2022 Austin FC season

Austin FC

2022 season
Chairman	Anthony Precourt
Head coach	Josh Wolff
Stadium	Q2 Stadium
MLS	4th Western Conference, 7th MLS
Top goalscorer	League: Sebastián Driussi (3) All: Sebastián Driussi (3)
Home colors Away colors
← 2021  →

The 2022 Austin FC season is the club's second season in Major League Soccer, the top flight of soccer in the United States. Austin FC plays in the Western Conference of Major League Soccer.

Due to the 2022 FIFA World Cup, play will begin February 26, 2022, about a month earlier than normal, and will conclude on October 9, 2022. ^[1] Outside of MLS, Austin FC will compete in the USSF's Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup for the first time in its history. The Verde and Black will also compete with other professional teams from Texas for the Copa Tejas.

Background[]

Austin FC started the 2021 Austin FC season by building their roster with their first ever signing, Rodney Redes, on July 6, 2020.^[2] The club continued to build their squad by signing their first Designated Player, Cecilio Dominguez, on August 24, 2020.^[3] Austin FC continued to build on Dec 13, 2020 by trading for five more players using General Allocation Money.^[4] On Dec 15, 2020, the club obtained five more players through the 2021 MLS Expansion Draft.^[5] By the end of the year, Austin FC added five more players to the roster. Austin FC started 2021 by adding seven more players to the team, including its second Designated Player, Tomás Pochettino.^[6] On April 16, 2021, the day before the clubs first competitive game they added two more players to round out the roster. On 30 June 2021, the club sign Moussa Djitté through the MLS U22 Initiative.^[7] Sebastián Driussi was signed on 29 July 2021 and the clubs third and final Designated Player.^[8] Austin FC completed its club roster on September 9, 2021 when they signed their first Homegrown Player, Owen Wolff, son of coach Josh Wolff.^[9]

2021 was the inaugural season for Austin FC, playing as an expansion club in Major League Soccer. The season started with an extended streak of away games as Q2 Stadium was being completed. Austin FC played its first eight games away from home, winning only two of those games. On June 19, 2021 Austin FC played its first game at Q2 Stadium, a draw against San Jose Earthquakes. Austin FC would go on to win seven home game during the season,^[10] finishing in 12th Place in the Western Conference and 24th place overall, with a record of 9 wins, 4 draws, and 21 loses.^[11]

Season[]

Immediately following the 2021 Austin FC season, Austin FC started their preparation for the 2022 MLS Season. After the retirement of Matt Besler on November 10, 2021, Austin FC started firming up their starting roster by completing the purchase of Žan Kolmanič from NK Maribor on November 19, 2021.^[12] Following this signing they declined options on six players: Aedan Stanley, Aaron Schoenfeld, Brady Scott, Ben Sweat, Jared Stroud, Kekuta Manneh on November 30, 2021.^[13] Just over two weeks after declining his option, Austin FC re-signed Jared Stroud to a one year deal.^[14]

Austin FC took their first hit of the season during the 2021 MLS Expansion Draft when Charlotte FC chose McKinze Gaines in the first round for $50,000 GAM. This also exempts Austin FC from the 2022 MLS Expansion Draft.^[15]

On December 20, 2021, Austin FC strengthened their midfield be signing veteran free agent Ethan Finlay.^[16]

Upon signing with Austin FC on December 28, 2021, Maxi Urruti joined his sixth MLS team, including all three Texas based teams.^[17]

On January 10, 2022, Austin FC loaned Tomás Pochettino to Argentine club River Plate on a one year loan.^[18]

The MLS SuperDraft was held on January 11, 2022 and Austin FC selected Kipp Keller (GA) from Saint Louis University,^[19] Charlie Asensio from Clemson Tigers, and Michael Knapp from New York Red Bulls II.

