FC Cincinnati created enough chances to stay in the game but the finish lacked potency. Rookie Nick Markanich placed himself in dangerous positions but was unable to convert. The same could be said of Brandon Vazquez.
"Not the result we were looking for," Markanich said. "I'm happy to make my professional debut and start my first game, get that under my belt. There's some positives we can take away from (tonight)."
FC Cincinnati's closest chance came in the 63rd minute when Luciano Acosta, who Noonan named captain, ripped a shot off the crossbar.
In the end, though, Cincinnati did not have a convincing response to an opportunistic Austin team.
Just two of Cincinnati's 12 shots hit the target as Austin goalkeeper Brad Stuver opened the year with a shutout.
"Next game is the home opener. I think we should play well," FC Cincinnati's Yuya Kubo said. "We have to win this game."
'We're not all of a sudden a bad team'
FC Cincinnati will have a week to pick up the pieces from Saturday's loss ahead of the club's home opener against D.C. United at TQL Stadium.
United won, 3-0, in the first-ever match for expansion side Charlotte FC.
The days to come will see FC Cincinnati be able to bring several players along further in their integration into the team. Chief among those that will benefit from another week of training are Brenner Souza da Silva, who didn't see the field in Austin, and newly arrived midfielder Junior Moreno.
Moreno started at the base of what's called a midfield diamond, which is comprised of the four players in the midfield. Noonan was pleased with Moreno's performance after the player arrived last week via a trade.
More: FC Cincinnati signs Harrison Robledo after acquiring his rights from NYCFC
"Junior certainly wasn’t the problem tonight," Noonan said. "I applaud his effort and commitment to work out there, especially when things weren’t going our way. You can see his quality and connecting the right pass. You can see his understanding of rotations, and when to release and when to stay. It was a lot for him to step right in and have all the answers, and I was just really pleased with the work that he put in in a difficult situation.
"The reason he’s here is because of his ability to give us something a little bit different in the middle of the field. He reads the game well and can close the ball in ways that we’re asking out of that position, and he’s a good pro. He has a high soccer IQ and it’s just a matter of having him for a longer period of time for it to look a little more cohesive for him individually and for us as a team."
On the whole, Saturday's 5-0 loss was a surprise within and outside the organization. It came after a preseason that seemed to indicate the team was on a positive trajectory.
Even as preseason matches count for very little, that FCC went 1-0-2 against its MLS peers wasn't for nothing.
But whatever development was achieved in preseason didn't carry over to Q2 Stadium.
The game was reminiscent of past struggles for FC Cincinnati, but Noonan said he was confident the club would respond in appropriate fashion for its 2022 home debut.
More: FC Cincinnati confirms reserve team will join MLS Next Pro 2022 season
"The message to the team is we’re not all of a sudden a bad team because of the score line," Noonan said. "The score hurts. There’s no question about that and that should bother us, and that should hopefully motivate us going into our home opener but we’ll take a look at this in a way where we see the chance creation and the ability for us to go forward but how do we clean up little details to not concede. And make sure that they understand as we prepare for D.C., and as we step out on the field in front of our home fans, make sure that they understand that what they saw tonight isn’t gonna be indicative of what we’re gonna be moving forward."
