAL SHOTS: 13; SHOTS ON GOAL: 2; FOULS: 6; OFFSIDE: 1; CORNER KICKS: 5; SAVES: 1
Match Information
Referee: Ismail Elfath
Assistant Referee 1: Corey Parker
Assistant Referee 2: Kyle Atkins
4th Official: Elton Garcia
VAR: Guido Gonzales Jr.
Assistant VAR: Cory Richardson
Weather: Cloudy, 39 degrees
Attendance: 20,738
Statistical Source: MLSSoccer.com / Opta
Next Match
Austin FC will play its second consecutive home match to open its 2022 Major League Soccer season against Inter Miami CF on Sunday, March 6. The match will feature a national TV broadcast in English language on ESPN and in Spanish language on ESPN Deportes. On radio, the match will be broadcast on KASE-FM (ALT 97.5) in English, as well as on TUDN Radio Austin (104.3-HD2, KLQB) in Spanish.
• Discuss this story on the Major League Soccer message board…
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
