San Jose Scores Late to Draw Against Austin

Two goals by Sebastian Driussi and one by Julio Cascante earned the Austin FC a draw against the San Jose Earthquakes.  San Jose came back in the final minutes of the match to earn the draw.   

The Verde and  Black opened the scoring in the 6th minute of play.   Diego Fagundez’s corner kick set-up Julio Cascante at the center top of the goalkeeper’s box.  The assist was the 60th of Fagundez’s MLS career, making him just the 13th player in league history to record at least 60 goals and 60 assists.

San Jose evened the score two minutes later a fluke goal by Benji Kikanovic.  Kikanovic attempted to trap the ball, but lost control as it bounced and deflected into the goal. 

The Earthquake took the lead in the 20th minute.  Paul Marie collected the rebound on a Brad Stuver save, and drilled a power shot past Stuver from 35 yard out. 

Driussi notch his first goal on a crossing pass from Ethan Finley, easily beating San Jose keeper Mat Bersano. 

Driussi scores his second in the waning seconds of the first half, driving the ball to the net, keeping the ball in bounds on the save by Bersano, than taking the ball across the goal line with the San Jose defenders lying flat on the pitch. 

San Jose tied the match in the 88th minute.  Cristian Espinoza’s cross pass set-up the header by Jeremy Ebobisse from close in. 

“All three goals were fairly preventable,” said Austin FC head coach Josh Woff.  “Six goals at home and only coming away with a point is disappointing.”   

The game only underlined the importance of Driussi to the team.  As chant of MVP echo through Q2 Stadium, it begged the question, where would the Austin FC be without the Argentinian? 

Commenting on Driussi, Wolff said, “He’s very committed.  He’s the hardest working guy out there, amongst the hardest working.  He competes.  He a competitor.  He continually makes the guys around him better.    He takes very few play off, if any.  He’s a fighter, he’s a winner.” 

What else does Driussi need to prove to be considered one of the greatest in the league?  “Helping your team win a championship is a big part of it.  Doing this year-end and year-out is a big part of it,” said Wolff.  “If he stays healthy, if he can do it year after year, if he can raise trophies, that’s what sets these players apart.”

The ever pragmatic Wolff underlined the point that, “We’re not in the playoffs yet.  That’s not something to take for granted. Until we’ve clinched that, we’re not there.”