Ethan Finlay, Gyasi Zardes and Julio Cascante scored goals and Brad Stuver recorded his second straight clean sheet as surging Austin FC rolled over visiting Houston Dynamo FC 3-0 on Saturday.
Austin (7-8-4, 25 points) has won two straight games over the past four days, both against its fellow Texas teams by the same 3-0 score. Stuver’s shutout was his fifth of the year and the 19th of his 11-year MLS career.
The Dynamo had a three-match winning streak snapped and produced just three shots on goal, two of those in second-half stoppage time. Houston had defeated Austin in both prior meetings this season, both at home, but was dominated throughout on Saturday.
Finlay put Austin on top in the 22nd minute, leaping at the far post to head home a low, hard pass from Sebastian Driussi into the goal mouth that glanced off the head of first Zardes and then Houston defender Micael dos Santos Silva. It was Finley’s second goal in the past two games and third of the season.
Driussi set the table for Austin’s second goal as well, looping a laser pass from just inside the box onto the head of Zardes at the back post that gave Houston goalkeeper Steve Clark no chance to make a save.
The Dynamo (8-8-3, 27 points) did not have a shot on goal in the first half as Austin dominated in the withering conditions.
Austin continued its dominating performance five minutes into the second half as Cascante was the beneficiary of a spot-on crossing pass by Daniel Pereira after a corner kick and an extended trip in the offensive zone. Cascante was unmarked as he waited just outside the 6-yard box and headed the ball into the top-right corner to make it 3-0.
Stuver gobbled up Hector Herrera’s header in the 71st minute, the Dynamo’s initial shot on goal. Austin controlled the final 20-plus minutes of the match save for two late scoring chances by Sebastian Ferreira and Thorleifur Ulfarsson. Stuver turned them both away.
–Field Level Media
