The Pitch: Austin FC to Celebrate Inaugural Home Match at Q2 Stadium this Saturday

The expansion side will welcome a capacity crowd of 20,500 to the new stadium, hosting the San Jose Earthquakes for the team’s first home game in club history.

Women’s National Team match on Wednesday this week, but the stadium will also host one of two Concacaf Gold Cup Semifinal matches later this summer.

The opening of Q2 Stadium continues Major League Soccer’s stadium boom this season.

·      Still Unblemished: Two teams have reached the international break still undefeated on the season – Seattle Sounders FC .

·      The Chicarito Show: Javier “Chicharito” Hernández leads the MLS Golden Boot race with seven goals in seven games to start the season, one ahead of Raúl Ruidíaz of Seattle Sounders FC.

·      Keeping It Clean: Andre Blake of the Philadelphia Union has already recorded five shutouts in eight starts this season, posting an 0.63 goals against average while leading his club to a 4-2-2 record.

·      Streaking From The Start: Valentin Castellanos of New York City FC scored goals in each of the first four games in the 2021 season , the fifth player in MLS history to score in a season’s opening four matches, the seventh time in all it’s been accomplished.

Midfielder Derrick Jones has also been a revelation in midfield since reuniting with his former youth national team head coach Tab Ramos this season, and his ball progression has been instrumental in the side’s spitfire, build-up play with a team-leading 70.6 percent completion rate from his 12 attempted dribbles this season.

Forward Corey Baird and 23-year-old forward Diego Rossi have already combined for six goals and three assists this season, but a steady reintroduction of the Mexican international to the starting lineup would undoubtedly make this front three one of these best in the league.

2 team in the Eastern Conference, with an unbeaten 2-0-1 road record, shutouts in their last three straight games, and a 5-0 margin of victory over that span.

Austin FC have a trio of father-son connections currently involved in the game, starting with head coach Josh Wolff and his son, Tyler, who is following in his father’s soccer legacy as a player with Atlanta United.

Nine years after finishing his career with FC Dallas, Scott Sealy has watched his son Dante rise through the Dallas academy ranks to make his first team debut in 2020 and score his first MLS goal against the Portland Timbers back in May.

·      The Red Bulls put an end to a two-game losing slide, defeating Orlando City SC 2-1 at Red Bull Arena on May 29.

·      Nashville SC remained undefeated on the season through seven games, coming back for a 2-2 draw with Atlanta United at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on May 29.

·      Real gained a third consecutive draw, reaching a 1-1 result with Minnesota United FC at Rio Tinto Stadium on May 29.

·      Whitecaps FC suffered a third consecutive defeat last time out, falling 2-1 to Houston Dynamo FC at BBVA Stadium on May 22.

In the first match, Lucas Cavallini hit for the match-winner in the 84th minute, giving Whitecaps FC the win Sept.

·      The Whitecaps FC win last year in Sandy ended a five-game RSL winning streak in the series at Rio Tinto Stadium.

·      The Crew won a second consecutive game, defeating Toronto FC 2-1 at Historic Crew Stadium on May 29.

12 at Soldier Field, Djordje Mihailovic and Robert Beric scored early for the Fire, but Fatai Alashe and Gyasi Zardes scored late for the Crew, leaving the teams in a 2-2 draw.

·      The Fire are undefeated in their last seven home meetings with Crew SC, with two wins and five draws, Crew SC’s last win at the Fire coming in 2015.

·      The Rapids won for a fourth time in five games, defeating FC Dallas 3-0 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park on May 29.

·      The teams have met once in their histories, during the 2019 season.

·      The Revolution won their third game on the trot and extended their undefeated run to four games, defeating FC Cincinnati by the game’s only goal at TQL Stadium on May 29.

11, Teal Bunbury scored early and Lee Nguyen late as the Revolution took a 2-1 win at Yankee Stadium.

·      TFC fell to a second successive reversal, dropping a 2-1 decision to the Columbus Crew at Historic Crew Stadium on May 29.

·      Orlando City SC suffered their first defeat of the season after a six-game undefeated run to start the campaign, dropping a 2-1 decision to the New York Red Bulls at Red Bull Arena on May 29.

TFC has won four of the six meetings all-time at BMO Field, without defeat; Orlando City’s lone result in Toronto came in a goalless draw on Sept.

Ola Kamara scored a pair of goals and added an assist, and Paul Arriola also had a goal and an assist, as D.C.

Yamil Asad and Frederic Brillant scored two minutes apart in the second half for United, overcoming a second-minute goal from Rodolfo Pizarro, leading D.C.

·      MNUFC extended their undefeated run to three games, reaching a 1-1 draw with Real Salt Lake at Rio Tinto Stadium on May 29.

29 of last year, as Fafa Picault and Jesús Ferreira netted goals a minute apart early on, pacing FC Dallas to a 3-1 win.

·      The Galaxy won for a fourth time in four starts at Dignity Health Sports Park this season, defeating the San Jose Earthquakes by the game’s only goal on May 29.

·      Sounders FC remained undefeated on the season, gaining a third draw in eight matches, playing to a scoreless draw with Austin FC at Lumen Field on May 30.

·      The teams are meeting for the second time this season.

18, 2018 at CenturyLink Field, equaling the club’s record for margin of victory over its 10 MLS seasons, and the Galaxy equaling the biggest margin of defeat in their history .

Jeremy Ebobisse leveled terms in the 83rd minute, then Brian Fernandez scored the game-winner in stoppage time, giving the Timbers a 2-1 win on Sept.

·      The Timbers win in the last meeting in Portland was their first home win in the series since 2016.

·      LAFC weren’t able to build upon a second victory of the season, falling 2-1 to New York City FC at Banc of California Stadium on May 29.

·      Dynamo FC suffered a 3-2 loss to Sporting Kansas City at Children’s Mercy Park on May 29.

Corey Baird scored the opener for LAFC in the 55th minute, but Tyler Pasher leveled terms for Dynamo FC two minutes later, and the teams settled for a 1-1 draw May 1 at BBVA Stadium.

·      LAFC has never lost to the Dynamo in seven meetings all-time, winning three in a row before draws in the last two meetings.

·      The Union won a third consecutive game and extended their league undefeated streak to five matches, defeating the Portland Timbers 3-0 at Subaru Park on May 30.

·      Andre Blake was credited with four saves in recording his third consecutive shutout, extending his goalless streak to 275 minutes.

In the first leg, Kacper Przybylko scored a pair of goals and assisted on a third as the Union took a 3-0 win at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on April 27.

·      The teams last met during the 2019 season in regular season play, reaching a 1-1 draw March 17 in Atlanta, then the Union taking a 3-1 win Aug.

·      The Union have won once in six league meetings all time – the last regular season encounter in 2019.

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