The 2023 Austin FC II season was the club's first season in

MLS Next Pro MLS Next Pro (MLSNP) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the United States and Canada that is affiliated with Major League Soccer (MLS). It launched in 2022 with 21 teams and now comprises 27 reserve sides of MLS clu ...

, the third tier of soccer in the United States. They played in the league's Western Conference. The club finished the regular season 4th in the Western Conference and 8th overall in the regular season, qualifying for the MLSNP play-offs. In the four play-off games, Austin FC II only allowed one goal on their way to the MLS Next Pro Cup. Damian Las had a standout season, being selected to both the MLSNP Bext XI and the MLSNP Goalkeeper of the Year. Joe Hafferty was also selected to the MLSNP Bext XI for the 2023 season.

Background

Austin FC Austin FC is an American professional soccer club based in Austin, Texas. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 2018, the club began play in the 2021 season. Their home stadium is Q ...

started playing in the

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanctioned by the United ...

Western Conference in

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

. In August 2022 it was announced that they would launch a MLS Next Pro team for the 2023 season. On December 13, Austin FC announced that Brett Uttley will be the first coach for Austin FC II.

Season

Preseason

On January 4, the team announced it had hired its first two assistant coaches, Dennis Sanchez and Jason Grubb. The next day, Austin FC announced the signing of their first three players to the Austin FC II team, Ugandan midfielder Bobosi Byaruhanga, American forward David Rodríguez, and Dutch midfielder Cheick Touré. Both Byaruhanga and Rodríguez are on season long loans with options to buy. Continuing to work on their 2023 team, Austin FC II signed goalkeeper Eric Lopez on January 10, 2022 from

LA Galaxy II Ventura County FC is an American professional soccer team based in the Greater Los Angeles area town of Thousand Oaks in Ventura County, California, United States that plays in MLS Next Pro, the third tier of the United States soccer league sy ...

. On January 23, Austin FC II announced the signing of Anthony De Anda, the first Austin FC Academy player to sign with the team. Continuing to build their inaugural team, Austin FC II announced the signing of Leo Torres and Chris Pinkham on January 24. On January 31, Austin FC II announced signing of Emmanuel Johnson on a year-long loan with option to buy from Hibernian for its inaugural season. After it first couple of preseason games, Austin FC II continued building their roster by signing Christo Vela on loan from

Cancún F.C. Cancún Fútbol Club is a Mexican professional Association football, football club based in Cancún, Quintana Roo. It plays in Liga de Expansión MX, the second level division of Mexican football league system, Mexican football. The club was fou ...

on February 13. As the first team prepared for the first game of the season, Austin FC II continued to build its squad by signing

Sébastien Pineau Sebastien Gerard Pineau Flores (born 20 January 2003) is a professional association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for Recreativo de Huelva, Recreativo Huelva. Born in Chile, he is a youth internation ...

to a two-year contract through the 2024 season. After acquiring an international slot from New York City FC II for cash consideration on March 1, Austin FC II announced the following day they had signed A Alonso Ramírez on a season long loan from Atlas F.C.. On March 3, Austin FC II announced they had signed three of the four Austin FC MLS Super Draft picks. As the opening of the 2023 season approached, Austin FC II announced they had signed two new players, Joe Hafferty and Jonathan Santillan, to the team on March 16. One day prior to their first game of the season, Austin FC II announced they had signed Micah Burton from the academy team. Making final roster adjustments for the MLSNP season, on March 24, 2022 Austin FC II announced that five players from the first team were placed on loans with the team, and another six players were signed to amateur agreements.

March/April

Austin FC II started their MLSNP season with a 2–1 win over cross-state rivals Houston Dynamo 2 on the back of a two goal performance by Austin FC Superdraft pick Valentin Noël. Austin FC II first ever game on the road resulted in a tie with

Sporting Kansas City II Sporting Kansas City II is a MLS Next Pro club affiliated with Sporting Kansas City of Major League Soccer. For the 2022 season they will play their home games at Rock Chalk Park at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas, as well as Swope ...

