Nashville SC take on Austin FC in the US Open Cup final on Wednesday night, arguably the biggest match in the club's history.
To get the latest on Austin, we checked in with Phil West, soccer writer extraordinaire and the brains behind Verde All Day.
In honor of Nashville SC's trip to the US Open Cup final, new subscribers can get 25% off a Capo-tier membership now through October 1!
Ben Wright (SixOneFive Soccer): Can you describe Austin's path to the final? How have they performed in the tournament, and what are the vibes heading into the final?
Phil West (Verde All Day): Let me take you back to the first match when Austin hosted El Paso. Verde go down 2-0 by halftime on goals by former Austin Bold player Beto Avila. Verde players are booed leaving the field at halftime, an absolute rarity. Then, in the 73rd minute, they mount a comeback, getting three goals in eight minutes to escape into the next round, and from there they've decidedly inhabited team-of-destiny vibes — including an incredible match in San Jose where they came down twice from deficits on PK goals, lost leading goalscorer Brandon Váqzuez (and Verde's first goalscorer in this game) to a season-ending knee injury, and pulled it out in a shootout after 120 minutes because Brad Stuver was brilliant.
In a season that started a bit flat and included a grueling May in which they were winless in league play (but they're 7-4-3 since the start of June), Open Cup's been a nice counterweight, showing off this team's character.