On January 12, 2022, Austin FC signed midfielder Jhojan Valencia from Columbian Champions Deportivo Cali to a three year contract with an option for a fourth year.^[20]

Looking to continue strengthening the back four, Austin FC signed Norwegian defender Ruben Gabrielsen from French side Toulouse FC to a two year contract with an option for a third year.^[21]

Continuing to make adjustments to the lineup, Austin FC executed an offseason buyout of the last year of Ulises Segura's contract on January 25, 2022. ^[22] That same day they also signed Damian Las, a U.S. Youth International, from Fulham FC.^[23]

Ensuring depth and experience, on February 7, 2021 Austin FC signed MLS Veteran Felipe Martins to the team as a free agent on a one-year contract with and option for a second year. Martins is a box-to-box midfielder who ranks among the best in the MLS during his 10 years in the league.^[24]

After Claudio Reyna announced that the team was looking at bringing on one more defender, possibly on loan, Austin FC signs Charlie Asensio to a one year deal with an option for three additional years. Asensio was the 35th overall draft pick from Clemson.^[25]

Management team[]

Position	Name
Chairman	Anthony Precourt
Sporting director	Claudio Reyna
Head coach	Josh Wolff
Assistant coach	Davy Arnaud
Assistant coach	Rodrigo Rios
Assistant coach	Nolan Sheldon
Assistant coach	Preston Burpo
Chief Scout	Manuel Junco

Roster[]

As of March 20, 2022.^[26]

No.	Name	Nationality	Position(s)	Date of birth (age)	Signed in	Previous club	Apps	Goals
Goalkeepers
1	Brad Stuver		GK	(1991-04-16) April 16, 1991 (age 30)	2020	New York City FC	4	0
12	Damian Las (HG)		GK	(2002-04-11) April 11, 2002 (age 19)	2022	Fulham F.C	0	0
31	Andrew Tarbell		GK	(1993-10-07) October 7, 1993 (age 28)	2020	Columbus Crew SC	0	0
Defenders
3	Jhohan Romaña		CB	(1998-09-13) September 13, 1998 (age 23)	2020	Guaraní	0	0
4	Ruben Gabrielsen		CB	(1993-03-10) March 10, 1993 (age 29)	2022	Toulouse FC	4	0
15	Kipp Keller (GA)		CB	(2000-07-14) July 14, 2000 (age 21)	2022	Saint Louis University	2	0
16	Hector Jiménez		LB	(1988-11-03) November 3, 1988 (age 33)	2020	Columbus Crew SC	1	0
18	Julio Cascante		CB	(1993-10-03) October 3, 1993 (age 28)	2020	Portland Timbers	4	1
23	Žan Kolmanič (U22) [a]		LB	(2000-03-03) March 3, 2000 (age 22)	2021	Maribor	4	0
24	Nick Lima		RB	(1994-11-17) November 17, 1994 (age 27)	2020	San Jose Earthquakes	4	0
26	Charlie Asensio		DF	(2000-01-18) January 18, 2000 (age 22)	2022	Clemson Tigers	0	0
Midfielders
5	Jhojan Valencia		MF	(1996-07-27) July 27, 1996 (age 25)	2022	Deportivo Cali	3	0
6	Daniel Pereira (GA)		MF	(2000-07-14) July 14, 2000 (age 21)	2021	Virginia Tech Hokies	4	0
8	Alexander Ring (DP)		MF	(1991-04-09) April 9, 1991 (age 30)	2020	New York City FC	4	1
10	Cecilio Domínguez (DP)		MF	(1994-08-11) August 11, 1994 (age 27)	2020	Independiente	4	2
13	Ethan Finlay		MF	(1990-08-06) August 6, 1990 (age 31)	2021	Minnesota United FC	4	2
14	Diego Fagúndez		MF	(1995-02-14) February 14, 1995 (age 27)	2021	New England Revolution	4	1
20	Jared Stroud		MF	(1996-07-10) July 10, 1996 (age 25)	2021	New York Red Bulls	0	0
22	Felipe Martins		MF	(1990-09-30) September 30, 1990 (age 31)	2022	DC United	2	0
33	Owen Wolff (HG)		MF	(2004-12-30) December 30, 2004 (age 17)	2020	Austin FC Academy	0	0
Forward
2	Moussa Djitté (U22) [a]		FW	(1999-10-04) October 4, 1999 (age 22)	2021	Grenoble	4	0
7	Sebastián Driussi (DP)		FW	(1996-02-09) February 9, 1996 (age 26)	2021	Zenit Saint Petersburg	4	3
9	Danny Hoesen		FW	(1991-01-15) January 15, 1991 (age 31)	2020	San Jose Earthquakes	0	0
11	Rodney Redes (U22) [a]		FW	(2000-02-22) February 22, 2000 (age 22)	2020	Guaraní	1	0
17	Jon Gallagher		FW	(1996-02-23) February 23, 1996 (age 26)	2020	Atlanta United	3	0
37	Maximiliano Urruti		FW	(1991-02-02) February 2, 1991 (age 31)	2021	Houston Dynamo FC	4	0

