The Aztexan

Congratulations to the Aztex on their dramatic 1-0 win yesterday over the New Orleans Shell Shockers! The game was great, but I realized that it raised more questions than it answered. So last night I locked myself in a nice, dark, air-conditioned room with my trusty Magic 8-Ball, to get some answers.

Did the New Orleans Shell Shockers make any attacks at all?

My sources say no

Will I ever forget sunscreen at a mid-day soccer game in Texas again?

Very doubtful

Will the Austin Aztex U23s ever lose?

Better not tell you now

Will there be any games that are hotter than that?

You may rely on it

Is there anything in the Bush's sweet tea besides sugar and ice?

My sources say no

Will the Tilted Kilt's free-appetizer tickets ever have the team name on the back spelled correctly? Or the right team, for that matter?

Don't count on it

Did the New Orleans coach get the Oscar nomination — "Best Over-actor On A Sideline" — he was apparently hoping for in the last 15 minutes of the match?

Most likely

Who covered the mouth of the New Orleans goals with the plastic wrap that made Austin's shots bounce around inside the frame but not go in?

Ask again later

Who will Austin's U.S. Open Cup opponent be?

Cannot predict now

Could BigSoccer.com have possibly chosen a worse time to be down for maintenance?

My reply is no

Do we really have to wait 2 more weeks before the next home game?

As I see it, yes

Labels: gameday, U-23

Way to go, Aztex! The boys went to Laredo last night, and beat the Heat in the heat. (With a kickoff temperature of 106 degrees, that's not just a figure of speech.) Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make the roadtrip myself, but a couple of other dedicated ultras did. Following is the fan report from Matt, aka 'mgrayscale' on the BigSoccer Aztex forum. Note that he wrote this up and posted it at 2:25 AM, after getting home from the game. Thanks, Matt!

• Jamie Watson was the goal scorer with a beautiful second half drive into the box that culminated in a turn of the defender from left to right in front of the goal and a right foot ding.


• Miguel Gallardo continues to keep a very clean sheet, and had some very good saves. He was challenged several times with some great shots, but he was more than up to the challenge.


• Beto was well adept at defending an evenly matched (size wise) striking line. He was able to kill a majority of the attacks that came his way, dishing out to the wings.


• The Heat are GOOD. This is a team that have a very good set of forwards, who are able to collect, turn and sprint down field before you even know the ball is coming.


• There were two reds against the Heat, but both came after the Aztex score.


• The Heat have the WORST announcer. All night he played bits and pieces of songs and sounds DURING PLAY!! Everything from Vanilla Ice to Homer Simpson. Yes, it was that bad.

In addition to the excellent game notes above, Matt also kept stats. Although they differ somewhat from the official USL match information, most notably in the fact that the official stats only show one red card, they're provided here as well.

Starting Lineups
Austin Aztex U23s	Laredo Heat
13 – Josh Alcala	4 – Leone Cruz
15 – Westley Allen	22 – Daniel Glavan-Barbosa
4 – Kieron Bernard	9 – Felix Garcia
11 – Andres Cuero	10 – Juan Ibarra
1 – Miguel Gallardo	21 – Dioniso “Nicho” Infante
6 – Ezual Lewis	11 – Gregory Mulamba
5 – Beto Papandrea	27 – Oliver Mulamba
8 – Marcelino Uriarte	7 – Carlos Ordaz
7 – Jorge Vega	23 – Stiven Ospina
14 – Juan Carlow Vicens	6 – Raul Quinones
23 – Jamie Watson	1 – Ryan Cooper
First Half
Austin Aztex U23s	Laredo Heat
Fouls
5	6
Shots
3	2
Corner Kicks
3	0
Offsides
1	4
Substitutions
0	0
Goals
0	0
Yellow Cards
	23 – Stiven Ospina (43:50) Illegal tackle
	22 – Daniel Glavan-Barbosa (44:50) Illegal tackle
Second Half
Austin Aztex U23s	Laredo Heat
Fouls
10	8
Shots
1	0
Corner Kicks
0	1
Offsides
0	1
Substitutions
22 – Robin Martinez for 7 – Vega @ 60:27	5 – Silas Blackwell for 23 – Ospina @ 50:14
9 – Edgar Alvarez for 13 – Alcala @ 64:27	13 – Adan Villavicencio for 21 – Infante @ 69:10
20 – Kevin Klaus for 23 – Watson @ 71:19	19 – Isaac Morales for 5 – Blackwell @ 76:00
2 – Andrew Taylor for 8 – Uriarte @ 86:37	20 – Charles Browne for 4 – Cruz @ 79:36
Goals
23 – Jamie Watson (66:47)
Yellow Cards
5 – Beto Papandrea (79:01) Illegal Tackle	22 – Daniel Glavan-Barbosa (61:50) Illegal tackle
22 – Robin Martinez (83:29) Unsportsman
Red Cards
	22 – 2nd Yellow @ 61:50
	6 – Raul Quinones (83:29) Unsportsman

Labels: gameday, supporters, U-23

I know this is a bit off-topic for an Aztex blog, but I'd just like to say that I think FC Dallas GM Michael Hitchcock made a big mistake sacking head coach Steve Morrow yesterday. Granted that FCD aren't exactly dominating, and I was as embarrassed as anyone over the 1-5 butt-kicking they got from the LA Galaxy last weekend. But I liked Morrow, and thought he was working on a long-range plan. Regardless, 18 months isn't a long enough time for a coach to turn things around, in my opinion.

