Battered and Bruised Austin FC Faces Nightmare Stretch

Brace yourselves, Austin FC fans. Dark clouds are forming on the horizon.

A fairly encouraging start to the 2026 regular season took a sour turn in the Queen City over the weekend as the Verde and Black suffered their first loss of the season, 3-1 to Charlotte FC.

Refereeing took center stage in that contest, as center official Rosendo Mendoza and VAR Daniel Radford conspired to show ATX left back Guilherme Biro a straight red card in the 25th minute for what appeared to be a fairly incidental step on the calf of Charlotte’s Idan Toklomati. Later, the pair elected not to adjudicate similar punishment to Charlotte’s Liel Abada for an elbow to the face of Nico Dubersarsky that looked at least as violent as Biro’s offense. (Austin did benefit from a Charlotte goal being disallowed due to a harsh handball decision.)

But hey, bad refereeing luck is part of the game and, over the course of a season, tends to even out. Also part of the game are injuries, and ATXFC is also experiencing a lopsided share of those, especially so early into the season.

Star striker Brandon Vázquez is still likely at least a month away from his return from knee surgery. Midfielder Owen Wolff’s recovery from a core muscle procedure remains unclear. Defender Mikkel Desler never seems to be healthy, nor does midfielder Robert Taylor. Now add midfielder Dani Pereira to the list due to an apparent hamstring injury in the first half against Charlotte. Oh, and head coach Nico Estévez mentioned after the game that winger Jayden Nelson was also complaining about hamstring tightness before being subbed out of the match.

So, that’s six important ATX players dealing with some form of ailment. Add Biro’s mandatory one-game suspension as a result of the red card, and things are not looking especially great for the club’s chances this Saturday against Real Salt Lake in Utah.

But that’s just the beginning of the rough road ahead for the Verde and Black. The following week, Austin returns home to face Son Heung-Min, Denis Bouanga, and the rest of powerhouse LAFC, which has started a perfect 3-0-0 with zero goals conceded in MLS play. Following that, an international break, and then an April 4 road trip to face Lionel Messi and defending MLS Cup champs Inter Miami.

All things considered, it might be the most nightmarish three-game stretch Austin FC has faced in its history. At full strength, the club would likely relish the chance to measure itself against the class of Major League Soccer. But as a wounded animal, the feeling is more like running toward a pack of hungry wolves.

It will take a monumental effort from – and would be a massive achievement for – Estévez’s club to scrape together any points from the next three games. If it can’t, it’s by no means the end of the end of Austin FC’s season, but it would set the club pretty far behind the eight ball relative to the playoff race.

For more Austin FC news and analysis, visit The Austin Chronicle’s Austin FC hub. Sign up for The Verde Report newsletter to get the latest news delivered straight to your inbox, and follow The Verde Report columnist Eric Goodman on X: @goodman.

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