The Aztexan

So this is what Cleveland fans feel like.

The Aztex received their first loss of the regular season yesterday from the Montreal Impact, in Montreal. And it wasn't just a loss. It wasn't just "one that slipped away from them", or "the Impact stole it at the last minute" or even the old favorite, "terrible refereeing!" It was a regular old butt-kicking.

It was quite a different squad on the trip than we've seen at Nelson Field. And it was very cold & windy. And it was on the road, and on foreign soil, and all French-y, and involved the metric system somehow, and possibly a moose, and the way everyone said "aboot" instead of "about" was distracting. . . Let's just chalk it up to one or more of those excuses, figure the big loss is out of their system now, and not talk about it anymore after today. Ever.

Before I get to the rundown of other post-match coverage, may I just say that Montreal's commentators on the USLLive.com video feed were two of the most irritating twerps I've had the displeasure of listening to in a long time? And it wasn't just because Austin was losing, either. I couldn't stand them from the very start.

• Offensive explosion gives Impact first win — The Gazette (Montreal)
  

  Second-half goals by Roberto Brown, Joey Gjertsen, Tony Donatelli, and Simon Gatti, powered the Impact to its first league win in six games this season, a 4-0 blitz of the expansion Austin Aztex before a crowd of 11,470 at Saputo Stadium yesterday.
  
  The first three goals came in a span of 11 minutes. The outburst began with Brown’s first of the season – unassisted – in the 51st minute. The goal ended a four-game, 319-minute scoring drought going back to Rocco Placentino’s sixth-minute strike during a 2-1 loss to Rochester in the team’s United Soccer Leagues First Division home opener May 9.

• Aztex FC suffers first loss of season at Montreal — AustinAztex.com
  

  Three starters (forward Sullivan Silva, midfielder Yordany Alvarez, and defender Kieron Bernard) didn’t make the trip because of travel permit issues. In addition, the main cog of the Aztex front line, Gifton Noel-Williams, was absent from the lineup after suffering an injury late in the week back in Austin. Starting defender Lyle Adams also didn’t make the trip to attend his college graduation.

• Match Report :: USL1 League Match :: Aztex 0, Montreal Impact 4 — ChanticosArmy.com
  

  In the first half, Eddie Johnson had a number of touches that really provided quality play up front. When teamed up with Ryan Caugherty, the two were able to get the ball moving up the field often and quickly. Jarius Holmes had very good movement on the left side of the pitch, and so the attacks from the Aztex really seemed to be creating stress in the Impact backline. The passing showed the control and management that many of us have been wishing for since the NE Revs match. In fact, I remember talking to several at Cuatro's about the fact that we finally seemed to have kicked the first half challenges that we'd been suffering under recently.

The next USL-1 game will see the Aztex back in Austin. The start of a 4-game home stand, the Aztex will face the Carolina Railhawks for the first time on Sunday the 24th, kickoff is 6:00 PM. The Railhawks are currently tied for first in the league with 13 points, though they've played 7 matches to the Aztex's 5.

This weekend also sees the amateur level PDL team, the Aztex U23s, with their first home game that will actually be played at home. They'll be hosting the El Paso Patriots, 7:30 Friday night. That game, like all the U23 games in Austin, will be at Round Rock High School's Dragon Stadium, I-35 & 620, not at Nelson Field. This will also be the final match in the Aztex U23s' Open Cup qualification run. Their odds are pretty long, but it is possible they'll squeak through, if they can beat El Paso.

Labels: postgame, U-23, USL-1