Austin clinches 1st playoff berth, beats Real Salt Lake 3-0

Published Sep. 14, 2022 11:31 p.m. ET

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Austin clinched its first playoff berth, beating Real Salt Lake 3-0 Wednesday night as Moussa Djitte scored his first career hat trick, all in the second half.

Austin (16-9-6), which started play in 2021, became the second Western Conference team to clinch a berth this season after first-place Los Angeles FC.

Djitte scored in the 60th minute, running onto Diego Fagundez's diagonal pass and flicking the ball over goalkeeper Zac MacMath from just inside the 6-yard box.

Djitte doubled the lead in the 76th with an 8-yard right-foot shot after Ethan Finlay’s attempt rebounded off the crossbar, then added another on a counterattack in the 80th from Ruben Gabrielsen's pass.

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The Senegalese forward, who turns 23 next month, had scored one previous goal this season, against Orlando on May 22. He joined Major League Soccer after spending 2018-19 with Sion in Swizerland and 2019-21 with Grenoble in the French second tier.

Austin goalkeeper Brad Stuver made six saves.

The teams play again Saturday. Austin hosts Nashville, while RSL (11-10-10) hosts Cincinnati.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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