MONTREAL - CF Montreal survived a late surge from Austin FC to record a 3-2 victory at Stade Saputo on Saturday night.

Hennadiy Synchuk, Dante Sealy and Prince Owusu all scored for Montreal (4-15-8), which won just its second Major League Soccer game at home this season, while Myrto Uzuni and Owen Wolff scored for Austin (9-8-8).

“To create the winning mentality, and today you could see the boys left everything on the pitch and for that, we got a well-deserved win,” said Owusu, who’s worn the captain’s armband and could be seen coaching his teammates from the bench after being substituted off.

“(We are feeling) relief, for sure. We were very close to having that feeling we had today, a couple of weeks before. There’s a feeling of relief but also a feeling of ‘we want to have it again.'"

Facing the second-best defence in MLS did not seem to intimidate Montreal, which immediately took the game to Austin, pinning the Texas side back in their own end and creating several chances.

After just 10 minutes, the hosts found a breakthrough when Olger Escobar found Synchuk in behind the Austin defence. After one swift cut onto his left foot, the teenage standout sent a powerful shot into the bottom left corner, opening his account with Montreal.

“It gives the sensation that he already knew everything (that was going to happen) and during training, he’s doing things like that. That goal was amazing for the confidence that he shows,” said Montreal head coach Marco Donadel, who added that the decision to start Escobar was made the morning of the game.

“This is not Next Gen, this is MLS, so a player has to be full of talent, but at the same time, we need to keep the intensity and the focus up for 90 minutes. In one or two years, they’re going to do very well, I think.”

Austin fought its way back into the match and enjoyed several spells of progressive possession in the attacking third. The visitors nearly equalized on two different occasions if not for desperate Montreal defending.

Just five minutes before halftime, the third time was the charm as Mikkel Desler was able to find some space on the right side before putting in a cross that Uzuni — after beating his man at the near post — was able to convert.

Montreal wasted no time in replying, regaining the lead at the stroke of halftime. After a sequence of slick passing, Sealy managed to get on the end of a low cross from Dawid Bugaj after having had a penalty controversially ruled out just moments earlier.

“It was for sure the best goal of the season for us, but also one of the best goals I’ve ever seen. Pace, rhythm, perfect pass, relationship, there was everything,” said Donadel. “Every game we play minutes, they live situations, and then we can solve them with clips. It takes a bit of time, but we were good to find this kind of relationship.”

Montreal began the second half with the same intensity as the first, attacking the wide areas and looking to extend its lead. After just two minutes, they nearly found just that when Bugaj sent in another inch-perfect cross, but Owusu couldn’t keep the shot on target.

Just after the hour mark, Montreal would add a third when Desler mistracked a corner kick and handled the ball, setting the stage for Owusu to score his 16th goal of the season on a penalty kick.

Ten minutes later, Uzuni capitalized on a defensive marking error to play Wolff in alone after a quick counterattack and brought Austin back to within one after coolly chipping Montreal goalkeeper Thomas Gillier.

“Probably 70 or 80 per cent of the players here are less than 23, so we’re trying to learn as much every game and training session. It was good to have these kinds of games at home with this energy that we feel,” said Fernando Alvarez. “I think every game is different, we’re feeling like we’re learning about every situation … now we’re trying to find our best shape.”

Now searching for an equalizer as the game went into added time, Osman Bukari was played through on goal but was unable to put the ball past an onrushing Gillier. That would be the visitors' final chance.

UP NEXT

Austin: Hosts the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday, Aug. 30.

Montreal: Visits Toronto FC in the Canadian Classique on Saturday, Aug. 30.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 23, 2025.