RSL falls in penalties to Austin in first round of MLS playoffs

AUSTIN — Real Salt Lake survived 76 minutes down a man but fell short in a penalty shootout after finishing extra time tied 2-2 with Austin FC in the first round of the MLS Cup Playoffs Sunday in Texas.

Marcelo Silva sank the first penalty for RSL, but it was all downhill after that, with saves by Austin keeper Brad Stuver on the second and third attempt, and then a miss over the crossbar by Tate Schmitt to seal RSL's playoff fate.

"We put ourselves in a position to win the game there at the end, so, obviously, there's going to be a lot of disappointment," head coach Pablo Mastroeni said. "What I said to the guys after the game is that performance was full of courage, bravery, resolve; and those are things that are characteristics that are needed when you're playing down a man. And I thought they were exemplary in that regard."

RSL seemed unbothered at first by the sold-out crowd at Q2 Stadium, attacking early and playing aggressively on both sides of the ball. The aggression paid off with a goal from Sergio Cordova on a cross from Andrew Brody in the third minute.

The lead was doubled in stunning fashion after Jhojan Valencia was called for a handball in the box in the 12th minute, and Cordova stepped up to take the penalty and claim his second goal in the opening 15 minutes for RSL.

Austin pulled one back in the 31st minute with a header from star forward Sebastian Driussi off of a cross from Diego Fagundez. The home team began to press higher and more aggressively following the opening goal, looking to tie things up before halftime.

Captain Alex Ring was given a yellow card in the 41st minute after a series of heavy challenges against RSL.

RSL led 2-1 at the halftime break despite trailing Austin in both shots (10-7) and possession (57%-43%).

Austin head coach Josh Wolff elected to make three subs at the half, and it nearly paid off immediately when Emiliano Rigoni got the ball in the 6-yard box in the 48th minute, but the shot sailed over the goal.

The scales quickly turned in Austin's favor in the 52nd minute when Rubio Rubin slid into the Austin keeper and earned his second yellow card of the matching, eliminating him from the match and forcing RSL to play down a man for nearly the entire second half.

Mastroeni made his adjustments in the 60th minute, bringing on Jasper Loffelsend and Nick Besler for Maikel Chang and Sergio Cordova. The formation shifted into a more defensive 5-3-1 in order to try and maintain the narrow lead.

Two more subs came in the 73rd minute for Mastroeni, as Jefferson Savarino and Bryan Oviedo made way for Bode Hidalgo and Tate Schmitt, who made his first appearance for RSL since he started against Atlanta on July 13.

The second penalty of the game was given in stoppage time when Besler fouled an Austin player in the box. Driussi sank the shot and the match went to extra time tied 2-2.

Driussi thought he had a hat trick and the game-winner in the 97th minute, but it was called off by the ref due to a handball. He then nearly had the game-winner twice more, but one hit the post and the other was called off due to an offside call on Djitte in the build-up.

The game headed to penalties after the match remained level at 2-2 after 120 minutes of play.

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