Austin FC Must Take All Nine Remaining Points to Keep Its Playoff Chance Alive, Starting Wednesday Against Real Salt Lake at Q2
The club's own math is unforgiving — nine points from the final three matches, or the postseason is gone — and Austin will chase the first three without Jon Bell, Chris Applewhite or Ervin Torres, all listed out for Wednesday's 7:30 p.m. kickoff.
Austin FC returns home to Q2 Stadium on Wednesday night knowing exactly what the table demands: all nine points still available across its final three regular-season matches to have a chance to reach the MLS Cup Playoffs, the club said in its official match preview. Real Salt Lake visits for a 7:30 p.m. CT kickoff, streaming on Apple TV with radio on Alt 97.5 in English and TUDN Radio Austin in Spanish.
Austin kept the hope alive on Saturday in Kansas City, where Myrto Uzuni's brace erased a second-half deficit. The two goals earned Uzuni a place on the MLS Team of the Matchday for the third time this season and brought his goal contribution tally to 20 in all competitions, per the club.
The availability report cuts into that momentum. Austin listed three players out for Wednesday: Jon Bell (lower abdomen) — who scored Austin's goal in the 2-1 loss at RSL earlier this season — Chris Applewhite (quad) and Ervin Torres (ankle), according to the club's Player Availability Report presented by St. David's HealthCare.
Salt Lake arrives with its own urgency. RSL sits two points below the playoff line, trailing the LA Galaxy, and a win Wednesday would lift it into the top nine, per the preview. Sergi Solans, who scored twice in RSL's 3-0 win over St. Louis, has 14 MLS goals — three away from Cyle Larin's MLS rookie record — and Morgan Guilavogui adds four goals and 10 assists. After a 13-match winless run, RSL is 3-1-1 in its last five. Austin's fans have one October memory to draw on: the club's first-ever playoff win came against Salt Lake at Q2 in October 2022, on penalties.