, but they dropped a point in their first kick from the marks experience in the MLSNP. Coming back home for their third game of the season, Austin FC II managed another late game winner against

Tacoma Defiance The Tacoma Defiance, formerly Seattle Sounders FC 2, are an American professional soccer team based in the Puget Sound region in Tukwila, Washington, United States. The team competes in MLS Next Pro, a league in the third tier of the United Sta ...

, winning 2–1 on an extra-time strike by Christo Vela. Keeping their unbeaten streak alive through the first four games of the season, Austin FC beat

North Texas SC North Texas Soccer Club is a professional soccer club that competes in MLS Next Pro, the third division of American soccer. The team is owned by, and operates as the reserve team of the Major League Soccer club FC Dallas. North Texas SC currently ...

3–0, aided by a brace from Valentin Noël. On the road for their second game of the season and looking to remain unbeaten, Austin FC II faced

earning a point from the draw, but dropping a point in the shoot-out. Austin FC II finished their first full month of play undefeated with a 1–1 draw against Minnesota United FC 2. But, in their third draw of the season, the team secured their first shootout win edging Minnesota United FC 2 6–5.

May/June

Austin FC II started the month of May by winning their first ever road game at

Providence Park Providence Park (formerly Jeld-Wen Field; PGE Park; Civic Stadium; originally Multnomah Stadium; and from 1893 until the stadium was built, Multnomah Field) is an outdoor soccer venue located in the Goose Hollow neighborhood of Portland, Oregon ...

against

Portland Timbers 2 Portland Timbers 2 is an American professional soccer team based in Portland, Oregon. The team, often referred to as "T2", serves as the reserve squad for the Portland Timbers of Major League Soccer (MLS). The team was a member of the USL Champ ...

in a hardfought 1-0 victory coming off a goal by Rodriguez in the 4th minute of the game. May 14 was the first visit to Colorado for Austin FC II, it was also their first loss as the fell 1–0 to

Colorado Rapids 2 Colorado Rapids 2 is a professional soccer club based in Denver, Colorado area that competes in the MLS Next Pro league, the third division of American soccer. The team is owned by, and operates as the reserve team of, Major League Soccer clu ...

. Austin FC II, lose both its first home game and their first back-to-back games of the season in a 1–0 lose to the San Jose Earthquakes II. In the second iteration of the Austin/Houston cross state rivalry, Austin FC II loss the game 2–0, bringing the record to 1 win and 1 loss. In their first game in June, Austin FC II returned to their winning ways by beating

Real Monarchs Real Monarchs is a professional soccer club playing in the MLS Next Pro, a third division league of American soccer. The team is an affiliate of the Major League Soccer (MLS) club Real Salt Lake. Real Monarchs are based in the Real Salt Lake ...

3–0 at Parmar Field.

David Rodríguez (footballer, born 2002) David Rodriguez may refer to: Sportspeople *David Rodríguez (water polo) (born 1955), Cuban Olympic water polo player *David Rodriguez (boxer) (born 1977), American heavyweight boxer *David Rodríguez (footballer, born 1986), Spanish football forw ...

scored a brace and Valentin Noël returned to his scoring way, adding the third goal. Coming off a strong win, Austin FC II hosted

Whitecaps FC 2 Whitecaps FC 2 is a professional association football, soccer team based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada that serves as the reserve team of the Vancouver Whitecaps FC of Major League Soccer. History Prior to the MLS Next Pro iteratio ...

, the second place team in the Western Conference. Though the game was hardfought, Austin FC II managed the 1–0 win with a goal off CJ Fodrey. Austin FC II continued to perform well in the month of June, earning their fourth win in a row, defeating

, 4–0. After four wins in a row, Austin FC II dopped their first game in June to the

1–0. Austin FC II ended the month of June 4–1–1 after drawing with

0–0, but did earn the extra point in the shootout on two saves by

Damian Las Damian Jan Las (born April 11, 2002) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Louisville City FC in the USL Championship, on loan from Major League Soccer club Austin FC. Club career Fulham On September 11, 201 ...

