The Aztexan

photo: Examiner.com

The Aztex extended their league lead Saturday night, with a convincing 2-0 road win over Crystal Palace Baltimore. They’re perched firmly at the top of the table, as well as most pundits’ recent “power rankings” (e.g., Ives’).

Here’s a rundown of other post-match coverage:

• box score — USSF

• Palace overpowered by league leaders Austin — Examiner.com
  

  The second half saw plenty of good ball movement from Baltimore, but chances at goal were few and far between. In the 64th minute, the Aztex got their break. A handball from Teixeira inside the box left the referee no choice but to award a penalty kick to the visitors. Jamie Watson stepped up and scored his fifth goal of the season, giving Austin a 1-0 lead.

  One bright spot for Palace was the debut of Argentinian midfielder Santiago Fusilier, who showed off his fine skills shortly after coming on in the 75th minute. He almost pulled Baltimore back to within a goal with ten minutes remaining, but his attempt at goal was well blocked by the Austin back line.

• Aztex End Road Trip with 2-0 Victory over Crystal Palace Baltimore — AustinAztex.com
  

  The Aztex end their most recent road trip with two straight victories.

  Maxwell Griffin was able to finally put a goal on his stat sheet with his strike in the 72nd minute. The goal was Griffin’s first goal of the season.

• Austin Aztex 2, CP Baltimore 0 — Chantico’s Army
  

  The first half saw the Aztex come out in a very tentative manner. For the first 10′, it really seemed like the team was reverting to the play we saw last year, which had sloppy ball management and poor defending. Thankfully, the team was able recover and start playing the solid football that we’ve seen from them so far this season. Crystal Palace had a hard time dealing with the attacking penetration runs by our front line.

The Aztex return home for a busy June. They’ll host four different league opponents at House Park: the Puerto Rico Islanders will be first, on Saturday, Jun. 5, followed by Portland, Vancouver and Miami in the following weeks.

There will also be at least one Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup match in the month, with more games following as long as they keep winning. That first Cup match will be on Tuesday, June 15, though the venue and opponent is yet to be determined.

Hot on the heels of a 3-1 win in Miami on Wednesday, the Aztex take the field again tonight, Saturday May 29. This will be Austin’s first-ever visit to Maryland, though they met Crystal Palace on the field here in Austin less than two weeks ago (beating them 2-1).

Crystal Palace have proven to be no walk in the park, especially given that they just moved up to this division this year. Since their loss here at House Park, they’ve picked up 6 more points: a 1-0 win in Rochester and a 2-1 home victory over the Portland Timbers (match report/box score).

The game will also serve as a fundraiser for breast cancer:

A silent auction will be held during the game for the commemorative, pink jerseys to be worn by the Crystal Palace Baltimore players that night with all proceeds also donated to the cause. A mini-soccer ball autographed by members of the US Women’s Olympic gold medal soccer team – including Hope Solo, Shannon Boxx and Lindsay Tarpley – will also be auctioned off in support of the cause.

Adding to the evening’s excitement, members of the Washington Freedom women’s pro soccer team will be in attendance and available to sign autographs. Furthermore, the nationally acclaimed USA Cheerleaders will be performing at the stadium, as well as taking pictures with fans.

And regarding the matchup with Austin:

Looking ahead to Saturday night’s clash with the highest scoring team in the league, [head coach] Cherneski had this to say: “They have guys that can score goals. We need to make sure that we are super disciplined in our team shape throughout and that we convert our chances. When we commit to our defensive shape, that’s when we’re seeing our best results.”

Kickoff is tonight at 6:00 CT. As always, the game can be watched via free video stream on AustinAztex.com. Also as always, you’re invited to Cuatro’s on 24th and join the group of fans watching the game there.

Go Aztex!

Groupon: Today’s Deal: $15 for Two Tickets to an Austin Aztex FC Soccer Game ($30 Value)

Soccer, like the metric system, is full of merit and is immensely popular abroad. Witness a global phenomenon without needing a ruler thanks to today’s Groupon: for $15, you get two adult tickets to an Austin Aztex FC soccer game (a $30 value). Visitors will receive tickets for general-admission seating—claimed on a first-come, first-served basis—while enjoying the unobstructed views of the 6,500-person-capacity House Park. There is no purchase limit, so Groupon holders may attend both games and buy multiple Groupons as gifts. Choose from the following games:

• Puerto Rico Islanders on Saturday, June 5, at 7:30 p.m.
• Portland Timbers on Wednesday, June 9, at 7:30 p.m.

Read it all.

Groupon (“group” + “coupon”) is one of the first and probably the biggest of a number of daily, city-specific social-network discount sites. It relies on people spreading the word, and the daily deals require a minimum number of people to buy before they’re truly activated (the Aztex ticket deal requires 50, and as of 6:10 AM has 9 already). This deal is available all weekend, until midnight on Monday, May 31.

The Aztex continued their impressive winning form in Miami last night, giving Miami FC their first defeat of the season. The win gives them 17 points from 8 games, and a little more cushion at the top of the table.

