Record Austin Aztex crowd at House Park, 5/19/10
photo: Austin Aztex

Wow, what an amazing game on Wednesday night. I thought it was a great one, and I was only there for the second half! My son’s last band concert of the school year kept me from the pregame and first half, but I got down to the stadium as soon as I could. My excitement started to build as I drove up, when I saw that the normally-empty far stands were full. I came in to the electric atmosphere just minutes into the second half, to find the teams tied at 2-2.

Any worry that I’d missed all the goal-scoring excitement was soon put to rest, as Eddie Johnson notched another (his second) in the 53rd, and the Aztex took the lead. They sure didn’t bunker in after that, either. They kept pressing the attack, with a total of 11 second-half shots on the box score to show for it. A fourth goal seemed inevitable, but ultimately was not to be. And of course, Tampa Bay managed to get the equalizer late and rob us of the victory.

So although the game ended in a draw, the record high6,051 fans saw a hard-played, fast-paced, high-scoring game. One could hardly ask for a better “free sample” for the people drawn to the game by the raft of promotional tickets given out to area schools.

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

  • box score — USSF

  • Aztex, Tampa Bay play to 3-3 tie — Austin American-Statesman

    Tampa Bay (2-1-3, 9 points) followed that same script Wednesday, using a goal in the match’s closing moments to clinch a 3-3 draw against Austin (4-1-2, 14 points) at House Park. The Rowdies’ Gordon Kljestan bent in a free kick in the 88th minute from 25 yards out to clinch the tie.

    “It’s no different than what I thought,” Heath said. “They’ve got a lot of energy. At times we’ve struggled to cope with their size.”

  • Aztex Battle to Second Consecutive Draw Against Tampa Bay — AustinAztex.com

    The Aztex quickly did away with the Rowdies momentum as Johnson put another goal in at the 53rd minute mark off of a corner kick from Olum.

    Midway through the second half, the Aztex turned up the intensity. Shots by Johnson and Olum were either pushed wide or cleared away by Lambo.

  • Austin Aztex 3, FC Tampa Bay 3 — Chantico’s Army

    As the teams left the pitch at the half, it was very obvious that Adrian Heath and Miguel Gallardo disagreed with the awarding of the Rowdies goal, as both thought a Rowdies player had struck the ball with a hand prior to going in. This would be the first of the two glaring mistakes by the officiating crew this night

  • Aztex: We’re Still Top of the Table — Austin Chronicle

    So in the end, a 3-3 draw felt like points lost – especially with the other two league leaders also playing at home last night. But, who would have guessed, both Portland and Rochester dropped 1-0 decisions and the Aztex wound up gaining ground after all. Sweet.

  • The Rowdies continue strong road trip against Austin — FCTampaBay.com

    • “When we came in at halftime, we had conceded two pretty poor goals defensively, but I was still supremely confident that we would win the game. We definitely felt like we could win based on our first half performance,” said [Rowdies head coach Paul] Dalglish.

  • Rowdies earn tie through Kljestan — Tampa Bay Online

    “That was kind of what we’ve been expecting from [Aaron] Wheeler,” Dalglish said. “All throughout preseason he was fantastic and that’s what we all knew he was capable of, the performance he put in tonight.

    “He really is a unique forward in this league with his size and his aerial ability and he’s a real handful up there for defenders. He’s worked very hard this week on his movement and making himself available and he got his reward tonight with a goal and a very good performance.”

  • Photos: Aztex v Tampa — Patrick Meredith

  • Video: Aztex draw with Tampa Bay — News 8 Austin
    [Be warned: that idiotic & reviled phrase "kiss your sister" is invoked at the end of this video.]

The Aztex head out on the road for two more quick games: their first matchup of the season with Miami next Wednesday, May 26, and the team’s first-ever trip to Baltimore the following Saturday, May 29. They’ll be back at House Park the following week, hosting the Puerto Rico Islanders on Saturday, June 5.