With draw at home, Austin FC clinches game at Q2 Stadium in first round of playoffs

Austin FC will play at Q2 Stadium in the first round of the playoffs.

The team clinched a Western Conference postseason home game thanks to its 1-1 tie with Nashville SC on Saturday night at Q2 Stadium.

Now with 55 points and still in second place in the West, Austin FC cannot be caught by fourth-place Nashville (47 points) and will at worst finish third.

Sebastián Driussi scored his 21st goal of the season off a conference-leading 15th assist from Diego Fagúndez.

Here are some observations from the match as El Tree has two weeks off due to the international break before playing at Vancouver on Oct. 1:

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Duel of potential MVPs

In a match billed as a showdown between two MVP candidates, Driussi and Nashville’s Hany Mukhtar, neither disappointed.

Receiving a long pass on a breakaway, Mukhtar forced a foul in the box from Austin FC defender Jon Gallagher and buried an impressive penalty for the visitors’ goal in the 56th minute.

Not to be outdone, five minutes later Driussi settled Fagúndez’s corner kick just outside the 6-yard box, then hit the ball over charging Nashville goalie Joe Willis.

The placement was the only way Driussi could score and was further evidence of him being one of the top players in the league.

Romaña goes the distance, giving Austin center back depth

Jhohan Romaña played a full 90 minutes at center back, starting in place of Julio Cascante, who would come on as a sub midway through the second half for Ruben Gabrielsen.

Romaña fared well — including almost scoring in the 54th minute when his shot was saved off the line by Nashville defender Daniel Lovitz — which is extremely important as it gives Austin FC depth at the position.

That’s something the club lacked the past few months when both Cascante and Gabrielsen were forced to play nearly every minute of every match with Romaña fighting injuries and rookie Kipp Keller still in development.

Cascante and Gabrielsen are clearly the starters, but it’s nice to know Romaña is back healthy and capable of playing a lot of minutes.

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Squad rotation to prep for playoffs?

Austin FC coach Josh Wolff went with an unusual starting lineup, with Jhojan Valencia and Owen Wolff as the defensive midfielders instead of Alex Ring and Dani Pereira, Moussa Djitté at striker instead of Maxi Urruti, Emiliano Rigoni at right-side winger, and Ethan Finlay in place of Fagúndez at left-side winger, in addition to Romaña.

These moves were probably a combination of Austin FC playing its third game in eight days — certainly in the case of Fagúndez, Ring and Urruti — and players earning time on the field due to performances in practice or games.

Fagúndez, Ring and Pereira all came on in the 59th minute as subs, with Cascante and Urruti entering later.

It’s pretty impressive that Austin FC can sit several key players for the majority of the game and still come out with a result against a team fighting for its own home playoff game.

But expect Josh Wolff to return to a more predictable starting lineup in Vancouver.

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Stuver has second strong match of week

El Tree goalkeeper Brad Stuver had an excellent week, with a phenomenal showing in the 3-0 win vs. Real Salt Lake and another stellar performance with several impressive saves Saturday.

It’s been mentioned in this space several times, but we’ll keep saying it: Stuver is the best bargain in the league at a salary of less than $200,000.

Q2 to host playoff next month

Q2 Stadium is always a party, but it will be at a fever pitch for the first round of the playoffs.

Austin FC will host its opponent on Oct. 15, 16 or 17.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Austin FC versus Nashville SC: highlights, updates and scores