Austin FC's Season Closes at Q2: Portland Wins 2-0 on Decision Day to Take the West's No. 7 Seed
Austin FC's regular season ended the way Portland needed it to: Ariel Lassiter scored inside three minutes, Kristoffer Velde sealed it at 70, and the Timbers' 2-0 win at Q2 Stadium sent Portland into the playoffs.
AUSTIN — Austin FC's regular season closed at Q2 Stadium on Saturday with the result the visitors came for. The Portland Timbers beat Austin 2-0 on Decision Day, a win that clinched Portland's place in the Audi 2026 MLS Cup Playoffs as the Western Conference's No. 7 seed.
The game was tilted almost immediately. Ariel Lassiter scored in the third minute, a left-footed finish from the right side of the box off a Vincent Janssen assist, and Austin spent the rest of the afternoon chasing a Portland side that needed only to protect the lead it had grabbed.
Kristoffer Velde closed the door in the 70th minute, a right-footed strike from outside the box to the top corner, assisted by Ian Smith. It was Portland's third shutout of the season and its fourth straight win to close the regular season; the Timbers finish seventh in the West on 46 points (13 wins, 14 losses, 7 draws) and will meet No. 2 FC Dallas in a Round One Best-of-3 Series.
For Austin, the loss ends the regular season at home. The MLS playoffs begin Nov. 19 with the Wild Card matches, and MLS Cup is played Dec. 18.