• box score — USSF

• Aztex Increase League Lead to Five Points — AustinAztex.com
  

  The Aztex (5-1-2) took full advantage of the opportunities they were given in the first half and were able to come up with three goals. Three goals is quite an impressive tally to have against a Miami (1-1-5) team, who had not given up more than one goal in a game all season.

• Austin 3, Miami FC 1 — MiamiFC.com
  

  The Aztex added another goal in the 27th minute after a cross in the goal box was accidentally deflected by Kyle Veris into the back of the net to put Miami FC behind 2-0.

  The Blues broke through late in the half as Paulo Araujo Jr. broke free after receiving a nice feed from Abe Thompson, putting a shot past Austin goalkeeper Miguel Gallardo to cut the lead in half in the 39th minute for his fourth goal of the season.

  Less than 40 seconds later, the Aztex were right back on the attack and Eddie Johnson scored a goal after fielding a rebound on a shot that bounced off Patterson who was left out of position.

The Aztex continue their road trip this weekend, when they visit Crystal Palace Baltimore at 6:00 PM CT Saturday night.

Women’s Professional Soccer: Saint Louis Athletica to Shut Down

Just two weeks ago, the league learned of a cash flow shortage at St. Louis Soccer United – which includes the owner of the Saint Louis Athletica and a St. Louis men’s team – that threatened the remainders of both teams’ seasons. After a thorough and extensive review of the situation together with interested parties, which involved the League covering the funding shortfall for the Athletica’s last two player payrolls, the Athletica have folded their franchise. WPS will re-make the remaining schedule for the 2010 WPS season as a seven-team league – the same number that took part during the WPS Inaugural Season.

Though I’m glad that one of the Aztex’s USSF-D2 opponents, AC St. Louis, has emerged (for now) from their financial trouble, I am deeply saddened by the loss of Athletica. They were my team. Best of luck to Shannon Boxx, Lori Chalupny, Eniola Aluko, Hope Solo (also a favorite of our friends at the Free Beer Movement) and all the players and staff of Athletica.

Not much new to see this week. I suppose this might be as finished as it’s going to look on the outside.

(Click to see the whole Flickr set.)

Now back to watching Austin finish off Miami FC.

USL: Barracuda FC To Join USL First Division:

United Soccer Leagues continues the expansion of its top professional league Tuesday with the announcement that Barracuda FC of Antigua and Barbuda [Wikipedia] will join the USL First Division for the 2011 season.

Currently a professional association team, Barracuda FC plays at a 12,000-seat stadium in St. John’s, Antigua. . . . As was previously the case with USL teams Puerto Rico Islanders and Bermuda Hogges, the participation of Antigua Barracuda FC in the USL First Division will be subject to the formal approval of both federations (Antigua & Barbuda Football Association and United States Soccer Federation), as well as the Confederation and FIFA.

Read it all.

What this means with regard to how next year’s Division-2 league is run, or by whom, I have no idea. (I doubt anyone does.) At least it’s not a market that would jump up to MLS anytime soon.

One week after their 3-3 draw with FC Tampa Bay here last week, the Aztex start a quick, two-game road trip on Wednesday, May 26 in Miami. This will be Austin’s first match with Miami FC.

Though the Blues are undefeated, they have just one win from six games (i.e., they’re 1-0-5). That win was their most recent game, a 1-0 road result they snagged from NSC Minnesota last Saturday (match report/box score).

The Aztex pregame story lists a couple of guys who won’t be making the trip:

The Aztex will be without Sullivan Silva (knee) and Kieron Bernard (hamstring) when they take on Miami FC. Bernard hurt his hamstring on the road against AC St. Louis and has not played since. Both players hope to return in time for the Aztex next home match against the Puerto Rico Islanders.

Following this game, the Aztex head north to take on Crystal Palace Baltimore on Saturday, May 29.

You can watch Wednesday’s game against Miami FC online for free at AustinAztex.com. Or better yet, join the Chantico’s Army supporters’ group at Cuatro’s on 24th. Kickoff is at 6:30 CT, but some fans are bound to start arriving a half-hour to an hour before that.

AustinAztex.com: Olum Gets Another Chance

The Austin Aztex very own Lawrence Olum has been invited to play for his home country of Kenya in an exhibition match this Sunday against Malaysia. This exhibition gives Kenyan National Team players like Olum the opportunity to showcase their skills in a new environment and in front of a new audience.

Kenya will use this game as a gauge to help eventually determine who will be part of the 2012 Kenyan African Nation’s Cup team.

Read it all.

Austin Examiner: Aztex help “Keep Austin Weird”:

As nice as all that may be, the tip of the hat must really go to the Aztex booster section. They are a well-oiled machine of enthusiastic, border-line psychopathic aficionados, fueled by opponents’ fear and loathing. They command the attention of fans and players alike with their bilingual chants, myriad of noise-makers, and well-rehearsed drum line. Yeah, you read right. Representing the true spirit of Austin, the Aztex are Spanish language friendly and even their soccer games have live music.

Read it all.