July/August

Austin FC II started their summer stretch with a 3–0 win against cross state rivals Houston Dynamo 2 on goals from CJ Fodrey,

, and Christo Vela before they headed into a two-week break. After their two week break, Austin FC II had an opportunity to gain some points on the Western Conference leader

. Despite taking an early 3–0 lead on goals from CJ Fodrey, Sébastien Pineau, and Sal Mazzaferro, Colorado Rapids 2 came back in the second half to earn the tie and then gained another point by winning the penalty shoot-out 6–5. A week later Austin FC II had one of their best performances against

, winning 4–0 on goals from Micah Burton, Alonso Ramírez, Sébastian Pineau, and Leo Torres. A week later, Austin FC II took on Los Angeles FC 2 and played them to a 0–0 draw, earning a point and then secured a second point by winning the penalty shoot-out 4–3. Extending their unbeaten streak to six games, Austin FC II defeated San Jose Earthquakes II 2–0 on a brace by Sébastien Pineau, who scored in the 50th and 89th minutes of the match. Austin FC II added one more game to their unbeaten streak by earning a point in a 1–1 tie against Whitecaps FC 2, but dropped a point is the shootout, falling 4–3.

September

Austin FC II started the month by qualifying for their first MLS Next Pro playoff berth when they earned two points against Los Angeles FC 2, winning the penalty shoot-out 5–4, after a 1–1 draw in regulation. Joe Hafferty scored his first goal of the season on a corner kick, and Damian Las came up big with several strong saves, including one in the penalty shootout. On the road in Minnesota, Austin FC II was able to add another point to its season total, after a 1–1 draw with MNUFC 2, but were not able to earn the second point after a 13 round penalty shoot-out, losing 8–9 in the shoot-out. On September 22, 2023, the team announced that they had signed two more goalkeepers to the team on amateur contracts. Nicolas Aristizabal came to Austin FC II from the Academy's U-15 team and Greg Monroe joined the team from Sienna College, where he played from 2018 to 2022. Austin FC II fell in a weather interrupted game with North Texas SC 3–1, dropping the team to fourth place in the west going into the play-offs.

Play-offs

With the new pick your play-off opponent format for this year's MLS Next Pro play-offs, Sporting Kansas City II made a surprise selection and chose Austin FC II for their first round match, which will be played at Rock Chalk Park in Kansas. Austin FC travelled to Rock Chalk Park and secured a 2–0 victory of Sporting Kansas City II on goals from David Rodríguez and Alonso Ramírez, advancing to the Conference semifinals. In the Conference Semi-finals draw, Colorado Rapids choose Earthquakes II, leaving Austin FC II to play Tacoma Defiance in Washington. Austin FC II earned a 1–0 win against Tacoma Defiance in the Western Conference semi-finals on a late goal by Valentin Noël. Austin FC II advances to play Colorado Rapids II in Colorado for the Western Conference finals. Austin FC II and Colorado Rapids 2 played to a 0–0 score after extra time, going to a penalty shoot-out in the Western Conference Finals. Austin FC II went on to win the shootout 4–1 to advance to the MLS Next Pro Cup Finals and move on to face

Columbus Crew 2 Columbus Crew 2 is a professional soccer team based in Columbus, Ohio that competes in the MLS Next Pro league, the third division of American soccer. The team is owned by, and operates as the reserve team of the Major League Soccer club Colum ...

in Columbus, Ohio for the 2023 MLS Next Cup.

MLS Next Pro Cup

After winning three away games to secure a spot in the MLS Next Pro Cup Finals, Austin FC II found themselves on the road again, facing Columbus Crew 2 at Lower.com field in the MLS Next Pro Cup. Austin FC II were on their heals in the first half with Columbus Crew 2 getting four shots on goals, all resulting in Damian Las having to make the save. Early in the 2nd half Cheick Touré was whistled for a foul in the box, resulting in a

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

. Columbus Crew midfielder Thomas Robert converted the PK to put them up by one goal. Austin FC II continued to push and Valentin Noël earned a penalty kick. Alonso Ramirez converted the PK, tying the game 1–1. Seven minutes later CJ Fodrey and Valentin Noël pushed the ball up the left side, resulting in a goal from the top of the box by Valentin Noël. In the last 10 minutes of the game CJ Fodrey forced an own goal to take a two goal lead and carried that lead through the end of the game. Austin FC II were crowned the 2023 MLS Next Pro Champions.

