It was a tremendous performance from Austin FC goalkeeper Brad Stuver, his standout showing at Sporting Kansas City a major reason why the visitors emerged on Saturday with a 1-1 result.
Stuver was solid in his distribution and his command of the area, but it was the repeated big saves for Austin FC that preserved the road point.
Sporting Kansas City had 60 percent possession from which they had a staggering 32 shots and 11 shots on goal in the match, forcing Stuver into nine saves. Several were of the jaw-dropping variety.
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Time and time again, Stuver was up to the task for Austin FC. In the 43rd minute, he quickly reacted to a Daniel Salloi shot from six yards out, diving to his left and barely pushing the ball over the ball with his right hand.
“I thought their goalkeeper stood on his head. I thought that were a few chances we could have done much better with,” Sporting Kansas City head coach Peter Vermes said after the match.
“Is it a fair result? They would say yes. They had a couple chances, they would say. But the number of high-quality chances that we had was a different level. We had great possession. I’m really proud that our performances, in the last 3-4 games, have been tremendous and they’re steady and there is a consistency to it. That’s what you’re striving for. That part I’m really, really happy with. Their goalkeeper kept them in the game for sure.”
For the first time in his MLS career, the 30-year old Stuver is considered a lockdown starter. Now in his eighth season in MLS, Stuver spent the past three years at New York City FC where he played a total of seven matches and 630 minutes in league play.
Saturday was Stuver’s eighth start of the season, having played in all eight of Austin FC’s matches. With the draw, Austin FC is now 2-4-2 on their inaugural season.
Salloi leveled the game in the 71st minute, pouncing on a rebound in the penalty area to right-foot a shot from 15 yards out past Stuver. On the goal, Stuver had come out to block the original shot from Gianluca Busio and was unable to make a play on Salloi’s follow-up.
“Props to him. It’s one of those days where you’ve just got to tip your hat to him and tell him he had a good game. Obviously, we didn’t really get frustrated because we created 20 chances,” Sporting Kansas City midfielder Felipe Hernandez said following the match.
“He came up with some big saves, but that shows a lot of good things about our team that a keeper makes a save and we just keep going. We’re relentless. Today’s unlucky that we didn’t get the three points, but I’m happy to get one.”
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