Danny Hoesen sees dedication come full circle in win over D.C. United

Photo Credit: Scott W. Coleman

Danny Hoesen could’ve given up after injuries derailed his first season with Austin FC. Instead, he doubled down with his commitment, and now, he's seeing his hard work pay off.

The Dutch striker scored his first goal in Verde & Black on Saturday, helping Austin FC overcome a two-goal deficit and come back for a 3-2 win at D.C. United, the first road win for the club in nearly a year.

“It’s an unbelievable feeling,” Hoesen said. “It’s been a long, tough year for me. That everything comes together tonight, that’s pretty special.”

Hoesen was the first pick in the expansion draft last season and made five appearances – including a start in the inaugural match against LAFC – before a hip injury ended his season prematurely.

Hoesen came on as a second-half substitute to a loud ovation for his Q2 Stadium debut in last week’s home win over Minnesota.

Instead of returning to the Netherlands over the offseason to continue his rehab, he decided to stay in Austin to make sure he was ready for preseason.

“You’re new at the club and all you want to do is help the team, but you get injured so quickly,” he said. “I was pretty impatient to come back. You start at the bottom of the ladder and work your way back up. It was not easy, but I told myself I need to work hard every day.”

Head coach Josh Wolff never lost faith in Hoesen, either.

Wolff told the striker, who scored 23 goals in four MLS seasons before joining Austin FC, that it was about getting back to the right physical and mental space that is required to compete within the Austin FC squad.

“You’ve got to be ready to deliver some blows and take some blows,” Wolff said. “It’s just a matter of the regaining a little of that polish.”

Austin FC fell behind 2-0 on Saturday thanks to two first-half goals by D.C. striker Ola Kamara.

Kamara got a yellow card after his first goal in the 26th minute for taking his jersey off in celebration. He was shown a second yellow card and sent off just before halftime after a hard challenge on Sebastian Driussi.

“Yeah, we got a little bit of break with a mistake by their player, but you’ve got to go out and execute,” Wolff said.

Hoesen tapped in the first goal of the second half in the 80th minute off a corner kick from Diego Fagundez. Driussi scored his team-leading fifth goal of the season to tie the game five minutes later.

Defender Ruben Gabrielsen headed in his first goal with Austin FC in the 90th minute after a long ball into the box from Fagundez to complete the epic comeback.

“Even though the goal took as long as it did, everyone on the bench knew there were more to come,” Wolff said. “The guys did a great job executing. I wouldn’t say we started the game in a great way, but man, we finished it in an incredible way.”

After a midweek trip to face USL team San Antonio FC in the U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday, Austin FC returns to Q2 Stadium to take on the Vancouver Whitecaps in MLS play Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

More than a month into the season, Austin FC currently sits in second place in the Western Conference standings with 14 points in seven matches.

“There’s still a long way to go,” Hoesen said. “The club is hungry. We want to be successful and keep going. We showed a lot of character. You would assume that other clubs are noticing that as well.”