Austin FC enters one of busiest stretches of MLS season hoping to continue recent form

They won’t make or break Austin FC’s year, but the next three weeks offer the club a chance to set itself up for the second half of the season. Starting with Saturday’s game at Dallas, the Verde & Black will play six times — or 17.5% of their season — in a 22-day span.

It’s one of two such stretches during the season, with the other being Sept. 14-Oct. 5.

And while the club obviously can’t clinch a playoff berth even if it continues its run of recent good form — over the past six games, its 13 points off four wins and one draw are tied for second-best in the league — it can make the season's second half more about fighting to host a first-round playoff series than fighting for its playoff life.

The flip side of that is it can also quickly put itself in a hole — or just simply tread water.

Austin FC will be at full strength for run of games

“Fortunately, right now we have all of our guys available,” said Austin FC coach Josh Wolff, noting that center back Leo Väisänen is back and an option to play 10 to 15 minutes Saturday. “That’s the starting point, and when we need to make changes, we’ll make changes to the starting group.”

Wolff probably has a long-range plan on how to handle such a busy schedule from a personnel standpoint, but he didn’t let on about any of its details in his weekly media availability Thursday. However, he did note that there’s an extra emphasis on time on the field as opposed to when the team plays only once a week.

“We’re mindful of what the loads look like in games and training,” he said. “We need six guys to go 90 minutes each game because you’re only allowed five subs. … It’s recognizing what’s required in our game and this league and how we can train in a responsible way that’s not fatiguing to the players and putting them in jeopardy of injury.”

Still, he did note that, ultimately, he can’t plan too far ahead and that all he can worry about at the moment is Dallas.

“There’s no way we look past one opponent and towards the next,” he said. “We have to see who comes through Dallas in a good way and see where we’re at physically and where the opponent is at physically. … (Right now) these guys are fit, they’re strong, and now they’re in a good space.”

Austin FC will catch a break in the first three games with its lone road game being the short trip to Dallas. It then will host Houston and Kansas City, but the final three games will involve two trips in eight days to San Jose and Salt Lake City sandwiched around a midweek home game vs. Portland.

“It’s all about being a good pro physically,” said center back Brendan Hines-Ike, who, along with forward Diego Rubio and winger Jadér Obrian, has been a key offseason acquisition. “You also need to keep your mental space correct. It’s obviously very fatiguing with the travel and the games that come at a constant, but there is good momentum in the group now. It’s a good feeling, and we’re just riding that as much as we can.”

How Austin FC has fared with 'schedule congestion'

In previous stretches of what Wolff terms “schedule congestion,” Austin FC has had varying results.

In late 2023, it went 1-3-2 for five points in six games over 21 days in September and October as part of its second-half slide. Earlier that season, when it played nine times in a 29-day span — including two U.S. Open Cup games — it finished 4-4-1.

Its busiest time during its banner 2022 season came during a 27-day stretch when it played six times, going 4-1-1 for 13 points. In August 2021, its six-games-in-26-days stretch produced a 2-4 record.

Breaking down the recent hot streak

Austin FC might not be the hottest team in the MLS since late March, but it isn’t far off. After Saturday’s 0-0 draw at Vancouver, the Verde & Black moved to 4-1-1 in their last six matches. Their 13 points in that stretch are tied for second-most with Colorado and have vaulted them from 13th in the Western Conference to sixth.

Only Lionel Messi-led Inter Miami and Real Salt Lake, the teams that lead the Eastern and Western Conferences, have had better form in that span with 14 points.

Austin FC also has made a habit of winning close games, with only one of its wins coming by more than one goal — a 2-0 dismantling of the Los Angeles Galaxy on April 27 at Q2 Stadium.

But its plus-four goal differential in the stretch is still fifth-best in the league, and, ultimately, winning is the only thing that matters — or in the case of road matches, getting one point with a draw — and the Verde & Black have excelled in that lately, starting with their 2-1 win over Dallas on March 30.

Saturday's game

Austin FC at Dallas, 7:30 p.m., Apple TV, 97.5

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Austin FC hopes to continue recent form as it enters busy stretch