Brad Stuver made two saves in second-half stoppage time, and visiting Austin FC earned a 0-0 draw against FC Dallas on Saturday night.
Stuver made a comfortable diving denial on Herman Johansson’s effort from the edge of the penalty area in the fifth minute of added time, and one minute later made a far more difficult intervention to keep Logan Farrington from scoring from close range.
He finished with four saves overall as Austin (7-10-9, 30 points) extended its unbeaten run to seven matches (3-0-4) on a night the 13th-place Verde began only one point beneath the Western Conference playoff line.
Austin interim manager Davy Arnaud missed the match due to a family issue, with assistant Terry Boss taking charge.
Stuver’s counterpart Daniel finished with three stops for Dallas (12-6-8, 44 points), which is unbeaten in its last five (3-0-2) after beginning Saturday in third in the West.
The draw helped Dallas secure the Copa Tejas crown, given to the top-performing club in the six regular season matches among MLS’ three Texas sides.
But Dallas may feel disappointed after a bright start didn’t turn into a more dominant performance.
Kaick Ferreira forced Stuver into an excellent diving stop in the 11th minute after Joaquin Valiente provided a low cross.
But on an evening that began with temperatures in the 90s, the hosts lost that momentum and the visitors looked more threatening more often.
Joseph Rosales fired high and wide from a promising position in the 27th minute. Jon Gallagher twice forced Daniel into comfortable saves with efforts from the left side of the box in the 52nd and 72nd minutes.
Facundo Torres saw his 85th-minute effort from the edge of the box deflected narrowly wide of the top left corner. Five minutes later, Myrto Uzuni curled his effort from a similar position just beyond the right post.
It wasn’t until the dying moments that Dallas finally threatened again, with Farrington reaching Santiago Moreno’s diagonal ball and cutting back against a defender only to see his finish blocked by Stuver’s extended left leg.
–Field Level Media
