The Aztexan

Two and a half weeks after their fundraising exhibition against the Haitian National Team, the Aztex return to House Park on Sunday evening.

Since that scoreless draw, our boys have been on the road for two games: a 2-1 win over the NSC Minnesota Stars and a 2-2 draw with the Tampa Bay Rowdies. Teams across the league are realizing that this 2010 Austin squad is a force to be reckoned with.

Division-2 expansion team Crystal Palace Baltimore comes to town after eking out their first win of the season Thursday night. Against all expectations, the were able to shut out the Portland Timbers and get the win, 1-0 (match report / box score). They’re at the end of a tough road trip: Sunday’s game will be their fourth as visitors in just over two weeks.

As the Aztex pregame article points out, after Sunday’s match the Aztex will have already played all four of this year’s bumper crop of Division-2 expansion teams. Austin’s record against the other new teams (AC St. Louis, NSC Minnesota Stars and FC Tampa Bay Rowdies) is 2-0-1.

It will be interesting to see if new Aztex defender Sam Brill gets some playing time on Sunday. Brill was signed just before the Tampa game.

The Boston College graduate has been with [Sweden's] Ljungskile SK for the past two seasons since signing in March 2009 after a very brief stint with FC Sachsen Leipzig (Germany) and sticking with the New England Revolution for much of 2008.

“Sam has the potential to be an excellent contributor to this year’s squad,” Head Coach Adrian Heath said. “The experience he’s gained both domestically and abroad really makes him an excellent addition to an already strong group. We can’t wait to get him on board.”

As usual, fans will start gathering at about 4:00 at The Tavern (12th & Lamar) to drink, discuss team strategy and drink. Kickoff at House Park is the usual Sunday time of 6:00 PM. There’s a chance of rain, but the game will be played regardless, so come prepared.

See you there! Go Aztex!