The 2023 Austin FC II season was the club's first season in MLS Next Pro, 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 started playing in the MLS Western Conference in

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

. 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 Bobosi Byaruhanga (born 3 December 2001) is a Ugandan footballer who currently plays as a midfielder for American side Austin FC II, on loan from Vyškov. Club career Vipers SC Byaruhanga started his career with Vipers, progressing through the ...

, 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. 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 Leo Torres (born January 22, 2004) is an American professional soccer player who plays as an attacking midfielder for MLS Next Pro club Austin FC II. Career San Antonio FC On February 14, 2019, Torres signed his first professional contract wi ...

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 Futbol Club is a Mexican professional football club based in Cancún, Quintana Roo currently playing in Liga de Expansión MX. The club was established in June 2020 after the Cafetaleros de Chiapas franchise announced that it would be mo ...

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 Sébastien Gerard Pineau Flores (born 20 January 2003) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for Austin FC II. Born in Chile, he is a youth international for Peru. Club career Alianza Lima Universidad César Vallejo loan Having spe ...

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. Atlas Fútbol Club () is a Mexican professional football club based in Guadalajara, Jalisco that currently plays in Liga MX. It plays home matches at the Estadio Jalisco. Founded in 1916, Atlas has won three league titles and four domestic cups ...

. 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 Joseph Hafferty (born March 21, 1998) is an American association football, soccer player who currently plays for USL Championship side Las Vegas Lights FC, Las Vegas Lights. Career Youth Hafferty has been with the Seattle Sounders FC Academy sinc ...

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 Houston Dynamo 2 is an American professional soccer team that is located in Houston, Texas. It is the reserve team of Houston Dynamo FC and participates in MLS Next Pro. History On December 6, 2021, Houston Dynamo FC were named as one of 21 c ...

on the back of a two goal performance by Austin FC Superdraft pick

Valentin Noël Valentin Noël (born 27 April 1999) is a French professional football player who plays as a midfielder for Las Vegas Lights FC of the USL Championship. Career Youth and college Noël was born and raised in Niort, France playing for his hometown ...

. Austin FC II first ever game on the road resulted in a tie with Sporting Kansas City II, 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, 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 3–0, aided by a brace from

. On the road for their second game of the season and looking to remain unbeaten, Austin FC II faced LA Galaxy II 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 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, the Major League Socce ...

. 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 San Jose Earthquakes II is an American professional soccer team that is located in San Jose, California. It is the reserve team of San Jose Earthquakes and participates in MLS Next Pro. History On December 6, 2021, San Jose Earthquakes were na ...

. 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 3–0 at Parmar Field.

David Rodríguez (footballer, born 2002) David Rodríguez Uribe (born May 5, 2002) is a professional soccer player who plays as an attacking midfielder for MLS Next Pro club Austin FC II, on loan from Liga MX team Atlético San Luis. Born in Mexico, he represented the United States ...

scored a brace and

returned to his scoring way, adding the third goal. Coming off a strong win, Austin FC II hosted Whitecaps FC 2, 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 Portland Timbers 2, 4–0. After four wins in a row, Austin FC II dopped their first game in June to the Tacoma Defiance 1–0. Austin FC II ended the month of June 4–1–1 after drawing with Real Monarchs 0–0, but did earn the extra point in the shootout on two saves by Damian Las.

July/August

Austin FC II started their summer stretch with a 3–0 win against cross state rivals

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 LA Galaxy II, 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 Los Angeles FC 2 is an American professional soccer team that is located in the Greater Los Angeles, California area. It is the reserve team of Los Angeles FC and participates in MLS Next Pro. History On August 4, 2022, LAFC was named as one ...

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

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.

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 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. 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

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, 6 , 2 , 8 , - , 2 , FW , 9 , align="left",

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EJ Johnson Earvin Johnson III (born June 4, 1992) is an American television 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",

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, 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

, 2 , 1 , - , MF , 21 , align="left",

, 3 , 0 , - , rowspan=2, 5 , FW , 19 , align="left", CJ Fodrey , 1 , 1 , 2 , - , FW , 28 , align="left", Alfonso Ocampo-Chavez , 2 , 0 , - , rowspan="8", 7 , FW , 11 , align="left", EJ Johnson (soccer) , 1 , 0 , rowspan="8", 1 , - , FW , 14 , align="left", Jonathan Santillan , 1 , 0 , - , MF , 15 , align="left", Steeve Louis Jean , 1 , 0 , - , MF , 21 , align="left",

, 1 , 0 , - , DF , 22 , align="left",

, 1 , 0 , - , MF , 23 , align="left", Alonso Ramírez , 1 , 0 , - , DF , 77 , align="left", Chris Pinkham , 1 , 0 , - , MF , 99 , align="left", Christo Vela , 1 , 0 , - !colspan="4", Total !22 !3 !25

Disciplinary record

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, 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", Damian Las , 4, , 0, , 0, , 1, , 0, , 0, , 5, , 0, , 0 , - , 13 , MF , align="left",

, 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",

, 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",

, 3, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 3, , 0, , 0 , - , 22 , DF , align="left",

, 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 Walti , 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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Awards and honors

MLS Next Pro Cup

* Champions

MLS Next Pro Cup MVP

MLS Next Pro Western Conference Play-offs

* Champions

MLSNP Best XI

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, DF , rowspan="1", , -

MLSNP Goalkeeper of the Year

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MLSNP Save of the Year

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MLSNP Midseason Goalkeeper of the Year

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MLS All-Star Game Goalie Wars

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MLSNP Team of the Week

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MLSNP Goalkeeper of the Month

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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 fi ...