“Stuuuuuuuuuuuu,” the crowd at Q2 stadium echoed.
It sounds like heckling. Almost a sudden booing noise every time he makes a save.
But it’s only the opposite.
It’s something you’ll probably hear a lot of in a week’s time when Austin FC’s beloved goalkeeper Brad Stuver makes his first-ever All-Star game appearance at home, in Austin, on July 23.
In a sport where players’ prime years are seemingly getting younger and younger, Stuver, at the age of 34, shows that late bloomers are not a lost art.
Selected in the second round of the 2013 Major League Soccer SuperDraft by the Montreal Impact, Stuver’s career would start with goalie turmoil. From 2013 to 2020, Stuver made a total of nine appearances for MLS clubs as an emergency pool goalkeeper.
“I think it’s always in the back of your mind when you’re getting closer to 30 and you haven’t really been a consistent starter,” Stuver told The Athletic. “You’re always worried what the perception of you as a player is going to be in the eyes of (general managers) and head coaches.”
However, all it takes is one opportunity, and in 2021, that opportunity arose. A new expansion team by the name of Austin FC was joining the league at the same time Stuver was a free agent.
Stuver had a leg up on other goalies due to his relationships with two prominent figures of the club: head coach Josh Wolff and sporting director Claudio Reyna, both of whom have since left.
He became a fan favorite immediately, winning over the hearts of fans after a solid first two seasons, including a run to the Western Conference final in the club’s second season.
“Last year validated everything that I thought over that eight, nine-year period when I came down here to Austin and got a chance to become a starter and kind of took it and ran with it,” Stuver told
MLSsoccer.com
. “
I always knew that once I got my chance that I would be okay, that I would continue to push myself and make myself better, and all I needed was a chance. I’m glad that Austin saw that.”
While the club has failed to reach the playoffs since 2022, Stuver has remained a constant amidst the chaos and change surrounding the club, leading the league in saves in 2023 and 2024.
Austin has also been the perfect setting for Stuver off the pitch. In a city known for its cultural diversity, Stuver has had a platform to expand on his already vast resume of philanthropic work, including becoming a board member for the Equality Texas Foundation, the largest LGBTQ+ advocacy nonprofit in Texas.
“There’s always going to be resistance, no matter what you speak out against, whether it’s racial equality, gender equality, LGBTQ+ rights,” Stuver told The Athletic. “The Austin community, as a whole, has been extremely supportive. The club has been extremely supportive. It’s a really good thing when you know that you have the support of those people that surround you.”
After years of waiting for a chance, Stuver has finally found a city in Austin where he can showcase the best of himself on and off the pitch, a place where he’s not afraid to be himself.
So, the next time you hear the crowd at Q2 stadium scream his name, remember that it’s not just a chant — it’s a product of the mutual connection forever instilled between him and the hearts of Austin FC supporters.
