If it wasn’t already, Austin FC’s season is certainly a success after Sunday.
Austin, TX
Austin FC locks up No. 6 seed in Western Conference for MLS playoffs
AUSTIN, TEXAS – OCTOBER 12: Zan Kolmanic #23 of Austin FC, Owen Wolff #33 of Austin FC, Robert Taylor #16 of Austin FC and Jader Obrian #7 of Austin FC embrace after a goal against the Los Angeles Football Club at Q2 Stadium on October 12, 2025 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Daniel Jefferson/Getty Images)
The Verde & Black defeated LAFC 1-0 at Q2 Stadium to secure the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference for the MLS playoffs and assure themselves of a least a .500 record in the regular season.
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Fittingly, Owen Wolff, who has been the club’s best player, scored on a header in the 83rd minute to give Austin FC a series sweep of the West Coast club.
Here are some key takeaways from the match as Austin FC (13-12-8, 47 points) will end the regular season Saturday at San Jose in a match the Verde & Black have nothing at stake.
Austin FC has had a good year
No matter what happens the rest of the way, 2025 will be looked at as a positive campaign for Austin FC.
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Coming off two straight years of missing the playoffs, the Verde & Black solidly made the postseason and reached the final of the U.S. Open Cup and did so with their top offseason signing — forward Brandon Vazquez — suffering a season-ending injury in early July.
Sunday’s performance wasn’t pretty from either team — they combined for four shots on goal and eight shots total — but Austin FC deserves credit for gutting out a win, and it was important for the club to break a three-game losing.
“It’s not easy to recover from a week like the one we had (losing three straight),” Austin FC coach Nico Estévez said. “When you win, you can be high, and when you’re not, you can be really low. We’ve done a good job of staying balanced all year. … And we have to be proud (of what we’ve accomplished).”
Though LAFC wasn’t close to being at full strength without star forwards Denis Bouanga and Son Heung-min, who were on international duty, the Verde & Black still broke its six-game winning streak and thwarted any chance it had of winning the West.
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While Austin FC didn’t create any scoring chances outside of Wolff’s goal, it gave up very few defensively. Goalie Brad Stuver only had to make two notable saves and center back Brendan Hines-Ike and outside backs Guilherme Biro and Mikkel Desler had solid games.
“It was a very tactical game,” Estévez said, perhaps giving the match more credit than it deserves. “I thought we did a good job of reducing their strengths.”
Man of the match: Owen Wolff
Wolff was in the right place at the right time on his header, and there’s something to be said for that. He continues to produce in big moments and leads the team with 13 goal contributions (six goals, seven assists).
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“It’s his season this year,” said Zan Kolmanic, who had the service on the corner kick Wolff scored on.
Does Austin FC need to know the way to San Jose? (Apologies to Dionne Warwick)
Estévez was non-committal on his approach to what is basically a scrimmage for the Verde & Black against the Earthquakes.
“We first have to enjoy the win and being sixth,” he said. “We’ll think about that game later in the week.”
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There’s no reason to take a full squad to the Bay Area — jokes were made among the media postgame that the club should just send Austin FC II to play the match — and the surface at PayPal Park has a less-than-stellar reputation. Austin FC will also play on the road in Game 1 of a first-round playoff series the following week.
But Estévez has earned the right to make any call he sees fit. And 16 months after being fired by FC Dallas, he clearly has some personal satisfaction with what Austin FC has accomplished this season.
“I’ve been in this league for four years and finished three years, and each of those three ended in the playoffs,” he said. “It feels really good (to be back in the postseason). There’s a lot of work that goes into it. And it’s important to think about all the hard work that this team has done.”
Austin FC player ratings
Players rated from 1-10 with 10 being the highest
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Midfield: Jon Gallagher 5, Ilie Sanchez 5, Owen Wolff 7, Dani Pereira 5.5, Osman Bukari 5
Defense: Guilherme Biro 6, Brendan Hines-Ike 6, Mateja Djordjevic 4.5, Mikkel Desler 5.5
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Subs: Zan Kolmanic 6, Jader Obrian 5.5, Robert Taylor 4.5, Nicolas Dubersarsky 5, Besard Sabovic 5
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas’ highway system dropped two spots since 2025, and now ranks at No. 27 in the country for its cost-effectiveness and overall conditions, according to the Reason Foundation’s 2026 Highway Report.
The report assessed pavement conditions, fatalities, deficient bridges, infrastructure costs and congestion levels across the United States. Texas earned the following rankings:
- 33rd in urban interstate pavement conditions
- 21st in rural interstate pavement conditions
- 39th in urban arterial pavement conditions
- 12th in rural arterial pavement conditions
- 3rd in structurally deficient bridges
- 26th in urban fatality rate
- 42nd in rural fatality rate
- 41st in traffic congestion
“More than 42,000 of the nation’s 618,923 highway bridges, nearly 7%, are still structurally deficient. Arizona, Nevada, and Texas reported the lowest percentages of deficient bridges,” the report said.
The full report can be found online.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Small hail peppered the Austin area as strong thunderstorms moved through Saturday.
A few of the storms dropped rain and up to pea-sized hail in San Marcos, Dripping Springs and the Austin metro area.
A Severe Thunderstorm Warning was issued for Williamson County around 8:15 p.m., and then canceled shortly after. However, it was enough for the Two Step Inn music festival in Georgetown to cancel shows for the rest of the evening. Event organizers say the festival will run as planned Sunday.
KXAN’s First Warning Weather team is monitoring the storms. We will update this post as the evening continues.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Governor Greg Abbott and the Texas Society Sons of the American Revolution unveiled a new monument at the Texas State Cemetery on Saturday, dedicated to Texas Revolutionary War soldiers.
“We must educate every generation about why it is that America grew from a tenuous 13 colonies into the most powerful country in the history of the world,” said Governor Abbott. “This monument here is an enduring testament to the heroes who fought for the freedom that is unique to America.”
The monument was dedicated to 69 soldiers who fought in the American Revolutionary War and later settled in Texas, according to a press release.
Among those that were honored, Abbott recognized:
- José Santiago Seguín, grandfather of Texas Revolutionary hero Juan Seguín.
- Peter Sides, who fought in the 2nd Battalion of the North Carolina Regiment of the Colonial Army, and was later killed in the 1813 Battle of Medina, fighting for Mexican independence against Spain.
- Antonio Gil Y’Barbo, the founder of Nacogdoches.
- William Sparks, who fought as a mounted rifleman in the American Revolution and later settled in Texas. He had two sons and two grandsons who fought in the Texas Revolution.
“This year marks the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, which not only gave freedom to the British colonies of North America, but inspired movements for freedom and liberty all over the world,” said TSSAR President Mel Oller. “Texans played a role in the war too, and it’s important to recognize them, and the sacrifices they made for our freedom.”
At the monument unveiling, Abbott was also inducted into the Sons of the American Revolution and received its Silver Good Citizenship Medal.
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