Osman Bukari and Myrto Uzuni scored first-half goals for Austin FC, who defeated the visiting San Jose Earthquakes 3-1 on Saturday night.
Austin (10-9-8, 38 points) ended a three-match winless streak (0-1-2) with the win. Its last victory was a 4-2 win over D.C. United on July 26. Austin also concluded the match in eighth place in the Western Conference standings.
San Jose (9-12-8, 35 points) suffered its fourth loss in six matches while dropping to ninth place in the West. The Quakes are 2-5-3 in their past 10 matches.
Bukari opened the scoring for Austin in the 12th minute. He raced forward to get to a through ball from Owen Wolff, ventured into the scoring area, and fired it past Quakes goalkeeper Daniel to make it 1-0. It was Bukari’s third goal of the season and Wolff’s sixth assist.
The lead grew to 2-0 in the 33rd minute as Uzuni tapped in a Bukari pass that deflected off the hand of Daniel, after Bukari recovered a misplaced San Jose pass near the touchline. Uzuni scored for the fifth time this season and for the second straight match, tying Brandon Vazquez for the team lead.
Austin added a third goal in the 77th minute on a defensive miscue by San Jose. A ball played in by Bukari was deflected into the net by the Quakes’ Bruno Wilson to make it 3-1.
Daniel Munie scored the Quakes’ lone goal in the 53rd minute, his second of the season.
Austin improved to 5-2-7 at home with the victory. The Quakes dropped to 5-8-2 on the road.
Brad Stuver stopped five shots for Austin in the win. Daniel was credited with zero saves in the loss.
Austin and San Jose meet again Oct. 18 on the final day of the regular season.
–Field Level Media
