Austin motivated for another win to start campaign at Charlotte

Austin FC will try to make it points in three straight matches when they travel to Charlotte for their first away contest of the young MLS season on Saturday.

Austin (1-0-1, 4 points) opened the season with a 2-2 draw against Minnesota before taking three points from D.C. United last weekend.

It's the small details that matter early in the season, according to Austin coach Nico Estevez.

"Right now, everyone is motivated, everyone is excited about the season, everyone is ready to go," Estevez said. "We're seeing how difficult it is to get wins. Unless you don't come in with that mentality -- some teams didn't (start) with the right mentality, but the games are decided by little details."

Forward Christian Ramirez scored the lone goal in Sunday's win over D.C. United, and Estevez is expecting a similar formation in Charlotte.

"Charlotte's approach, when they're in a mid, low block is similar (to D.C. United) in a 4-4-2, and we'll have to do a better job to break them," he said. "But they're playing at home, so they probably will be also more open, and we have, I think, a good speed on transition."

Charlotte FC (0-1-1, 1 point) drew Austin for their home opener following a 3-0 defeat in Los Angeles against the Galaxy last Saturday.

Midfielder Pep Biel has Charlotte's lone goal thus far in the season-opening 1-1 draw at St. Louis.

As Charlotte prepares for its first home match of the season, coach Dean Smith is focused on his club's defensive play.

"We've shown we've had problems in both games in transition," Smith explained. "Defensive transition is something we need to get better at. I'll own that and keep getting better at that and look to improve."

Saturday is the first meeting between the two clubs since a 2-2 draw in Austin on July 20, 2024.

--Field Level Media