Austin FC earned a massive 2-1 victory in Week 9 at in-state rival Houston Dynamo FC, though goalkeeper Brad Stuver was subbed off in the ninth minute of their match after sustaining a right knee injury.
Stuver went down when scrambling to save Sebastian Ferreira's fifth-minute golazo from the midfield line.
The 31-year-old was caught out after a poor clearance and suffered a right knee laceration upon falling on the back stanchion of the goal during his save attempt.
"Real significant laceration across his knee, structurally everything looks good," Austin FC head coach Josh Wolff said of Stuver's injury. "They may keep him overnight to make sure they clean that up and stitch it up properly, but everything structurally looks good. It was a tough knock and the guys responded from that, but good win. Obviously Brad’s in our thoughts and he should be fine in the coming weeks. But awesome performance by the guys tonight and really proud of them to get three points on the road [in] a difficult place."
Andrew Tarbell replaced Stuver and made four saves in relief. Tarbell joined ahead of ATX's expansion season after stops with the Columbus Crew and San Jose Earthquakes, now making 50 appearances since entering the league in 2016.
"It's just part of the job description as a number two goalkeeper right now, you just always gotta be ready," Tarbell said. "I really hope Brad's okay, it looked like a pretty nasty cut. You just always have to be ready, be ready to do your job. Stay calm and stay focused and just rely on your training, previous games. I think it was the third time I've had to enter a game in my career, so I've done it before. I'm glad it went well and we got the win."
Stuver, a fan favorite in Austin, has started all but one of the Verde & Black's games in MLS history. He was a bit of a nomad before landing in the Texas capital city.
