Austin FC, Rapids draw; Driussi one shy of Golden Boot

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Diego Rubio scored the tying goal for the Colorado Rapids in a 1-1 draw with Austin on Sunday.

Rubio’s goal, with an assist from Lalas Abubaker, came in the third minute of second-half stoppage time for the Rapids. Lalas Abubakar got an assist on the goal.

Austin finished second in the Western Conference and will host Real Salt Lake in the opening round of the playoffs.

Sebastián Driussi scored for Austin. His penalty kick in the 81st minute was his 22nd goal of the season. He finished one shy of Nashville's Hany Mukhtar, who did not score against LAFC but won the Golden Boot with 23 goals. Philadelphia Union’s Dániel Gazdag, who had a hat trick on Sunday, also finished with 22 goals.

Colorado's late goal denied Austin's bid to set the MLS record for largest point increase from expansion season to year two. Austin (16-10-8) finished with 56 points this season, 25 more than the expansion season of 2021. Real Salt Lake also improved by 25 points from its first to second season (2005-06).

Colorado finished 11-13-10.

Brad Stuver saved five of the six shots he faced for Austin. William Yarbrough made three saves for the Rapids.

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