Hyped Austin FC on the brink of missing MLS playoffs
When MLS released its comprehensive 2023 season previews, Austin FC stood out as one of the strongest potential squads in the league.
Thirteen different pundits predicted Austin would finish in the top five of the Western Conference, with Sacha Kljestan, Kaylyn Kyle and Melissa Ortiz betting the Texas team would finish first.
"They're an extremely well-balanced roster, full of players whose individual strengths resonate both with their teammates and within the overall scheme," MLS expert Tom Bogert wrote. "It's not just a collection of talent."
Fast forward eight months to the present and Austin has categorically failed to deliver upon that promise. The hyped team is floundering in 10th in the Western Conference and may miss the playoffs altogether.
It's been a difficult campaign for Austin FC since the very start. It kicked off its 2023 season by losing to Haitian club Violette AC in the CONCACAF Champions League and getting hammered by Texas rival Houston.
It has failed to capitalize upon its momentum from 2022, where it pushed all the way to the MLS semifinals on the back of strong performances from Argentine striker Sebastian Driussi. But coach Josh Wolff is quick to point out that Austin's decline goes deeper than just Driussi himself.
"Driussi can't be the only guy that scores for us," he said after the loss against Houston. "Guys need to be honest with themselves. There's some performances that are poor; there's some efforts that are poor."
Things improved after the Houston loss, with Austin cruising into the top five of the Western Conference before the MLS break. But when the Verde and Black returned in August, everything fell apart.
Austin went on a long winless streak, losing to St. Louis, Dallas, Seattle, Portland and Colorado and drawing with New England, the Red Bulls and the Galaxy. It was plagued by poor on-field decision-making and a lack of focus, with several of its negative results coming in the final minutes after Austin had been leading for the majority of the match.
After the team's stellar run in 2022, Austin FC fans want — and deserve — better. They're increasingly vocal about their displeasure with coach Josh Wolff and owner Anthony Precourt -- Wolff for his incoherent positional tactics and Precourt for his unwelcome transfer decisions. Between Wolff's long winless run and Precourt's controversial sale of Austin legend Diego Fagundez, both are in the hot seat with fans of the Verde and Black.
If Austin is to survive this season and scrape through to the playoffs, it must jettison Wolff's dogmatic belief in positional power. Austin's roster simply isn't deep enough to allow for it; confused late-game substitutes have been responsible for most of Austin's foibles in recent weeks. If Wolff can lock his team down to protect leads and ensure results, he may be able to stop this skid, but if he can't, he's likely to be the next MLS coach on the chopping block.
More must-reads: