The 2023 Austin FC season was the club's third season in Major League Soccer, the top flight of soccer in the United States. They played in the league's Western Conference and did not qualify for the playoffs.
Austin participated in two new competitions in 2023, their first regional competition (the 2023 Leagues Cup) and continental competitions (the 2023 CONCACAF Champions League), but did not advance in either competition.
Background
Austin FC started playing in the MLS Western Conference in 2021, finishing in 12th place with a record of 9W-4D-21L. 2022 brought many new experiences to Austin FC. They lost their first ever U.S. Open Cup match against San Antonio FC in extra time, won their first trophy, the Copa Tejas, and qualified for their first-ever MLS Cup Playoffs in just their second season as a franchise. Austin FC advanced to the Western Conference Finals but lost to LAFC. They qualified for the 2023 CONCACAF Champions League as a result of their success in 2022.
Summary Pre-season Immediately following the 2022 season, Austin FC started their preparation for the 2023 MLS Season. On November 7, 2022, Austin FC announced multiple roster decision influencing the 2023 season. Jared Stroud was traded to St. Louis City SC, Hector Jiménez's contract is being allowed to expire, Washington Corozo's transfer option was not exercised, and options were declined on Danny Hoesen, Felipe Martins, Freddy Kleemann, Andrew Tarbell, and Will Pulisic.
Austin FC continued shaping their 2023 team during the 2022 MLS Re-Entry Draft, when they traded with DC United for the first selection in that draft for $50,000 general allocation money. With the first selection Austin FC chose midfielder Sofiane Djeffal from DC United. On the same day, Austin FC announced that they selected Forward Alfonso Ocampo-Chavez from the End-of-Year Waiver list from the Seattle Sounders FC, where he had spent time with the MLS Next Pro club Tacoma Defiance. On November 29, 2022, Austin FC and Ocampo-Chavez came to terms on a one-year guarantee through the 2023 season, with a two-year team option through 2025.
In December Austin FC continued to work on their 2023 roster announcing on December 8, 2022, they had resigned Hector Jiménez and announced on December 12, 2022, that they had acquired Gyasi Zardes through free agency. The 2023 MLS SuperDraft was held on December 21, 2022, and Austin FC picked up CJ Fodrey (GA) and Valentin Noël in the first round, Jackson Walti in the second round, and Salvatore Mazzaferro in the third round.
Austin FC started the new year by strengthening their goalkeeping corps, adding Matt Bersano from the free agent list. Austin FC strengthened their defensive unit on January 4, 2023, by acquiring Leo Väisänen from IF Elfsborg. One day after signing Väisänen, Austin FC announced that Ruben Gabrielsen will be leaving the team after just one year and moving to Lillestrøm SK Continuing to shape the team for 2023 season, Austin FC announced on January 6, 2023, that they had come to an agreement to transfer Tomás Pochettino to Brazilian side Fortaleza Esporte Clube. Adding more depth to their defensive formation, Austin FC announced on January 10, 2023, they had signed Adam Lundqvist from their cross-state rival Houston Dynamo for $500,000 GAM over the 2023–2024 seasons. Looking to build their defense for the longest MLS season to date, Austin FC announced they had signed Amro Tarek as a free agent on January 27, 2023. On January 31, 2023, Austin FC announced Moussa Djitté had been loaned to AC Ajaccio on a short-term loan through the end of the Ligue 1 season, with an option to purchase at the end of the season. After a trial period for a Veteran striker, Austin FC announced on February 10, 2023, that they had signed Will Bruin to a one-year contract, with an option for a second year. The club extended Sebastian Driussi for three years with a fourth-year option on February 14 and named him the next captain. Days before the first match of the season Austin FC extended Diego Fagúndez for three years with a fourth year option, finalizing preseason moves for the team
Slow start and early Champions League exit - February / March / April Austin FC started the 2023 season with a 3–2 loss to St. Louis City SC in the latter's inaugural match. Julio Cascante was subbed off in the 11th minute after suffering an adductor strain injury that sidelined him for more than two months. Austin quickly rebounded with a 1–0 win over CF Montreal where Maximiliano Urruti scored the game-winner the 88th minute. After the first leg against Violette, the Verde and Black returned to MLS competition against RSL where Owen Wolff scored his first professional goal and the match-winner in the 33rd minute in a 2–1 victory. Austin then suffered their first road loss of the season in a 2–0 defeat to their cross-state rivals, the Houston Dynamo. Ending the month of March with a 1–1 draw against the Colorado Rapids, Austin FC sat in the middle of the table for both the western conference and Supporters Shield standings heading into the second month of the season. At this point, Jon Gallagher led the team with 3 goals, while prized striker Sebastian Driussi had 1 goal in the opening match against St. Louis while Diego Fagundez, Emiliano Rigoni, Gyasi Zardes, Ethan Finlay, and Will Bruin hadn't scored in the first 5 league matches for the club. On March 22, the club announced Aleksandar Radovanović was signed on a short-term loan from K.V. Kortrijk through June 30, 2023, with an option to buy, which the club later declined.