Steve Hunt at ESPN Soccernet has a good summary in a piece titled "Morrow a victim of unrealistic expectations":

FC Dallas general manager Michael Hitchcock dismissed Morrow on Tuesday in a move that looks half-baked at best, wildly unfair at worst. It was either a complete panic job or just a bush-league maneuver by an organization sometimes all over the place in establishing direction and gaining self-awareness.

...The Denilson debacle -- considering expectations, promises and money spent versus deliverables -- was arguably the worst personnel blunder in league history.

...Everyone knows pro sports aren't always fair. The point is, the handling of these important matters says something about clubs, plans and directions. On that regard, FC Dallas looks like the confused comb-over dude, no prize in looks and salary, but dumbfounded because he can't land the supermodel girlfriend.

Best of luck to Coach Morrow, I hope he lands well and goes on to great success.

Labels: MLS

A quick follow-up note to the previous post on media coverage of the Aztex.

First, I apologize for forgetting to mention the South Texas Soccer Portal, which has had very nice coverage of the Aztex games. Such as their story about Saturday's excellent 3-0 rout of the DFW Tornados. Thanks, and keep up the good work, STX!

The lingering threat of rain in Round Rock failed to deter 1013 fans or 11 Aztex from putting on a show last night, as the Aztex U-23 squad continued their debut season by posting a 3-0 win over the formidable DFW Tornadoes. With pro team boss Adrian Heath watching from his perch in Dragon stadium, the Aztex took a 1-0 halftime lead and stretched it to a 3-0 victory, while playing down for almost 30 minutes following the ejection of Round Rock native Zach Pope in the 62nd minute.

Second, as Eric pointed out in a comment on the first post, the Round Rock Leader is also covering the team: Aztex blow past Tornados for second win. Nice!

The weather was cool and perfect for a night on the pitch and the Aztex did not squander the evening - clinching their second win of the season, 3-0.

Newcomer Andres Cuero, a Westlake graduate, knocked in the first Atztex goal in the 34th minute. Willy Guadarrama and Edgar Alvarez added two more in the second half to solidify the win.

If you're an RSS news-feed reader kinda person, both sites have feeds: STX Soccer Portal; Round Rock Leader Sports.

Last, but not least, I urge you again to let the Statesman know they're letting down Austin sports fans by ignoring the Aztex.

Labels: media

First, as you hopefully know, tonight is the 2nd home game for the Aztex. It's against the DFW Tornados, fresh off their 1-0 defeat by Laredo (and when I say fresh, I mean fresh; it was last night). As already discussed, last week's game was great, and this week's couldn't come soon enough, if you ask me. So, enough said; I hope to see you there tonight!

Now, let me get to the real subject of this post: where to read about the Aztex. I just wanted to put together a rundown of some of the online places where the Aztex are being covered.

Obviously, there's the team's website: austinaztex.com. And similarly, there's the team owner's blog: The Aztex Chief. Just a few posts there so far, but they're good ones. A good example is last week's "4 out of 6", in which he describes how the organization overall probably has about the same point total this season so far as the team itself does:

We had a successful first home game on Saturday and were delighted to see a crowd of almost 1,500 enjoy the game. Most of our planning and hard work paid off but there is still much more we can do to improve our performance off the field. We have received lots of compliments and we really appreciate them and also some constructive feedback. Behind the scenes we know we have lots more we can improve on. So, off the field, while we don't have a points total to rely on to give us feedback, 4 out of 6 feels about right.

Another excellent destination for your browser or RSS news feed reader is Joshua Alcala's blog. Alcala is a starting defender with the Aztex U23s, and his feelings & experiences, as in this post from a few days ago, are a lot of fun to read.

I think the coaching staff we have, is top notch. We’ve got experience, we’ve got creative, we’ve got simplicity, all mixed together. I don’t want to keep sounding like too much of a kiss ass, because that’s not the case. I’m far from a suck up, i’ll have yall know. I am just personally happy, from the way the coaches have experimented with the line up and found something that really works.

I've also seen, thanks to Google Alerts, a few nice blog posts that mention the Aztex, even though the blogs don't specialize on just the team. For example, this post from Bean-o-rama:

The team looked good, and combined with a first-game tie against the El Paso Patriots (ppbbth) the Aztex are now at the top of the division. Most of the players looked pretty tight, and the team seemed to work well together (No. 23's got to cool off though — I thought the guy was going to start a fight, and that's not going to help him or the team).

