Austin FC II midfielder Christo Vela has earned the MLS NEXT Pro Goal of Matchday 16 thanks to his impressive free kick against Houston Dynamo 2.
The Austin FC II attacker received close to 50% of the Twitter poll vote with Orlando City B’s Jack Lynn earning 27.6% of the vote. Huntsville city FC’s Joey Skinner and WFC2’s Mihail Gherasimencov finished in third and fourth place respectively.
Vela's goal took place in the closing stages of a fiercely contested match between the two Texan rivals. With Austin FC II already holding a 2-0 lead, the Black and Verde continued their attack and earned a free kick in the 79th minute near the left side of the box.
Despite the Houston goalkeeper setting up a three-man wall, Vela stepped up and effortlessly launched the ball over the wall and into the upper left corner of the Houston goal.
Vela's free kick masterpiece secured the tenth victory of the campaign for Austin FC II and cemented their position in second place in the Western Conference standings.
Christo Vela joined Austin FC II on loan from Cancún FC of Mexico’s Liga de Expansión MX in February of 2023.
The 18-year-old midfielder spent time in the youth systems of Liga MX clubs Necaxa and Chivas Guadalajara before signing with Cancún FC in July of 2022.
In 2023, Vela has started four out of the ten games he's appeared in for Austin FC II, scoring two goals and contributing one assist in 370 minutes of play.
Austin FC II will have a bye week on Matchday 17 before they travel to Colorado to face off against Rapids 2 on July 23rd in a highly anticipated matchup of the top two teams in the Western Conference.
You can catch all the MLS NEXT Pro action on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
