The good news was that the storms held off last night at House Park, but the bad news was that the goals did, too. The meeting of the league’s top three leading scorers, Portland‘s Ryan Pore and Austin’s Eddie Johnson and Jamie Watson, wound up being a defensive grudge match. The 3,241 fans in attendance saw no goals, and only a handful of threatening shots. It was a hard-fought game, and it had intensity, but neither team did much more than hold the other at bay.

The biggest question on the mind of most of the fans I spoke to after the game was, what in the world was the deal with Timbers Ross Smith‘s shorts? Somehow he had the legs rolled up, or tucked up, or something. It almost looked like he was wearing a Speedo, except for the baggy backside. We had fun calling him Captain Underpants and chanting “he wears short shorts” (a la the old Nair commercials), but it was kind of disturbing, honestly.

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

  • box score — USSF

  • Aztex can’t find rhythm in scoreless draw — Austin American-Statesman

    [Assistant coach Bobby] Murphy took over sideline duties for the game from head coach Adrian Heath, who received a two-match stadium ban after getting ejected in Austin’s last game. Ejections usually result in one-game suspensions but Heath, who watched the rest of the game from the stands, was giving another for not leaving the stadium.

    Without Heath, Austin continued to struggle with Portland throughout the early minutes of the match, continuously sending players — including league-leading goal scorer Ryan Pore — in and out of Austin’s right side to create chances. Alex Nimo put up the most troubling shot in the 25th minute, when a long-distance blast needed a leaping fingertip save from Austin goalkeeper Miguel Gallardo.

  • Aztex and Timbers Battle to Scoreless Draw — AustinAztex.com

    The Aztex started with a bang in the second half when Austin forward Maxwell Griffin was able to put pressure on a Timbers’ defender and took the ball away and got a shot off, which was then saved by Portland’s goalkeeper Steve Cronin. This was the first and only save Cronin was forced to make in the match.

    Much of the early portion of the first half was controlled by Portland. The Timbers were able to keep possession of the ball in their own half, but seemed slow getting forward thanks to some quality defending from the Aztex backline.

  • Video: Aztex vs. Portland Timbers (0:33) — AztexSoccer on YouTube
    [You can get a glimpse of Mr. Short Shorts starting at about 0:21.]

The next game will be Saturday evening. Another home match, the Red & White will kick off against the Vancouver Whitecaps at 7:30.