Management team

Roster

Transfers

In

Loan In

Out

Non-competitive fixtures

Preseason

Competitive fixtures

Major League Soccer Regular Season

Standings

= Western Conference

=Overall

Matches

MLS Next Pro Playoffs

Statistics

Appearances and goals

''Numbers after plus–sign (+) denote appearances as a substitute.''

Top scorers

, 7 , 0 , 7 , - , 3 , MF , 10 , align="left", David Rodríguez , 5 , 1 , 6 , - , rowspan=3, 4 , FW , 19 , align="left", CJ Fodrey , 4 , 0 , rowspan=3, 4 , - , MF , 23 , align="left", Alonso Ramírez , 2 , 2 , - , FW , 28 , align="left", Alfonso Ocampo-Chavez , 4 , 0 , - , 7 , DF , 5 , align="left", Salvatore Mazzaferro , 3 , 0 , 3 , - , rowspan=2, 8 , MF , 7 , align="left", Micah Burton , 2 , 0 , rowspan=2, 2 , - , MF , 99 , align="left", Christo Vela , 2 , 0 , - , - , rowspan="5", 10 , FW , 11 , align="left",

EJ Johnson Earvin "EJ" Johnson III (born June 4, 1992) is an American TV personality and socialite. Early life Earvin Johnson III was born on June 4, 1992, in Beverly Hills, California, to Earvin "Magic" Johnson and Earlitha "Cookie" Johnson (''née' ...

, 1 , 0 , rowspan="5", 1 , - , MF , 18 , align="left", Bobosi Byaruhanga , 1 , 0 , - , DF , 22 , align="left", Joe Hafferty , 1 , 0 , - , MF , 32 , align="left", Ervin Torres , 1 , 0 , - , MF , 35 , align="left", Bryan Arellano , 1 , 0 , - !colspan="4", Total ! 40 ! 5 ! 45

Top assists

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Disciplinary record

{, class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" , - , style="background-color:#00AE42; color:#000000" rowspan="2" !width=15, , style="background-color:#00AE42; color:#000000" rowspan="2" !width=15, , style="background-color:#00AE42; color:#000000" rowspan="2" !width=120, Player , style="background-color:#00AE42; color:#000000" colspan="3", MLSNP , style="background-color:#00AE42; color:#000000" colspan="3", MLSNP Playoffs , style="background-color:#00AE42; color:#000000" colspan="3", Total , - !style="background-color:#00AE42; color:#000000" width=34; background:#fe9;, !style="background-color:#00AE42; color:#000000" width=34; background:#fe9;, !style="background-color:#00AE42; color:#000000" width=34; background:#ff8888;, !style="background-color:#00AE42; color:#000000" width=34; background:#fe9;, !style="background-color:#00AE42; color:#000000" width=34; background:#fe9;, !style="background-color:#00AE42; color:#000000" width=34; background:#ff8888;, !style="background-color:#00AE42; color:#000000" width=34; background:#fe9;, !style="background-color:#00AE42; color:#000000" width=34; background:#fe9;, !style="background-color:#00AE42; color:#000000" width=34; background:#ff8888;, , - , 1 , GK , align="left", Eric Lopez , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0 , - , 2 , DF , align="left", Cheick Touré , 4, , 1, , 0, , 1, , 0, , 0, , 5, , 1, , 0 , - , 4 , DF , align="left", Kipp Keller , 2, , 0, , 0, , 1, , 0, , 0, , 3, , 0, , 0 , - , 5 , DF , align="left", Salvatore Mazzaferro , 1, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 1, , 0, , 0 , - , 7 , MF , align="left", Micah Burton , 8, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 8, , 0, , 0 , - , 9 , FW , align="left",

, 2, , 0, , 0, , 1, , 0, , 0, , 3, , 0, , 0 , - , 10 , FW , align="left", David Rodríguez , 2, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 2, , 0, , 0 , - , 11 , FW , align="left",

, 3, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 3, , 0, , 0 , - , 12 , GK , align="left",

