Austin FC is the hottest team in the Western Conference.
Whether that continues will be determined by how it fares against what is arguably the most dangerous attack it has faced so far. The Verde & Black bring their three-game winning streak into their first rematch of the season when they host Portland on Saturday.
However, this contest is likely to have few similarities to the first matchup between the two clubs on March 1 when the Timbers won 1-0 on a late free kick.
Here’s what you need to know about the match as Austin FC tries to win four games in a row for the third time in club history but the first time outside of the 2022 season:
Momentum?
Despite the club being on a winning streak for the first time in more than two years, both Austin FC coach Nico Estévez and center back Brendan Hines-Ike downplayed the factor of momentum Thursday. The latter noted that it exists, but that “each game in MLS is very, very different.”
Estévez said it doesn’t change anything for him, and that aside from having a good position in the standings, the club needs to be thinking of the next match.
“What you did is nice, but it’s in the past,” said Estévez, who is one of several MLS coaches in their first year with a club having early success. “It should give you confidence, but it should also give us more responsibility and confidence to keep improving as a team.”
Estévez and Hines-Ike are correct that momentum probably isn’t as important in MLS as in other sports like the MLB, which play on a near-daily basis or the NFL, where every game carries great importance.
But for a club like Austin FC that the last two years had months-long stretches when it went without back-to-back league wins, most notably in the last three months of the season, producing an early winning streak was key.
Though it may not necessarily bring momentum, Hines-Ike noted it does bring the club something else.
“When you win you have more attention on you,” he said.
Team defense
With only three goals allowed, Austin FC has the second-best defense in MLS. The backline and goalie Brad Stuver have been excellent through the season’s first six games, but Hines-Ike emphasized that it’s a team effort and credit needs to be given everywhere.
“The defense always starts with the front line,” he said. “The pressing those guys have had is relentless and their work rate is ...
