Austin FC entered the week with 23 points in 18 games in 2024, an average of 1.28 points per game (courtesy of Austin FC)
It’s been a season of peaks and valleys so far for Austin FC.
The club has fluctuated anywhere from bottom three to Western Conference top three and found themselves entering the week mid-table in eighth after back-to-back ugly defeats on the road against The real Salt Lake AND Colorado Rapids.
In the new MLS playoff format instituted last season, in which 18 of the league’s 29 teams (that’s 62% of those keeping score) play postseason soccer in some form, Austin FC can still claim to be safe under the playoff umbrella as the second half. of the season begins to unfold.
From day one, the feeling from those at the club – be it the head coach Josh Wolffsports director Rodolfo Borrellor any number of players – has consistently reflected a single goal for the ’24 season: to make the playoffs, no matter what it looks like.
“We want to be over the line,” Wolff reiterated on Tuesday. “This season starts with knowing where we were before the season, knowing where we came from in the offseason, what our roster looked like, what we set out to do from a roster standpoint this year.
“I was pretty happy with where we were at the halfway point.”
Wolff’s penchant for pragmatism isn’t for everyone, and it can certainly come off as self-flattering at times. By no means has Austin FC been the toast of the league this season, but the club has also managed to string together positive results with more regularity than expected coming into the season.
ATXFC collected 23 points in the first 18 games, for an average of 1.28 points per game. Extrapolated over an entire 34-game season, that pace would put Verde and Black between 43 and 44 points.
This is a rather strange figure. Since Austin FC joined MLS in 2021, the average number of points needed to finish in the top 9 in the West is exactly 44. Austin is crossing that line with Wallenda-like precision.
In all likelihood, the club will fall below that line over the next month before MLS takes its second annual break. League Cup the tournament. (He may have already done so, depending on the outcome of Wednesday night’s game vs LAFC at Q2 Stadium, which took place before this column went to press.)
Not only does ATXFC face stiff competition between now and then, the club is doing so while coming up short on both Dani Pereira AND Julio Cascante away in Copa America task.
Austin won’t be the only club missing key players on international duty, but given Wolff’s bench was already thinner than most, El Tree can’t afford any absences.
The hope lies in late August, when the league reconvenes for the final nine games of the season. By that point, Austin FC will not only be whole again, but the cavalry will have arrived. Club record signing Osman Bukari and experienced right back Mikkel Desler both will be eligible to join the ATX squad for the stretch run. Indications are that Borrell is working to bring in further reinforcements.
There is no one for whom a playoff spot at Austin FC means more than Wolff himself. To solidify his status as ATX’s head coach for a fifth season in 2025, he would be well served to accomplish essentially the only goal on the club’s radar for this year.
