Austin FC headed to MLS Western Conference final after beating FC Dallas

AUSTIN, Texas - Austin FC is headed to the MLS Western Conference final!

The Verde and Black beat FC Dallas at Q2 Stadium 2-1 in the Western Conference semifinal of the MLS Cup Playoffs and will face off against Los Angeles FC in the conference final on Sunday.

No. 2 seed Austin's two goals came from Moussa Djitte and Sebastian Driussi who scored three minutes apart in the first half. 

In the 26th minute, Djitte picked up a deflected corner kick at the top of the goalie box and zipped the ball past Dallas goalkeeper Maarten Paes for a 1-0 lead.

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Minutes later in the 29th minute, Driussi stole the ball near midfield, dribbled up field, juked a defender, and blasted a shot from the top of the penalty area, beating Paes to his right side. It was Driussi's third goal of the playoffs after scoring 22 goals in the regular season.

Austin's 2-0 lead stood up until Alan Velasco got No.3-seed Dallas on the board in the 65th minute.

One week after rallying from a 2-0 deficit to get past Real Salt Lake, Austin did not allow Dallas to do the same. 

Austin beat their in-state rival for the first time, having gone 0-3 against Dallas in 2021 and 0-0-2 in the 2022 regular season.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.