D.C. United undone by set piece woes, fall 1-0 at Austin FC: Match report

D.C. United couldn't build on an opening-week win, dropping a 1-0 result at Austin FC thanks to a late goal from veteran striker Christian Ramirez.

The 34-year-old marked his Austin debut with a goal off the bench, breaking DCU's resolve in a match that saw them on the back foot for the substantial majority of the 90 minutes. United would finish the match credited with a paltry 0.40 xG by MLSsoccer.com.

United dodged a series of early bullets on set pieces, which would serve as foreshadowing for the game's conclusion. Sean Johnson had to make one point-blank stop to smother an effort from Ilie Sánchez after a back-post service picked out Oleksandr Svatok for a knockdown, with Matti Peltola clearing the rebound from in front of an empty net. Next, Guilherme Biro's bullet header forced a sterling save from Johnson in the sixth minute.

A 13th-minute free kick was poorly defended, turning into a corner that resulted in United's biggest lucky break yet. Svatok loomed at the back post, and when Johnson missed a punch, the Ukraine center back was looking at an empty net. Somehow, Svatok's header went wide, forgiving a nervy start from the visitors.

At the other end, United had precious little to offer. Hosei Kijima's 24th-minute roller from beyond the restraining arc served as an easy warm-up tester for Brad Stuver, and also marked D.C.'s first shot attempt of any kind. It wouldn't be much of a surprise when halftime stats included a 1.27-to-0.20 xG edge in favor of the hosts, but in truth Svatok's miss stood alone as the single big chance in the first 45 minutes.

René Weiler knew United needed more going forward, and responded by sending Jackson Hopkins and Gabriel Pirani on at the break, returning to the 11 that started in week one. However, while the 4-4-2 structure remained in place out of possession, United began pressing higher, at last causing Austin some issues in the build phase. In possession, the Black-and-Red had Pirani drop into more of a no. 10 role, while João Peglow's move to the left flank saw him tuck into the middle.

Still, Austin had the second half's actual look, with Dani Pereira finding Facundo Torres in a seam in transition. Torres had picked out the bottom corner from 25 yards, but Johnson sprung to his left to tip the effort wide.

United's improved performance after halftime faded, with both teams struggling to find attacking menace or even patterns of play. However, the set piece issues in the early stages returned late on, as the hosts broke the deadlock in the 82nd minute.

Pirani gave away a cheap free kick after Jon Gallagher simply out-worked him along the touchline, gifting Austin a dead ball in a spot where the Verde would benefit from the sun/shadow border on a clear afternoon at Q2 Stadium. Torres' back-post service drew Johnson, who lost track of the flight of the ball and ended up in a heap amid a pile-up of players from both sides.

From there, substitutes did what they were sent on to do. Besard Sabovic tried to steer the ball home, and while that shot was blocked by a herd of United players, Christian Ramirez — just days after signing a deal with Austin after being kicked to the curb by the LA Galaxy — put just enough on a header to nose the Verde in front.

United, showing some fatigue, offered little in the way of hunting an equalizer. Lucas Bartlett's poor back pass deep in stoppage time should have sealed the deal for Austin, but Kye Rowles did very well to stall and eventually deny Myrto Uzuni's efforts to deposit a shot in an empty net.

United may need to keep an eye on the MLS disciplinary report in the days to come, as the final action of the match seemed to include Pirani striking Gallagher while both eyed a lofted ball towards the Austin box.

In the meantime, DCU will prepare for Lionel Messi and Inter Miami, with that match scheduled for a 4:30 p.m. kickoff on Saturday, March 7 at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.

Set piece troubles are a worry

Last week, against a very physical and direct Philadelphia Union, United held their own defending set pieces, giving away very little.

So much for that. Austin FC generated nearly all of their best chances on dead balls, with a flurry of early corner kicks somehow not ending with DCU down a goal. Austin would eventually get their winner on a free kick, seizing on United's errors as well as the benefits of delivering a ball that began in blinding sunshine before crossing into the shadows at Q2 Stadium.

You can see the clip in the match report, and the problems are the obvious ones: Sean Johnson simply misread Facundo Torres' inswinger, coming out into a crowd of seven other players. Johnson fell more than he leapt in his attempt to slap the ball beyond danger, and it all goes wrong from there.

On one hand, multiple players had the right instinct: collapse to the line, form the currently en vogue meat wall, and hope for the best. However, if four players all drop to the line, while others are still working free of the pile-up from the initial service, what you're going to end up with is open attacking players.

Keisuke Kurokawa is one of the group that hopped to protect the line, but in doing so he left Christian Ramirez wide open for the eventual rebound of Besard Sabovic's shot. Kurokawa isn't winning many headers against Ramirez, but this one's low enough where a body or some interference would have been enough. Instead, the left back was on the line, and couldn't quite prevent the ball from crossing it.