Transfers[]

In[]

Date	Position	No.	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
November 19, 2021	DF	21	Žan Kolmanič	NK Maribor	$1,500,000	[12]
December 17, 2021	FW	20	Jared Stroud	Austin FC	Free Transfer	[14]
December 20, 2021	MF	13	Ethan Finlay	Minnesota United FC	Free Transfer	[16]
December 28, 2021	FW	37	Maximiliano Urruti	Houston Dynamo FC	Free Transfer	[17]
January 12, 2022	MF	5	Jhojan Valencia	Deportivo Cali	Undisclosed	[20]
January 24, 2022	MF	4	Ruben Gabrielsen	Toulouse FC	Free Transfer	[21]
January 25, 2022	GK	12	Damian Las	Fulham F.C.	Undisclosed	[23]
February 7, 2022	MF	22	Felipe Martins	DC United	Free Transfer	[24]

Loan In[]

No.	Pos.	Player	Loaned from	Start	End	Source

Out[]

Date	Position	No.	Name	To	Type	Fee	Ref.
November 10, 2021	DF	5	Matt Besler	N/A	Retired	Free	[27]
November 30, 2021	FW	23	Kekuta Manneh	San Antonio FC	Option Declined	Free	[13][28]
November 30, 2021	FW	13	Aaron Schoenfeld	N/A	Retired	Free	[13][29]
November 30, 2021	GK	28	Brady Scott	Columbus Crew	Option Declined	Free	[13]
November 30, 2021	LB	4	Aedan Stanley	Miami FC	Option Declined	Free	[13][30]
November 30, 2021	LB	22	Ben Sweat	Sporting Kansas City	Option Declined	Free	[13][31]
November 30, 2021	MF	6	Sebastian Berhalter	Columbus Crew	Loan Ended	Free	[13]
November 30, 2021	MF	2	Emanual Perez	Portland Timbers	Loan Ended	Free	[13]
November 30, 2021	FW	20	Jared Stroud	Austin FC	Option Declined	Free	[13][32]
December 20, 2021	FW	27	McKinze Gaines	Charlotte FC	Expansion Draft	$50,000 GAM	[15]
January 25, 2022	LM	12	Ulises Segura	Deportivo Saprissa	Offseason Buyout	Free	[22]

Loan out[]

No.	Pos.	Player	Loaned to	Start	End	Source
7	MF	Tomás Pochettino	River Plate	Jan 10, 2022	31 Dec 2022	[18]
34	GK	Will Pulisic	North Carolina FC	March 09, 2022	31 Dec 2022	[33]
19	DF	Freddy Kleemann	Birmingham Legion FC	March 11, 2022	31 Dec 2022	[34]

MLS SuperDraft picks[]

2022 Austin FC SuperDraft Picks
Round	Selection	Player	Position	College	Notes	Ref.
1	5	Kipp Keller	DF	Saint Louis University	Generation Adidas	[19]
2	7 (35)	Charlie Asensio	DF	Clemson	Pick acquired from Chicago Fire FC via trade	[25]
3	5 (61)	Michael Knapp	MF	New York Red Bulls II

Non-competitive fixtures[]

Preseason[]

Midseason[]

Competitive fixtures[]

Major League Soccer Regular Season[]

U.S. Open Cup[]

Statistics[]

Appearances and goals[]

Numbers after plus–sign (+) denote appearances as a substitute.

