SAN JOSE, CA – OCTOBER 18: Austin FC celebrating a goal during the first half by Owen Wolff #33 of Austin FC during a game between Austin FC and San Jose Earthquakes at PayPal Park on October 18, 2025 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Scott Gould/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images)
Scott Gould/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images
The lengthy wait for the MLS playoffs is over for Austin FC.
Ten days will have passed since the Verde & Black last took the field when they play LAFC in Game 1 of their best-of-three Western Conference quarterfinal series Friday, which is the final first-round matchup to start.
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AUSTIN FC VS. LAFC
When/where: 9:30 p.m. Wednesday in Los Angeles
TV/radio: Apple TV; 97.5, 104.3 (Spanish)
“It’s been a long, long time,” Austin FC coach Nico Estévez quipped Monday. “But we’ve built up training sessions the last week to being more intense to get guys ready.”
The Verde & Black are the No. 6 seed and arguably received the unluckiest draw in the West. LAFC has lost only once with forward Son Heung-min in the lineup after he joined the club in early August. (He didn’t play when the teams met Oct. 12 during Austin FC’s 1-0 win.)
Here’s what to know about the match as Austin FC returns to the site of its last playoff match, BMO Stadium, where it lost in the 2022 Western Conference final:
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Austin FC is a heavy underdog to LAFC
There aren’t high expectations for Austin FC outside of its own locker room. The Verde & Black are slightly worse than 6-1 odds to win the series, according to Las Vegas oddsmakers, which makes them the biggest underdog in the first round. The reason for that is LAFC’s attack. Besides Heung-min, who tallied nine goals in 10 games, the West Coast club also features all-star forward Denis Bouanga, the runner-up for the league’s Golden Boot race. Bouanga’s 24 goals trailed only Lionel Messi.
“It’s a team that is built to win trophies, and they have exceptional players that can build something out of nothing,” Estévez said. “… No team has stopped them yet, which says a lot about their talent. But we’re confident in our roster and know our guys can do well.”
The situation should allow for Austin FC to play loose. Estévez indicated that he doesn’t plan on sitting back defensively — even with a lack of depth at forward with Diego Rubio out with an injury — and letting the hosts dominate possession or dictate the flow of the game.
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“One thing we’ve learned (from the league’s first six playoff games) is that you can’t have a conservative mentality,” he said. “If you do, then the opponent is going to keep getting better throughout the game. We need to make them feel that we can threaten them and punish them. We need to show that we’re going there to score and not just (sit back).”
Austin FC swept LAFC this year, and it did a good job against Bouanga — who also didn’t play in the Oct. 12 match — in a 1-0 road win on March 15. The Verde & Black have hung their hat on defense; they allowed only 37 goals — the second-fewest in the league — and believe that’s something that should play to their advantage in the postseason.
“We’re a team that I don’t think many teams want to play because of how tough we are to break down (defensively),” forward Jon Gallagher said. “We’ve got a game plan that we’re going to be pretty diligent about and go there and hopefully frustrate them.”
Austin FC hopes U.S. Open Cup run pays off
Both Estévez and Gallagher noted that playing in four elimination games during the team’s run to the U.S. Open Cup final was good preparation for the playoffs. Austin FC won two of those contests on the road, defeating San Jose in a penalty shootout and beating Minnesota with a goal in extra time.
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“Those are examples of how games could go,” Estévez said. “In the playoffs, the urgency and the emotion create more chaos in the game. And it’s how you navigate those moments that determine if you can win the game or not.”
As one of six players remaining from the 2022 team, Gallagher said there’s a distinct difference between the playoffs and regular season.
“We’ve kind of given the guys who haven’t played (in the MLS postseason) a heads up of how it goes,” he said. “The first 10 minutes are usually pretty chaotic and there’s not a lot of rhythm to the game. But we have players that have played all around the world in big leagues and big games, so I don’t think it will be anything too crazy for them.”
Though Austin FC has nothing to lose in this series, it still wants to make the most of it. LAFC isn’t Manchester City or Real Madrid, so the Verde & Black won’t be played off the pitch, and the last two years a No. 1 seed has lost in the first round. (St. Louis in 2023 and Miami in 2024.)
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And if Austin FC has learned anything the last two seasons, it’s that nothing is guaranteed.
“I’ve been here five years and didn’t want to go three straight years without the playoffs,” Gallagher said. “It’s special. Not everyone gets to experience it.”
Austin FC predicted lineup
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Midfield: Jon Gallagher, Dani Pereira, Owen Wolff, Ilie Sanchez, Osman Bukari
Defense: Guilherme Biro, Brendan Hines-Ike, Oleksandr Svatok, Mikkel Desler
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Austin FC vs LAFC prediction
LAFC 2, Austin FC 0: This is a tough ask for Austin FC. The Verde & Black would have been better off playing Minnesota or San Diego, and they’ll likely need to win Game 2 Sunday at home to extend the series.