Austin FC goalie Brad Stuver saved the club from some national — and possibly international — embarrassment Saturday.
Oh, the Verde & Black still turned in an unfathomably bad performance that will receive plenty of attention across the MLS landscape with their 5-1 loss to Vancouver Whitecaps FC at BC Place, but Stuver kept the game’s scoreline from being plastered across social media and getting talked about by international soccer pundits.
In a game that easily could have been 8-0, Stuver stopped a penalty and made two other highlight-reel saves, while Dani Pereira’s afterthought of a goal in the 90th minute also lessened Austin FC’s public relations hit.
After Vancouver forward Brian White finished with a mind-blowing four goals and the hosts almost toyed with the Verde & Black at points in the second half, Austin FC coach Nico Estévez said the club feels “ashamed” and “deserves what we got.”
Here are some thoughts from the match as Austin FC (4-3-1, 13 points) returns home Saturday to face the Los Angeles Galaxy:
This was arguably Austin FC's worst showing ever
Estévez, who opened his postgame press conference apologizing to the club’s fans for the performance, noted that his team was “unrecognizable” and “all of the work we’ve been doing this year we let go.”
Austin FC was average for the first 40 minutes of the game, but after a few moments of poor defending that left White wide open for his second goal that gave the Whitecaps a 2-0 lead, the rest of the match played out like a team from a first division facing a second-division squad.
Credit has to be given to Vancouver, who was tremendous from start to finish and showed why it leads the Western Conference and is in the semifinals of the CONCACAF Champions Cup, but Austin FC showed a shocking lack of urgency.
“We cannot show up to games and not give everything we have,” said Austin FC center back and captain Brendan Hines-Ike, who was the only other player than Stuver to turn in a decent performance. “Top teams do not relax. … This is unacceptable … and a clear, clear wake-up call.”
Defense failed on multiple fronts
After only allowing a league-leading three goals in its first seven games with a defense that seemed to be becoming its trademark, Austin FC’s overall defending Saturday was sloppy and subpar.
The Whitecaps ended with 26 shots and an expected goals stat of 5.30, two stats that are very telling. Austin FC gave Vancouver players — particularly White — too much space and its defenders were consistently beaten in one-on-ones.
“A team like that, you give them an inch and they take it,” said Hines-Ike, who noted he had conversations with six or seven players in the locker room after the match. “It was a very humbling night for us as a team and men.”
Offense didn't offer any relief
While the scoreline, effort and defense will get the attention, Austin FC’s attack continues to leave a lot to be desired.
Forward Myrto Uzuni missed an early chance for a one-on-one with Vancouver's goalie following a poor touch, while Guilherme Biro and Besard Sabovic failed to get open shots from just outside the box on goal.
But Biro, a left back, and Sabovic, a defensive midfielder, aren’t paid big money to score goals. Uzuni and fellow forwards Brandon Vazquez and Osman Bukari are, and the trio has a combined three goals — one each — through eight games.
It’s still early in the season, however, at some point ...