Still, the bigger concern is how United dealt with the first ball in. With Torres' service, some smart routines, and some big targets, Austin did look like a fairly dangerous set piece side. However, in 2025 (i.e. without Torres or Ramirez, but otherwise a team that made few major changes), they were just 18th in dead ball xG (8.55 per American Soccer Analysis) and 21st in shots created (95).

In other words, United will face better set piece sides than Austin going forward, and the execution seen at Q2 Stadium won't cut it. It's tempting to point to the stark sun/shadow line on the goal, but Johnson flapped at the service on one of those first-half chances, all of which took place in a completely shaded United penalty area.

Johnson's attempts to come punch the ball away didn't work, with the veteran goalkeeper largely ending up running into a crowd, and United couldn't maintain their marking when Austin's intentions were for a knockdown header to a second player. The Verde aren't set piece masters who do this to everyone; United has to own that they just weren't up to the task on the day.

This team isn't talented enough to overcome mistakes like those with any sort of regularity. United can't be a bottom-half team defending set pieces if they're going to perform above expectations, even in an Eastern Conference that looks quite weak based on the early returns. The margins are where this team can gain ground on teams with more raw talent, and they're also where this game was lost.

Weiler: Lineup changes 'part of the plan'

United got a feel-good 1-0 win to open the season, defeating a Union side that has generally buried DCU and salted the earth afterwards. The starting 11 set the tone, got a goal relatively early, and executed on a gameplan at a solid level.

On the road, René Weiler opted for two pretty significant changes: Jared Stroud replaced Jackson Hopkins at right midfield, while Hosei Kijima came in on the left with Gabriel Pirani making way, and João Peglow pushed up alongside Tai Baribo.

We saw this look during the Coachella Valley Invitational, and some of the moves could be justified. Pirani, as we discussed last week, was not a factor in the game outside of a couple of single moments. With Louis Munteanu, Stroud, Kijima, Caden Clark, and Jacob Murrell all buzzing around, the Brazil u23 has to be a more reliable factor in games to keep his place.

Swapping out Hopkins, who was a warrior defensively and a ball-progression machine in week one, was harder to understand. At a stretch, you could think that perhaps Hopkins takes more risks positionally and carrying the ball than Stroud would. It's not my preference for how to approach a road game against a team largely regarded as mid-table in the West, but maybe the coaching staff preferred risk avoidance over all other factors this week.

Weiler stuck to his guns over the changes, telling reporters after the match that the 0-0 scoreline proved that going with a more experienced option in Stroud and a more high-energy player in Kijima had the desired impact.

"That was the plan, to start with two other players that we have, [and have] two other strong players on the bench," said Weiler. "With the nil-nil at the half, it was a good plan, but unfortunately, we didn't get a better result in the second half."

Again, it's a line of thinking based in reality. Fans of Fever Pitch probably recall Arsenal starting a must-win game in a 5-4-1 in pursuit of a scoreless first half. The idea is to reduce the amount of time you engage in a wide-open game, frustrate the hosts, and to bank on your substitutions providing the breakthrough once you decide to allow more space and more risk in the match.

Unfortunately for United, Stroud's influence was muted, while Kijima barely saw the ball (his long-range shot in the 25th minute was basically it in terms of a contribution). Hopkins had flashes of the kind of play he showed against Philadelphia, while Pirani — in this system, the player granted the right to take risks — sent most of his passes backwards, attempted no dribbles, and conceded an avoidable foul that became the match-winner.

Austin didn't exactly impress on the day, with United keeping them predictable in open play. Their xG edge on the night came from their set piece looks, with Johnson having to make one good save that didn't involve a dead ball (and even then, the tricky shot was from long range). This isn't LAFC or the Vancouver Whitecaps, and it's not a trip to Texas in July or August.

Bottom line, at least for this take-haver: Hopkins is a nailed-on starter at this point, and United should save the severe risk aversion for MLS's elite.

Box score — MLS regular season (game 2)
3/1/2026

Austin FC 1 (Ramirez 82)
D.C. United 0

Lineups:
ATX (4231): Brad Stuver; Jon Gallagher, Oleksandr Svatok, Brendan Hines-Ike, Guilherme Biro; Dani Pereira, Ilie Sánchez (C) (Besard Sabovic 67); Joseph Rosales (CJ Fodrey 77), Facundo Torres (Jon Bell 90), Jayden Nelson (Christian Ramirez 68); Myrto Uzuni

DCU (442): Sean Johnson; Silvan Hefti, Lucas Bartlett (C), Kye Rowles, Keisuke Kurokawa; Jared Stroud (Jackson Hopkins 46), Matti Peltola, Brandon Servania (Nikola Markovic 90), Hosei Kijima (Gabriel Pirani 46); Tai Baribo, João Peglow (Louis Munteanu 77)

Bookings:
ATX - Torres 29, Pereira 79, Sabovic 87
DCU - Stroud 12, Kurokawa 92+, Pirani 95+

Referee: Lorenzo Hernandez
Weather: Sunny, gusty, 81°
Attendance: 20,738