, 4, , 0, , 0, , 1, , 0, , 0, , 5, , 0, , 0 , - , 13 , MF , align="left", Leo Torres , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0 , - , 14 , FW , align="left", Jonathan Santillan , 1, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 1, , 0, , 0 , - , 15 , MF , align="left", Steeve Louis Jean , 6, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 6, , 0, , 0 , - , 18 , MF , align="left", Bobosi Byaruhanga , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0 , - , 19 , MF , align="left", CJ Fodrey , 6, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 6, , 0, , 0 , - , 21 , MF , align="left", Valentin Noël , 3, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 3, , 0, , 0 , - , 22 , DF , align="left", Joe Hafferty , 5, , 0, , 0, , 1, , 0, , 0, , 6, , 0, , 0 , - , 23 , MF , align="left", Alonso Ramírez , 4, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 4, , 0, , 0 , - , 24 , MF , align="left", Jackson Wälti , 2, , 0, , 1, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 2, , 0, , 1 , - , 25 , DF , align="left", Anthony De Anda , 1, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 1, , 0, , 0 , - , 26 , DF , align="left", Charlie Asensio , 1, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 1, , 0, , 0 , - , 28 , FW , align="left", Alfonso Ocampo-Chavez , 1, , 0, , 0, , 1, , 0, , 0, , 2, , 0, , 0 , - , 32 , MF , align="left", Ervin Torres , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0 , - , 35 , MF , align="left", Bryan Arellano , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0 , - , 77 , FW , align="left", Chris Pinkham , 1, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 1, , 1, , 0, , 1 , - , 99 , MF , align="left", Christo Vela , 4, , 0, , 0, , 1, , 0, , 0, , 5, , 0, , 0 , - , , GK , align="left", Nicolas Aristizabal , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0 , - , , GK , align="left", Greg Monroe , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0 , - !colspan="3", Total, , 55, , 1, , 1, , 7, , 0, , 1, , 62, , 1, , 2

Clean sheets

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, 12 , 3 , 15 , -

Awards and honors

MLS Next Pro Cup

* Champions

MLS Next Pro Cup MVP

* Valentin Noël

MLS Next Pro Western Conference Play-offs

* Champions

MLSNP Best XI

{, class=wikitable , - !style="background-color:#00AE42; color:#000000" , Player !style="background-color:#00AE42; color:#000000" , Position !style="background-color:#00AE42; color:#000000" , Ref , - ,

, GK , rowspan="1", , - , Joe Hafferty , DF , rowspan="1", , -

MLSNP Goalkeeper of the Year

{, class=wikitable , - !style="background-color:#00AE42; color:#000000" , Player !style="background-color:#00AE42; color:#000000" , Ref , - ,

, rowspan="1", , -

MLSNP Save of the Year

{, class=wikitable , - !style="background-color:#00AE42; color:#000000" , Player !style="background-color:#00AE42; color:#000000" , Ref , - ,

, rowspan="1", , -

MLSNP Midseason Goalkeeper of the Year

{, class=wikitable , - !style="background-color:#00AE42; color:#000000" , Player !style="background-color:#00AE42; color:#000000" , Ref , - ,

, rowspan="1", , -

MLS All-Star Game Goalie Wars

{, class=wikitable , - !style="background-color:#00AE42; color:#000000" , Player !style="background-color:#00AE42; color:#000000" , Ref , - ,

, rowspan="1", , -

MLSNP Team of the Week

{, class=wikitable , - !style="background-color:#00AE42; color:#000000" , Week !style="background-color:#00AE42; color:#000000" , Team !style="background-color:#00AE42; color:#000000" , Ref , - , align=center, 4 , Austin FC II , , - , align=center, 13 , Austin FC II , , -

MLSNP Goalkeeper of the Month

{, class=wikitable , - !style="background-color:#00AE42; color:#000000" , Month !style="background-color:#00AE42; color:#000000" , Player !style="background-color:#00AE42; color:#000000" , Ref , - , align=center, April ,

, rowspan="1", , - , align=center, June ,

, rowspan="1", , - , align=center, August ,

, rowspan="1", , -

References

{{2023 in American men's soccer

Austin FC II Austin FC II is an American professional soccer team that is located in Austin, Texas. It is the reserve team of Austin FC and participates in MLS Next Pro. History On August 4, 2022, Austin FC was named as one of seven MLS clubs that would f ...