Myrto Uzuni<\/a>‘s brilliant curling shot just inside the box in the 67th minute.<\/p>\nHere are four key takeaways from the match as Austin FC has a quick turnaround in its return to MLS play when it hosts Dallas Sunday.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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AUSTIN, TEXAS – AUGUST 13: Oleksandr Svatok #5 of Austin FC is marked by Alejandro C\u00e1rdenas Alonso #189 of Club America during the Leagues Cup Phase One match between Austin FC and Club America at Q2 Stadium on August 13, 2026 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Omar Vega\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Omar Vega\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
Leagues Cup brings out the best in Austin FC<\/p>\n
In an electric atmosphere that six-year season-ticket holder Mark Cram called \u201cplayoffs second season levels,\u201d Austin\u00a0FC went toe to toe with arguably the biggest club in North America and interim coach Davy Arnaud noted the Verde and Black fans’ energy was inspiring to his squad.<\/p>\n
Playing in front of a crowd that from the press box seemed to slightly favor Club\u00a0Am\u00e9rica in terms of numbers, the Verde and Black impressively executed a conservative game plan of sitting back in the first half, then changed to an attacking approach after falling behind.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\u201cIn these types of games, you have to show you can win games in different ways,\u201d Arnaud said.\u00a0\u201cYou have to have big players make big plays like Myrto did. I’m so happy for the players. … Not everyone sees what these guys do every day and the work they put in.\u201d<\/p>\n
The team Austin FC has been in Leagues Cup doesn\u2019t resemble the one that’s sitting in 14th place in the\u00a0MLS Western Conference. It even looks completely different than the one that looked subpar in a 1-0 loss to Colorado just two weeks ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Arnaud deserves credit for that, but a different competition brought a new mindset.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat this has done for us is given us a reset. Everyone starts at zero,\u201d he said. \u201cThese guys have belief and see that they can win games. … That’s a powerful thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
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AUSTIN, TEXAS – AUGUST 13: Jorge Alastuey #24 of Austin FC leaps in to the arms of Brad Stuver #1 after Stuver made the match-winning save on the final penalty kick attempted by Club Am\u00e9rica during the Leagues Cup Phase One match at Q2 Stadium on August 13, 2026 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Scott Wachter – Leagues Cup\/MLS via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Scott Wachter – Leagues Cup\/MLS via Getty Images<\/p>\n
Davy Arnaud\u2019s coaching stock is soaring<\/p>\n
Gallagher noted there\u2019s a different vibe in the locker room, and not only from winning. He praised Arnaud for setting a standard of what it means to be a professional.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cGuys knew that they couldn\u2019t put a foot wrong and kind of had to straighten up,\u201d said Gallagher, who like Arnaud has been with the club all six seasons. \u201cThat\u2019s maybe somewhere we\u2019ve been lacking over the last few years, is hard leadership. \u2026 Credit to him; it\u2019s been tough, but the guys have bought in. And we\u2019re kind of going with the guys that want to keep buying in.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Arnaud is in a strange spot professionally. He\u2019s said all the right things about wanting to stay with the club when Jim Curtin takes over in the offseason. But the truth is he\u2019s going to receive a lot of attention from MLS clubs in need of a new coach if the Verde and Black keep up their current level of play; Austin FC players have shown quick adaptation to his preferred 5-2-3 formation.<\/p>\n
\u201cI (coach) because you can’t play anymore and the locker room is a special place,\u201d said\u00a0Arnaud, who had a 14-year career in MLS as a player. \u201c\u2026 This is special to be a part of when you’re around people who are committed to the same thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Myrto Uzuni shines in Leagues Cup<\/p>\n
Uzuni has four goals and an assist in Leagues Cup and is showing why the club paid more than $12 million for his transfer before the 2025 season. Three of his four goals have been worthy of some of the better leagues in Europe, including Thursday\u2019s curler to the far side netting.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\u201cThe first thing I think about Myrto tonight is the work he does,\u201d Arnaud said. \u201cHis desire to win is unmatched.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Uzuni\u2019s play shouldn\u2019t overshadow defender Guilherme Biro, who was arguably Austin FC\u2019s best player on the field.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBiro was fantastic,\u201d Arnaud said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Back to MLS play\u00a0<\/p>\n
The schedule didn\u2019t do Austin FC any favors jumping back into league play. It has three games in seven days starting Sunday, including a midweek contest at Seattle. Arnaud seems to have balanced the roster well, but several players with tired legs will be playing significant minutes next week.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe knew this stretch was not going to be easy,\u201d he said. \u201c… We have guys who are fresh and ready to go. We need to try as much as we can to capture this momentum. We have more to do and we have to have that mindset.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"AUSTIN, TEXAS – AUGUST 13: Myrto Uzuni #10 of Austin FC celebrates with his teammates after scoring his…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":408409,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[132,135,134,133,39353,112080,136,58543],"class_list":["post-408408","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-austin","tag-austin","tag-austin-fc","tag-austin-headlines","tag-austin-news","tag-club-america","tag-leagues-cup","tag-mls","tag-q2-stadium"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408408","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=408408"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408408\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/408409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=408408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=408408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=408408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}