Recap: DC United 2, Austin FC 3

Phil West

Ola Kamara tallied two goals and received two yellow cards in an eventful first half, then Austin FC charged back with three late goals while a man up to pull off the 3-2 win over D.C. United in a wild and weather-delayed match Saturday night at Audi Field.

After a fairly dominant start to the match, including an apparent Kamara goal called offside five minutes in, he got the opener in the 26th minute. Then, following what seemed to be a 32nd-minute Diego Fagundez equalizer also pulled back for offside, Kamara netted a brace to double United's lead in the 40th minute.

The first half ended in wild fashion; Julio Cascante hit the crossbar with a header in the 45th minute. And deep into first-half stoppage time, Kamara fouled Sebastian Driussi just outside the box at the end line, earning a second yellow and dropping the Black-and-Red to 10 men. He'd gotten his first for a shirt-doffing celebration after his first goal.

Austin had trouble getting it going offensively in the second half. They finally broke through against 10-man DCU in the 80th minute, with substitute Danny Hoesen converting on a Fagundez corner kick for his first-ever goal in Verde. Five minutes later, Driussi equalized to set up the exciting finish, with center back Ruben Gabrielsen capping off the improbable finish in the 90th minute and then helping the defense hang on through nearly 10 minutes of stoppage time.

Goals

26' — DC — Ola Kamara | WATCH
40' — DC — Ola Kamara | WATCH
80' — ATX — Danny Hoesen | WATCH
85' — ATX — Sebastian Driussi | WATCH
90' — ATX — Ruben Gabrielsen | WATCH

Three Things

THE BIG PICTURE: For Austin, it’s the first road win in nearly a calendar year, with the prior one coming May 1 in Minnesota. What’s more, it’s an incredible character-defining win, after being down 2-0 deep into the match, looking disjointed and playing without their first-ever Designated Player, Cecilio Dominguez, whose future is still uncertain pending a league investigation. Heading into the Sunday matches, the result temporarily left Verde top of the Western Conference table. For D.C. United, it’s a confounding loss that arguably started with Kamara’s second yellow, calling that first yellow into scrutiny.
MOMENT OF THE MATCH: The comeback would have been incredible even if the match ended in a draw, but the winner from the Norweigan international – still relatively new to the club – made the difference, earning Austin their fourth win of the 2022 campaign.

MAN OF THE MATCH: While this was a true team effort for Austin, Fagundez got two assists on the night and showed how vital he is to keeping the Verde and Black emotionally grounded.