First takeaways from Austin FC's win over FC Dallas in the MLS Playoffs

AUSTIN, Texas — Josh Wolff had surprises in store for his friend Nico Estévez when Austin FC lined up to face FC Dallas on Sunday night in the MLS Cup Playoffs at Q2 Stadium.

The gambles the Verde head coach made, shifting both his lineup and his usual tactics ever so slightly, paid off big. A 2-1 victory will send Austin FC to the Western Conference final to face Los Angeles FC next Sunday at Banc of California Stadium.

Here are a few takeaways from the match, including how Wolff frustrated FCD.

Made for Moussa

The first surprise that Wolff threw out was his lineup. A week after seemingly making a misstep by shaking up his best regular-season lineup, the Austin FC coach again gambled on an inexperienced starter in the playoffs. This time, Moussa Djitté proved his boss right.

Djitté, who started three regular-season matches and scored only four goals (three in one match off the bench) in 2022, put Verde ahead in the 26th minute. He pummeled home a Diego Fagúndez corner kick that somehow evaded several other bodies after entering the penalty area.

But Djitté served a larger purpose in the game plan employed by Wolff to thwart his former U.S. men's national team and Columbus Crew coworker. Rather than pressing like it normally does when Maxi Urruti is at center forward, Verde sat in a mid block and forced FCD to play through them.

The result was that Djitté became a release valve when Austin won the ball, holding up play until Austin players could get forward and set up the attack. He played the role well, and remained a threat on the counterattack well into the second half. 

It seemed clear from the start that FCD had planned to face the high energy of Urruti, but Wolff threw a curveball that muddied those plans.

Seba things

I mean, what can you even say at this point?

The goal that Driussi scored to put Verde up 2-0, three minutes after Djitté's opener, was as individual of an effort as you'll see in this sport. He saw his moment and he took it.

The Argentine saw his compatriot and rising FCD star Alan Velasco take a loose touch around midfield, and immediately turned it into a scoring chance the other way. This wasn't an organized press, nor was it a coordinated effort. It was simply the best player in MLS creating a goal for himself in his club's biggest moment.

He still had work to do, too, as the entire Dallas back line was in position when the ball turned over. Give Djitté and Fagúndez credit for running with Driussi, who used the space they created to dice up center back José Martínez and send a screamer past goalkeeper Marten Paes into the bottom left corner of the goal. 

It's a wonderful goal, and a reminder of why Driussi is still reasons one, two and three why Austin is still playing.

Lock it down

It wasn't quite a shutout. Velasco pulled a goal out of very little in the 65th minute to create a nervous finish inside Q2. However, chances were extremely hard to come by for Dallas all night long.

That's because Austin refused to play the game that FCD wanted them to. Rather than getting sucked high in the press, Verde sat back in a 4-4-2, with Alex Ring and Dani Pereira in a double pivot, and denied service to the three players — Velasco, Jesús Ferreira and Paul Arriola, who could hurt them. It worked.

Especially in the first half, with Djitté and Driussi often sitting near midfield, and the back line pushed to the top of the final third, the distance between Austin FC's blocks was scarce. FCD countered in the second half by bringing on an extra creator in Paxton Pomykal to provide support to Sebastian Lletget. Even then, results were scarce.

Despite having the majority of possession, Dallas created only seven shots through 85 minutes and just four of those hit the frame.

Austin FC still had to survive a late surge, including Stuver pinning a Ferreira shot to the crossbar in the 80th minute, but even that was muted.

On a night that we expected to be a shootout, Austin FC hiked up its overalls pieced together a defensive masterclass.

I, for one, did not see that coming. Neither did Nico Estévez.