Austin FC players celebrate Brendan Hines-Ike’s equalizer in the 45th minute (credit: Austin FC)
Austin FC captured another one of its patented, improbable road draws Saturday night in the Bay Area, drawing the San Jose Earthquakes to a 1-1 stalemate.
After giving up an early goal to a frequent ATX opponent, Verde and Black took advantage of an opportunity to tie the score. Goaltender Brad Stuver was strong again with six saves, and on the rare occasions when Stuver couldn’t prevent a San Jose score, the goaltender came to the rescue.
As has been the case for the vast majority of Austin FC’s road trips this season, El Tree again came out on the short end of shots (23 to 6), shots on goal (7 to 2) and goals allowed (2.7 to 0.7 ).
“What you have to do in this league, find a way to get points,” ATX head coach Josh Wolff said. “Six points for us in seven games on the road, so we give ourselves a chance.”
San Jose struck first on a slick, slippery pitch, coming off a cross from winger Cristian Espinoza in the 10th minute. Right-back Hector Jimenez, making just his third start of the season for Austin FC, darted out of the way of the pass, oblivious to the fact that San Jose forward Jeremy Ebobisse had snuck in behind him.
With a sliding, left-footed finish, Ebobisse scored his sixth goal in eight career games against Austin FC, tying him with FC Dallas’ Jesús Ferreira at the top of Verde’s goalscoring list.
In the 21st minute, ATXFC nearly gifted San Jose a second goal when center back Brendan Hines-Ike made a no-look pass to Stuver, but failed to notice that Vítor Costa de Brito had stepped into the middle. two. However, Costa de Brito was unable to get a shot on goal, letting Hines-Ike off.
“Obviously, my brain farted at that point,” Hines-Ike said. “But I’ve been doing this long enough to know I’m not going to shy away from the game.”
First case: Hines-Ike gave Austin FC its only goal in the dying moments of the first half, heading in an Owen Wolff free kick. The header took a massive deflection off a San Jose defender, then went past goalkeeper William Yarbrough on goal.
Right back at it!
Brendan Hines-Ike forces an own goal on the eve of the first half. pic.twitter.com/IETQgtCqDW
— Austin FC (@AustinFC) May 26, 2024
Austin FC survived a frantic final stretch in the final minutes, including a moment in which San Jose hit the post twice in three seconds that looked straight out of a FIFA video game.
“(The players) gave everything they could in this game. And this is evident in their energy, their passion, their commitment,” said Wolff. “Obviously, it gets a little chaotic again at the end. Every game we come here seems to go that way.”
Lucky or not, Austin FC extended their unbeaten streak to three games with a quick turnaround ahead of a Wednesday night match against the Portland Timbers at 7:30pm at Q2 Stadium.
For more Austin FC news and analysis, visit The Austin ChronicleS ‘ Austin FC Center. Follow The Verde Report columnist Eric Goodman at X: @goodman.