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		MLS				U.S. Open Cup
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK	USA	Brad Stuver	4	0	4+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
2	FW	SEN	Moussa Djitté	4	0	1+3	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
3	DF	COL	Jhohan Romaña	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
4	DF	NOR	Ruben Gabrielsen	4	0	2+2	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
5	MF	COL	Jhojan Valencia	3	0	0+3	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
6	MF	VEN	Daniel Pereira	4	0	4+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
7	FW	ARG	Sebastián Driussi	4	3	4+0	3	0+0	0	0+0	0
8	MF	FIN	Alexander Ring	4	1	4+0	1	0+0	0	0+0	0
9	FW	NED	Danny Hoesen	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
10	MF	PAR	Cecilio Domínguez	4	2	4+0	2	0+0	0	0+0	0
11	FW	PAR	Rodney Redes	1	0	0+1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
12	GK	USA	Damian Las	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
13	MF	USA	Ethan Finlay	4	2	1+3	2	0+0	0	0+0	0
14	MF	URU	Diego Fagúndez	4	1	3+1	1	0+0	0	0+0	0
15	DF	USA	Kipp Keller	2	0	2+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
16	DF	USA	Hector Jiménez	1	0	0+1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
17	FW	IRL	Jon Gallagher	3	0	0+3	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
18	DF	CRC	Julio Cascante	4	1	4+0	1	0+0	0	0+0	0
19	DF	USA	Freddy Kleemann	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
20	MF	USA	Jared Stroud	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
22	MF	BRA	Felipe Martins	2	0	0+2	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
23	DF	SVN	Žan Kolmanič	4	0	4+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
24	DF	USA	Nick Lima	4	0	4+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
26	DF	USA	Charlie Asensio	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
31	GK	USA	Andrew Tarbell	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
33	MF	USA	Owen Wolff	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
34	GK	USA	Will Pulisic	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
37	FW	ARG	Maximiliano Urruti	4	0	3+1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0

Top scorers[]

Rank	Position	Number	Name	MLS	MLS Cup	U.S. Open Cup	Total
1	FW	7	Sebastián Driussi	3	0	0	3
2	MF	10	Cecilio Domínguez	2	0	0	2
	FW	13	Ethan Finlay	2	0	0	2
3	MF	8	Alexander Ring	1	0	0	1
	MF	14	Diego Fagúndez	1	0	0	1
	DF	18	Julio Cascante	1	0	0	1
Total				10	0	0	10

Top assists[]

Rank	Position	Number	Name	MLS	MLS Cup	U.S. Open Cup	Total
1	MF	14	Diego Fagúndez	3	0	0	3
2	MF	6	Daniel Pereira	2	0	0	2
	FW	7	Sebastián Driussi	2	0	0	2
	LB	23	Žan Kolmanič	2	0	0	2
3	MF	8	Alexander Ring	1	0	0	1
	RB	24	Nick Lima	1	0	0	1
	FW	37	Maximiliano Urruti	1	0	0	1
Total				12	0	0	12

Disciplinary record[]

No.	Pos.	Player	MLS			MLS Cup			U.S. Open Cup			Total
5	MF	Jhojan Valencia	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
6	MF	Daniel Pereira	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
7	FW	Sebastián Driussi	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
10	FW	Cecilio Domínguez	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
14	MF	Diego Fagúndez	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
15	CB	Kipp Keller	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
23	LB	Žan Kolmanič	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
24	RB	Nick Lima	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
37	FW	Maximiliano_Urruti	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
Total			10	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	10	0	0

Awards[]

Awards will be announced as the season begins.

Notes[]

References[]