AUSTIN (KXAN) — After beating two great teams from Liga MX to advance out of group play, Austin FC is playing a more familiar squad Wednesday in the Round of 32 of Leagues Cup.
Verde and Black takes on LAFC at 9:30 p.m. CDT, Wednesday at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, and while head coach Josh Wolff acknowledged that BMO Stadium is one of the toughest places to play for an opponent, he thinks his squad can persevere.
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“It’s an awesome opportunity to go on the road and perform in a way that we can give ourselves a chance to win,” Wolff said. “We need every little bit of confidence going to LAFC. We’ve gone there and won, and we’ve gone there and lost, but we have real clear ways that we caused them stress. We’ve got to be ready to complete and grind.”
It took a goal from Kei Kamara in the 90th minute for LAFC to salvage a 1-1 draw the last time the clubs played June 19 in Q2 Stadium. Jader Obrian scored in the 19th minute to put Austin up early and they nearly made it to the finish line, but that’s just how good LAFC is, Wolff said.
“That’s why they have trophies,” he said. “They’ve been the best in MLS for the past 4 or 5 years, and they keep getting better.”
LAFC has attacking firepower all over the field, recently acquiring one of the French national team’s all-time leading scorers Olivier Giroud. He signed a free agent contract after playing for top-flight Italian team AC Milan and his addition makes this undoubtedly a tough draw for Austin FC after winning their group for the first time in club history.
Adding Giroud to the front line with Denis Bouanga, No. 2 in MLS with 16 goals, and Mateusz Bogusz with 13 tallies makes the rich even richer. When MLS play continues, they’ll be set up to challenge crosstown rival LA Galaxy for the conference lead.
The prospect of facing such a stacked offensive lineup to goalkeeper Brad Stuver is all about the mentality the team takes before kickoff.
“They are great on the counter-attack and their front three are extremely dynamic,” he said. “We know what to watch out for, and if we have that same tenacity we’ve had in the past two games, we’ll be OK.”