Lamar Hunt U.S. Open CupIt’s been a couple of days since the last Aztex home game, and it’s still June, so that means it must be time for: another Aztex home game! Austin will host the PDL’s DFW Tornados at 7:30 tonight, Tue. Jun. 15, at House Park.

This game will be Austin’s first in the the 2010 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The Open Cup is an annual tournament, dating from 1914, that’s open to teams from all levels of men’s soccer in the U.S. The Tornados qualified by having the best record in their PDL division (the same division the Aztex U23s have played in in previous years) over the first four games of the season.

The Open Cup is a knockout tournament from the opening game, so if the Aztex win, they’ll advance to the next round. That second round has already been drawn, so we know that a win will see yet another game at House Park, next Tuesday, Jun. 22, against the winner of tonight’s match between the Ventura County Fusion (PDL) and the Arizona Sahuaros (NPSL). If the Tornados win, they would also face the winner of that match (at that winner’s home field).

DFW come to Austin in the midst of a pretty tough schedule themselves, their third road game in five days. They lost 3-0 to the El Paso Patriots last Friday, then got a 3-2 win over the West Texas United Sockers on Sunday.

Other pre-match coverage:

  • Aztex face DFW in U.S. Open Cup — Austin American-Statesman

    Match Forecast
    Temp: upper 80s
    Rain: 10%
    Wind: 10mph
    Sunset: 8:34

    Weather Preview
    as of 7:00 AM, 6/15/09

    The match will see the return of former Aztex forward Gifton Noel-Williams, the ex-star for England’s Watford and Stoke City who became a fan favorite in Austin’s inaugural season last year. Noel-Williams was the only player on Austin’s roster with significant first-team European experience , but a hamstring injury forced him to miss half the season.

    “It wasn’t a good year because of that hamstring,” Heath said of Noel-Williams. “To be fair to Gifton, our team (overall) last year was nowhere near as good as this (year). So it’ll be good to see him.”

  • Aztex Begin Open Cup Play Against the DFW Tornados — AustinAztex.com

    Last season the Aztex made it to the third round of the U.S. Open Cup. Austin beat Mississippi 2-0 at Nelson Field in the first round and followed that victory with another 2-0 result against El Paso in the second round. The Aztex finally faltered in the third round, losing 2-0 to Houston.

If we see Noel-Williams tonight, it will be because he’s come straight from Dallas to Austin, as he isn’t listed on the Tornados’ roster for either of last weekend’s games in El Paso or West Texas.

Note that Aztex season and “flex” tickets are not valid for this game, as it’s not a regular-season league game. Admission is $15 for adults, $12 for youth (children 5 and under are always free).

As usual, supporters will start gathering at The Tavern about two hours before the 7:30 kickoff. See you there!