After a two-week break, Austin FC continued the season on the road against LAFC and lost 3–0 on the back of a hat-trick by Denis Bouanga in the first Western Conference Final rematch. Adding to the backline's struggles, Austin suffered another blow to the defense; on April 13, the team announced Žan Kolmanič injured his ACL during training and had season-ending surgery. Austin continued to struggle offensively in a home fixture against Vancouver, where they lost Fagundez for a month to a groin injury in a 0–0 draw, and then lost to the LA Galaxy 2–0 the following week. El Tree ended the month with a 2–2 comeback draw at home against the San Jose Earthquakes. Rigoni scored his first goal for the club in the 40th minute, and Driussi scored for the first time since the opening match to equalize in the 78th minute.
CONCACAF Champions League
Outside of league play, Austin FC travelled to the Dominican Republic to take on the Haitian side Violette AC for their first ever continental match in the CONCACAF Champions League, which they lost 3–0 on March 7. Miche-Naider Chéry notched a first half brace for Violette, beating Amro Tarek on two headers. Tarek then had an own-goal early in the second half to ruin any chance of an Austin comeback. A week later, after beating RSL in league play, Austin FC faced Violette in the return fixture at Q2 Stadium. Despite taking 35 shots and a brace from Driussi, Austin FC fell in the series on an aggregate score of 3–2. Their 2023 CONCACAF Champions League run came to a premature end in what was arguably the biggest upset in the history of the competition; because of the political unrest in Haiti, Violette hadn't played a competitive match in 289 days before the first leg.
Condensed schedule and first U.S. Open Cup run - May / June Austin FC earned their second straight 2–2 comeback draw, but this time against the Portland Timbers on May 6. Jon Gallagher scored his 4th goal of the season to lead all MLS defenders on a cross from Emiliano Rigoni. Will Bruin was later subbed into the game and the former Sounder could not have scored his first goal with the Verde and Black in a more timely fashion, tying the match with Austin's latest away goal in their short history in the second minute of stoppage time on a cross from Owen Wolff. However, before the Portland match, Driussi suffered a groin injury of his own and would also miss a month. After the Portland match, Wolff was called up to the U-20 team for the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Argentina and would spend up to a month away from the club. The following week, Rodney Redes was sent off for earning two yellow cards against FC Dallas, and Jesus Ferreira scored the match-winner in the 89th minute, to defeat the short-handed Austin FC 1–0. In a midweek game and with a depleted roster, Austin FC won their first league competition in two months, defeating Seattle Sounders FC 2–1 at Lumen Field on goals from Ethan Finlay and Gyasi Zardes, both their firsts of the campaign. Zardes scored another game-winner four days later helping beat Toronto FC 1–0. A week later, Zardes scored for the third consecutive match and became the 13th player in MLS history to score 100 goals. However, the milestone was not enough for Austin as they conceded two goals and lost to the Dynamo 2–1 in their first Copa Tejas match of the season. Four days later on May 31 against Minnesota United FC, Driussi returned to action for the first time in a month and scored the match-winner in the 82nd minute. The Loons thought they had the equalizer in the 87th minute, but VAR ruled that Hassani Dotson was offside. Brad Stuver then shut the door on Minnesota, making three saves in stoppage time.
Continuing their up and down season, Austin FC returned to Q2 on June 3, losing 2–1 to Real Salt Lake on a brace by Rubio Rubin. Injuries continued to plague the 2023 season, as Alexander Ring was pulled from a starting line up, forcing Aleksandar Radovanović to step in despite playing with a shoulder injury. Last minute changes by Peter Vermes and a strong performance by Sporting Kansas City resulted in a 4–1 loss dropping Austin out of the playoff picture. After a much-needed rest period, a rejuvenated Austin FC finished June with back-to-back 3-0 Copa Tejas wins at Q2 over four days. Ethan Finlay and Gyasi Zardes scored goals in both matches while Diego Fagundez and Julio Cascante scored their first goals of the season against FC Dallas and the Houston Dynamo, respectively. The wins gave Austin the lead in the Copa Tejas standings and an opportunity to defend the trophy with a win in Frisco in late August.
Due to the mounting injuries, David Rodríguez became the first Austin FC II player to sign a short-term agreement with the club on May 17 but did not appear in a match. In the U-20 World Cup, Owen Wolff had a match-winning assist in the group stage against Ecuador and scored a goal in the Round of 16 against New Zealand, but the Stars and Stripes lost in the Quarterfinals against Uruguay. On June 2, Daniel Pereira was called up to the Venezuela national team for the first time. On June 27, Jon Gallagher was announced as an MLS All-Star.
On June 30, Austin FC named Rodolfo Borrell as their new Sporting Director, replacing Claudio Reyna. Borrell was most recently Pep Guardiola's first assistant at Manchester City, and the club won 15 trophies in the 9 years he was affiliated there.
U.S. Open Cup
Austin FC entered the U.S. Open Cup in the Round of 32 and were drawn against USL team New Mexico United for a home match on May 10 where they accomplished another milestone for the club, winning their first U.S. Open Cup match 2–0. Redes tallied his first goal with the club to open the scoring in the 24th minute and Maxi Urruti added another, with Rigoni contributing to both goals. However, the Verde and Black lost in the Round of 16 against the Chicago Fire 2–0, ending their U.S. Open Cup run. Making matters worse, Leo Väisänen tore his LCL in the Chicago match and was expected to miss at least two months.
First Leagues Cup - July / August