The Aztexan

Still not a lot of visible change this week. Somebody better hurry and finish this up, we're 11 days away from kicking off the 2010 season!

Since there's not much update to see, here's a bonus picture for you. This is simply taken from a side angle, and from a much closer position. It shows how the building has been built up off the ground a little, to help keep it above the floodwaters (as shown on this map at AustinStadium.org):

(Click to see the Flickr set.)

Labels: stadium

It's time once again, with the season starting in just 10 days, to preview the Division-2 scene. Presenting: the 2010 USSF Division-2 Pro League Season Preview.

This is the second year (here's last year's) for this collaborative preview, written by many authors, including yours truly, and coordinated by Brian Quarstad of Inside Minnesota Soccer.

Following is my contribution, about the Aztex. But little of that will be news to regular readers & fans; be sure to read the whole preview to get the scoop on all of Austin's opponents.

The Austin Aztex come into their second pro season hoping to show some marked improvement over last year.

Though the franchise had a solid start in 2009, the results on the field left much to be desired. Starting with a roster that was both short and low on experience, the Aztex spent much of the season scrambling to cover for a punishing injury list. All too often, they ceded points in the final minutes of the match, and the season ended with the team staying home from the playoffs.

This year, fans hope things will be different. Returning coach Adrian Heath’s roster started with the best and brightest from last year, including Eddie Johnson, Sullivan Silva, Yordany Alvarez and Kevin Sakuda, plus Miguel Gallardo-Aparicio in goal.

That core has been bolstered by some real talent, including former Thunder midfielder Lawrence Olum; defender Jay Needham, who played for the Islanders as well as Norway’s Alta IF; striker Jamie Watson, who returns full-time to Austin after a season in Wilmington; and brothers Leonard and Maxwell Griffin. Leonard is a former Timbers and L.A. Galaxy defender, while his younger brother Maxwell was a key goalscorer for UCLA.

Note the international composition of the team, with English, Brazilian, Cuban, Jamaican, Kenyan and Mexican players joining the Americans. Though the roster is still shorter than some fans might like, the amount of experience is certainly an improvement over last year’s squad.

Another big change this year: the team will play at House Park rather than Nelson Field. House, though sadly also a high school gridiron field with artificial turf, should have much better atmosphere. That’s thanks primarily to the absence of a track around the pitch and its downtown location, close to several nice watering holes.

Our team's sounding pretty good, right? Wait till you read the whole story, and see what our boys are going to be up against.

Labels: media, rivals, The League, USL-1

Not much new to see on the exterior this week. But the weather was crummy, so you can at least see that it was taken on a different day than the last one.

(Click to see the Flickr set.)

Labels: stadium

We interrupt this blog's regular programming for a public service announcement. This announcement is nothing new to Aztex fans or regular readers, but they may want to bookmark the permalink and share it with anyone who needs it.

On the other hand, if you've been pointed to this page by someone, that means you blew it. You messed up. You screwed the pooch.

But it's okay. Mistakes happen; we're all human. It's a learning experience. That's what this post is for.

It's simple, really:


Some examples:

WRONG: Aztecs

RIGHT: Aztex

Easy, no?

Just remember: the Aztex are not from 1970s Los Angeles. They're not a youth club from Massachusetts or San Diego. They're also not indigenous Mesoamerican peoples of the 14th, 15th or 16th centuries.

Nothing against any of those folks, but the Austin Aztex are the pro soccer club of Austin, Texas. TEXAS. TEX. AZ-TEX. Aztex.

Thanks for your time, and have a great day.

[Feel free to link to "cs"-spelling offenders in the comments, and we'll have a kind of Hall of Shame.]

Labels: media

We have some noticeable improvement to show off this week: paint! And with boards over the doors and windows, perhaps there's more work going on inside, too. You may also notice that Spring is springing in the trees in the background.

(Click to see the Flickr set.)

