Owen Wolff's late heroics secure playoff seeding for Austin FC | OneFootball

By Justin Ruderman

Sixth place secured.

Austin FC homegrown midfielder Owen Wolff delivered drama in the final minutes of Sunday Night Soccer presented by Continental Tire, scoring a late header as the Verde & Black snatched a 1-0 victory over LAFC at Q2 Stadium.

Owen Wolff

Midfielder · Austin FC

The win locked up sixth place in the Western Conference, guaranteeing a direct berth into a Round One Best-of-3 series ahead of the Verde & Black's first Audi MLS Cup Playoffs appearance since 2022.

"It's a great feeling," Wolff told MLS Season Pass postgame. "It's to the fans as well. They come out every night and support us every single game, no matter how it goes. So it's for them as well."

Wonderful Wolff

After placing fourth on the annual MLS 22 Under 22 list midweek, Wolff proved why he is so highly touted by heading home a corner kick in the 83rd minute to snap LAFC's six-game winning streak.

"Usually I'm on [corner kicks] so I'm just trying to find any type of space," said the 20-year-old, who's posted a career-best 6g/8a this season.

"Luckily, I'm at the right place at the right time."

The game-winning goal snapped a Black & Gold streak of over 400 minutes without conceding and completed the league double over Austin's Western Conference foes with a pair of 1-0 wins this season.

Secure in sixth

After falling 2-1 to Nashville in a heartbreaking US Open Cup Final and suffering back-to-back league losses, Austin needed a reaction.

They got it from Wolff, whose timely goal provided a necessary bounce-back win for Austin in their regular-season finale at Q2 Stadium.

“It’s really important because it’s not easy to recover from a week like the one that we had," praised head coach Nico Estévez. "When you win, you can be very high. When you lose, you can be very low.”

Courtesy of Wolff, the Verde & Black are back riding high with just Saturday's Decision Day visit to the San Jose Earthquakes (9 pm ET | MLS Season Pass) to go before embarking on Round One of the playoffs.

"I think the group can go a long way," said Wolff of a potential postseason run. "It just has to do with how we approach the next few games and keep it going with our mentality."

As for how to get the best out of Wolff in those upcoming big games, just as Austin did on Sunday?

“As we do normally," said Estévez. "Set up a good plan, give him the right information and give him confidence that he can do it at any level and against any opponent.”

WATCH: Owen Wolff wins it late for Austin FC against LAFC