So that's nice coverage in the blogosphere; how about more traditional print media? You couldn't ask for better attention than the team's gotten from the Austin Chronicle. Sports writer Nick Barbaro is a true Aztex hero, for all the great stuff he's written. And if you come by to check out that supporters group organizing cheers, chants & songs before the game that he mentions in that last link, I'm sure you'll be able to meet him in person.

On the other end of the spectrum is the dismal Austin American-Statesman. Not that anyone expected much from them, since the Aztex are (1) not a UT team and (2) a soccer team. I've never seen much more than an AP wire story on any soccer subject in the Statesman's pages, even with 2-time MLS champions practically next door in Houston. Speaking of Houston, at least the Houston Chronicle can include a mention of their city's PDL team, the Leones:

Leones licking wounds

The Houston Leones (1-1) suffered the first stumble of their young USL Premier Development League season, losing 2-0 to the Austin Aztex in Round Rock. They play at El Paso Patriots twice this weekend.

Seriously, the state of the Statesman is a sad one. I know the team has put a lot of effort into getting coverage from them, but to no avail. Here's a new team in town, which by all measures is off to a great start, and not a peep? Maybe now that the Ice Bats have packed it in, the Statesman will snap out of it.

Feel free to contact the Statesman's sports desk, and encourage them to pull their heads out.

Labels: media, U-23

What a night! The first-ever Austin Aztex home game was Saturday night, and if you missed it, you really missed something. The crowd was good, the team was good, the play was good; heck, even the result was good! (Austin soundly defeated the Houston Leones 2-0.) Not too bad a start for an expansion side.

Being brand-new to soccer in Austin, I have the opposite background as the author of this excellent post-game report:

I won't pretend to be a neutral observer for the home debut of the Austin Aztex U-23 squad. I didn't want to ask for media credentials because I wanted to sit in the stands and gauge the reaction of the crowd - if there was going to be a crowd. I wanted to do this because I want so much to see the Aztex succeed and enjoy a successful, professional soccer organization in Austin. I've been going to the Austin pro/semi-pro games since the days of the Soccadilloes and the Austin Thunder. I bemoaned the disaster that was the Austin Lightning. I predicted the scam that was the Austin Posse.

Nevertheless, I was also anxious to see what kind of crowd would turn out. Turns out, my worries were unfounded. The count from the Aztex front office is "nearly 1,500", which is fantastic. All in all, a great start for a season — and a team — that's just going to get bigger & better!

Hope to see you at Saturday's match against DFW Tornados!

Labels: gameday, rivals, U-23

You probably don't need me to tell you this, but tonight is the first Aztex U23 home game of the 2008 season. About time, too! 7:30PM at Round Rock High School's Dragon Stadium vs. the Houston Leones. Hopefully this will be the first of many poundings the Aztex will give the Leones. See you there!

Labels: U-23

All Stoke City needed today in their game against Leicester City was a draw, and that's all they got; final scoreline: 0-0. I managed to find pirate live video of the 2nd half of the game, and let me say, it was intense. Somehow, it hadn't really registered for me that Leicester was fighting relegation, so there was a lot at stake for both teams.

Anyway, to hell with the table, and with the results of all the other matches. Who cares? All that matters to The Aztexan is that STOKE ARE PROMOTED!!

Labels: Stoke City

If you're following the Austin Aztex at all, you probably know their season officially starts Saturday. The first-ever game of the Austin Aztex is an away game, against the El Paso Patriots.

As noted in this fine write-up in the Chronicle, El Paso finished in 2nd place in the Mid South Division last year, so they may be a tough opening opponent.

Although I would have loved to make the 16-hour round-trip drive to El Paso, I'm afraid I'm going to have to miss seeing this auspicious moment in person. However, there is a possibility that some loyal Aztex supporters will manage to get an Internet video stream of the game hooked up to a TV at Mother Egan's on Saturday night.

Having that hook-up is not a certainty. In fact, having a video stream of the game at all is not a certainty. However, Mother Egan's having plenty of ice-cold Harp lager is a certainty. Hope to see you there!

Labels: rivals, U-23

Okay, we're down to the wire, now. And I'm delinquent in putting this up, so I won't give the full run-down of recent results.

Currently, Stoke City is in second, tied on points with West Brom but nowhere near in goal difference (West Brom: 31, Stoke 14). Meanwhile, Hull City continues to breathe down their neck, just 3 points back, and also with a better goal difference (19).

P	Team	Pts	Move
1	West Bromwich Albion	78	—
2	Stoke City	78	—
3	Hull City	75	—
4	Bristol City	71	—
5	Watford	69	—
6	Crystal Palace	68	—
7	Wolverhampton Wanderers	67

(Full table)

So the bottom line is, if Stoke get a draw or a win when 21st-place Leicester City come to Britannia Stadium on Saturday, their promotion to the Premiership is assured! Aztex owners Phil & Kay Rawlins will be in Stoke-on-Trent for the match, so if any extra little bit of luck is needed, hopefully that will do it. GO POTTERS!!

Labels: Stoke City