Labels: stadium

I missed this preseason exhibition game, though I followed the game live via the new Chantico's Army live-tweet account, @Aztex_MatchCast. Sadly, the Houston Dynamo have won the inaugural battle for the "coveted" Roadkill Cup. Here's a quick rundown of post-match coverage:

• Pre-season Friendly - Aztex 0, Dynamo 1 — Chantico's Army
  

  The Aztex came out a completely different team than what the fans last saw. Not only were the new faces so numerous we had difficulty tracking them, but the style of play was much different. Ball management had been an issue for many fans last season. Numerous were the times that we saw the Aztex fight to win the ball, only to turn it over on a sloppy pass to their teammates. Instead, on Sunday night, we saw clean plays followed by beautiful distribution. Some real highlights for me were Jay Needham, Eddie Johnson, Jamie Watson, Miguel Gallardo and Lawrence Olum.



• Aztex fall 1-0 in second preseason game — Austin American-Statesman
  

  Geoff Cameron's 84th-minute goal, three minutes after he came on as a substitute for the Major League Soccer's Dynamo, was the impetus for more scoring opportunities in the final six minutes . Austin had four clear scoring chances in the final minutes and Houston had one.
  
  . . . the Aztex are still looking for seven or eight players to fill out the team . Six new, unsigned players were on Sunday's roster hoping to make the team.
  
  "We looked a little fitter," Heath said, "we've been working hard and we're not as sharp as I'd like but I thought we were well organized and disciplined."



• Dynamo clip Aztex at the finish, 1-0 — AustinAztex.com
  

  Austin went on the attack all game long, firing off seven shots and earning six corner kicks against Houston, but were unable to put a tally on the board to earn a second-straight tie against its MLS foes.
  
  The Aztex started the match on the offensive and kept the gas pedal on for much of the match with their first real opportunity coming in the 16th minute when Yordany Alvarez placed a free kick just inches out of reach for Jay Needham to send it home. Later in the half, Sullivan Silva and and Eddie Johnson joined in the act, each booting shots on net, but Dynamo keeper Tally Hall was able to save them both from danger.



• Austin Aztex vs Houston Dynamo [photos] — LaVida Studios

Rumors persist that additional pre-season games will pop up; I'll be sure to let you know if those come true. Until they do, however, the next Aztex match will be the first regular-season game, here at House Park on Sunday, April 11, against the Montreal Impact.

Labels: exhibition, postgame, USL-1

This is it . . . almost. It's not quite the real season, and it won't be at the real Aztex home stadium, but it will definitely be the best pro soccer to be found in Austin — no, in all of Texas — this weekend.

Come on out to Nelson Field this Sunday, March 14, at 5:00 PM for one final farewell match at last year's ground. The Houston Dynamo are coming to town for the second leg of the Roadkill Cup (as I'm hoping it comes to be called).

Last weekend was the first game, in Houston. It ended up a 1-1 draw, even though the orange team scored both goals (oops, better practice those back-passes, Tally). Although I attended the game, I shirked my post-game reporting duties. You can get some post-match info from Chantico's Army, the Aztex site or MyDynamo.net.

Why the shirking? I've been in crunch mode on an another soccer/web project. It's not quite ready for prime time, but you'll hear more than enough about it soon (I hope). In the meantime, I'll do my best to keep up with Aztex happenings here.

Much to my dismay, I'll be out of town and miss Sunday's game. But you shouldn't! The weather should be great (60s or 70s) and the game should be good (the Red & White have had twice as much practice time as they'd had before last week's game). I haven't heard whether many Dynamo fans are coming over, but one would think lots of them would jump at the chance to come to Austin (or, more to the point, escape Houston).

So get some tickets ($20 adults, $15 kids), meet up with Chantico's Army at The Nomad about an hour before the game (this game's at Nelson, remember!) and have a blast. Kickoff is at 5:00 PM.

And one last reminder: this weekend is the world premier at SXSW of the soccer documentary Pelada. The first showing is Sunday night at 7:15, with another on Monday at noon and a third next Friday at 3:30 PM (schedule).

Let the year of soccer begin!

Labels: exhibition, gameday, MLS, USL-1

If you look closely — if you really study this week's picture, and compare it to last week's — you'll see absolutely no difference whatsoever. They must just be working on the inside now, that's all!

(Click to see the Flickr set.)

Labels: stadium

Another week closer to opening day, another picture of the future Aztex locker rooms. Definitely a roof on that thing now!

(Click to see the Flickr set.)

Labels: stadium