Propelled by Cecilio Domínguez, Austin FC creates history in Colorado

COMMERCE CITY, Colo. — People in Denver weren’t quite sure what they were witnessing around 1 p.m. on Saturday afternoon, as a crowd of nearly 200 people clad in green and black marched through downtown.

Starting at the Colorado State Capitol and ending on Market Street, heads turned and passerby gawked at the ridiculous sight before them.

“What is the parade for?,” one woman asked.

Who could blame her? Austin FC had no on-field history prior to last weekend, and this was the first time supporters could show the world how ready they are to have a Major League Soccer team representing their hometown.

Later that evening, Austin FC turned heads on the pitch, too, scoring its first three goals in franchise history in a span of 12 minutes to snatch a 3-1 win over the Colorado Rapids at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.

The convergence of those two things — a rabid fan base making itself known for the first time and the team earning its first victory — created an atmosphere that even the Austin FC players could scarcely believe.

“I thought that maybe because we were a new franchise, the support wouldn’t be like that,” said Cecilio Domínguez, who scored two goals. “To see our people here, it was amazing. It’s that kind of energy that drives us.”

In the week leading up to the match, Austin supporters purchased in excess of 200 tickets for the away supporters section alone. The music of La Murga de Austin overpowered Rapids supporters in their own stadium for the majority of the night.

It looked like the party might die at halftime, though, with Austin FC losing 1-0 and missing several key players.

Center back Matt Besler stayed home to witness the birth of his son on Friday. Overshadowing his absence was the omission of designated player Tomás Pochettino, who was a late scratch due to what Austin FC officials called a league-related administrative issue. He flew with the team to Colorado, but was nowhere to be found when the lineups were released.

Those absences, followed by a nasty looking injury to left back Ben Sweat in the 20th minute, seemed to cast a cloud over what had been a joyous day. It didn’t take long into the second for Austin FC to hit its stride.

“I think right away that the attitude, the demeanor, the mentality to start the second half is much, much better,” Austin FC head coach Josh Wolff said. “And most of that was driven by Cecilio, he came in and really gave a good impact to kick off the second half. And then that bled into everything.”

Cecilio rattled the crossbar with a free kick in the 49th minute, and then in the 60th the moment years in the making finally became reality. Diego Fagúndez scored the first goal in franchise history, at the end of a brilliant team play.

Julio Cascante, starting in place of Besler, played a brave pass to the middle that Cecilio dug out of midfield to set rookie Dani Pereira on a run up the gut of the Rapids defense. Pereira found Stroud on the right wing, and his cross landed at Fagúndez’s feet.

As soon as the ball hit the back of the net, the players ran to the corner where Verde had taken over.

“It's a momentous occasion for for the city and for this organization,” Wolff said. “You know, I said it in a pregame on our meeting, we're gonna fight together, we’re gonna suffer together and we're gonna win together. We were coming out for points.”

The rest of the match was the Cecilio show. In the 67th and again in the 71st minute, the designated player from Paraguay showed why Austin FC splashed around $2.5 million to pry him out of Argentina.

Goals aside, Domínguez was far and away the best player on the pitch for 45 minutes. He found joy running at defenders, and floated inside from his position on the left wing — something he didn’t get to do much of in the season opener against Los Angeles FC.

“Josh (Wolff) knew exactly what he wanted,” Cecilio said. “That’s something that we tried to do in the first half, but it was very difficult. However, in the second half, I thought I had more space and so much more room for me to move freely. I was able to receive the ball to make passes and that's very important to be able to hurt our opponent.”

Second-half substitutes Jon Gallagher and Rodney Redes provided a spark, and each were involved in Domínguez’s goals. Žan Kolmanič, who replaced Sweat in the first half, played a key role in unlocking the Rapids defense.

There will be plenty to assess upon returning to Austin, from Sweat’s injury to the mystery surrounding Pochettino. But for now, Wolff rightly soaked in his first win as a head coach. A win that for a night — and for a weekend — turned Denver verde.

“First win for this club, first goals for this club,” Wolff said. “So a lot of firsts and we’ll continue those throughout the year. I'm really excited for everyone. The ownership, staff, players, fans — the fans are awesome. Awesome. Huge throng of people in the corner down where we were scoring goals. I think the guys enjoyed that. They show the love at the end of the game really well, too. Great, great moments.”

Lineups

ATX: Brad Stuver; Nick Lima, Jhohan Romaña, Julio Cascante, Ben Sweat (Žan Kolmanič 23'); Diego Fagúndez (Sebastian Berhalter 84'), Alex Ring, Daniel Pereira; Jared Stroud (Rodney Redes 67'), Danny Hoesen (Jon Gallagher 66'), Cecilio Domínguez (Kekuta Manneh 85')

COL: William Yarbrough; Keegan Rosenberry, Danny Wilson, Auston Trusty, Kellyn Acosta; Michael Barrios (Jonathan Lewis 66'), Younes Namli, Jack Price, Cole Bassett (Nicolás Mezquida 72'); Andre Shinyashiki (Nicolas Benezet 72'), Diego Rubio

Goals

36' - COL - Andre Shinyashiki (Jack Price assist)

60' - ATX - Diego Fagúndez

67' - ATX - Cecilio Domínguez (Jon Gallagher assist)

71' - ATX - Cecilio Domínguez (Rodney Redes, Žan Kolmanič assist)

Disciplinary

40' - COL - Andre Shinyashiki yellow

47 - COL - Jack Price yellow

73' - ATX - Daniel Pereira yellow