The Aztexan

Amid the continuing troubles engulfing the USL's 1st and 2nd divisions, the league is busy organizing their extensive lower divisions' 2010 season. Last week they announced the 2010 "alignment" of the Premier Development League (PDL).

The PDL is made up of amateur teams (with a few pro exceptions), and college-age players (with a few older exceptions) who are, well, developing. At this lower end of the American soccer ladder, teams come and go and get shuffled around fairly regularly. Last season, for example, saw the addition of the West Texas United Sockers and the Rio Grande Valley Bravos, which moved former Austin rivals New Orleans and Mississippi from the Mid South to the Southeast division.

Looking at the 2010 alignment announcement, though, gave Austin Aztex U23 fans a surprise: the team isn't listed under the Southern Conference's Mid South Division. In fact, the team isn't listed at all!

Chantico's Army tracked down the explanation, getting the following statement from Aztex owner Phil Rawlins:

"We have not registered to play in the PDL in 2010, although we continue to reserve the rights to the franchise for coming years and will continue to review our decision of whether we play in the PDL in future years. Our hope had been to replace the U23 team with a U20 team in the Super 20 League. A Texas division was being formed and we felt it was a long term better fit for the Aztex. At the last minute a couple of teams dropped out of the Super 20 League and without a viable core the Texas division was put on the back-burner for another year. By the time the decision was taken, the PDL registration window was long closed."

(According to Wikipedia, the USL's Super-20 league is "an American-Canadian soccer league for players 17 to 20 years of age. Introduced in 2006 it took the place of the U-19 age bracket in the Super Y-League.")

I wondered what this turn of events meant for the U23 coaching staff (head coach Wolfgang Suhnholz, assistant coach Ron Dennie & goalkeeper coach Alex Parra), but found via followup with Phil that Suhnolz and Parra were only on staff part-time during the season (they're both still listed as staff with Lonestar Soccer Club), and that Dennie is now working with the Austin United Capital Soccer Club.

Speaking of area youth clubs, Phil also made the excellent point that if a Texas Super-20 division had gotten off the ground, that would have served as a better stepping stone than a PDL team for bringing youth players into the Aztex fold.

I'm sure I was not alone in wondering, lastly, whether the ongoing turmoil between USL-1 and its breakaway teams, and the uncertainty that situation has created, had anything to do with these plans falling through. Phil, however, assured me that the decisions of the last-minute dropout teams were purely financial.

So, although I remain hopeful that the top-tier Aztex team will find some way, somehow, to play somebody in some league (despite continued brinkmanship), this sad fact is certain: there will be no amateur Aztex team this season.

Labels: coaches, U-23

And so it ends.

Still feeling the energy from their 2-1 win over the Portland Timbers, our Aztex made a valiant effort in their final match of the 2009 campaign. But it was not to be. Their last game was reminiscent of many this year, as they surrendered their lead late in the game.

The loss means the club has yet to net a single point north of the border.

But despite the loss, the Red & White ended the season on a strong, positive note. The result may have been disappointingly familiar, but the game they took to the Whitecaps was a solid one. I'm sure Vancouver didn't mind having a man advantage for those last 15 minutes.

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

• box score — USLSoccer.com
  

  Weather: Sunny; Attendance: 5288

• Aztex finish first season with loss to Vancouver — Austin American-Statesman
  

  Austin's goal, a strike by Jarius Holmes in the 51st minute, broke a scoreless tie, but was one of only five Aztex shots on goal in the match.
  
  Vancouver had 23 shots, but Aztex goalkeeper Miguel Gallardo-Aparicio kept the Whitecaps at bay until Haber's equalizer.

• Aztex fall in Vancouver 2-1 to conclude USL-1 season — AustinAztex.com
  

  The game dynamics changed when Noel-Williams received a straight red card for a challenge that took down Whitecaps midfielder Kenold Versailles.
  
  With the man advantage, Vancouver capitalized in the 80th minute following a poor clearance by the Aztex on a Whitecaps corner. Vancouver’s Gordon Chin volleyed the ball toward the far post, where Marcus Haber redirected his header over Gallardo to even up the match.
  
  Six minutes later Vancouver took its first lead of the game when Chin received a pass from Lyle Martin heading into the Aztex box. Clear of Aztex defenders Chin sent a blast that struck the underside of the crossbar and bounced into the net for a 2-1 Whitecaps lead.

• Video Highlights (5:29) — VancouverWhitecapsFC on YouTube
  
  

Before returning home, the Aztex are spending a couple of days in the area. As part of a partnership with the club, they'll play an exhibition match against the PDL's Victoria Highlanders on Tuesday night in the nearby capital on Vancouver Island.

Earlier this summer Highlander’s General Manager Drew Finerty and Aztex owner Phil Rawlins agreed to an affiliation partnership to foster development of young soccer players through their respective PDL and USL1 clubs. The focus of the agreement is to create opportunities for developing players through the Highlander’s system and provide the Aztex “first rights” to young footballers with a chance to play at the higher USL level.

And there's more partner exhibition action coming up soon here in Austin, as well. Tickets are on sale now for the Oct. 7 match against Mexico's CF Monterrey at the RRISD Athletics Complex.

Labels: internacional, postgame, U-23, USL-1

I didn't plan to ignore the Aztex U23s this season. It just worked out that way. With a few of their home games played outside of Austin (Waco, Bastrop, etc.), and with lots of USL-1 games to write about and attend, and the next thing you know, the season is almost over.

I only ever made it to one match at Dragon Stadium this year. I meant to write about that game, but never got around to that, either. Here's the short version: the crowd was smaller, the atmosphere was more subdued, but the soccer on the field was good. I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

It's not too late for you to check out the Aztex U23s for yourself. Their last regular-season game is here in Austin this Friday, July 17, against the El Paso Patriots. Kickoff is at 7:30.

But note: this game will be held at the Round Rock ISD Athletic Complex, not Dragon Stadium. The Athletic Complex, commonly referred to in RRISD as The Palace, is on Parmer Lane, just north of State Highway 45 (Google map).

The race for the top of the Mid South Division is a close one, and the Aztex U23s have a shot to win it. They are currently in 2nd place in the division. The field is so tight that none of the 3 playoff berths have been clinched, even though this is the last weekend of play.

The USL-1 team will be on the road playing the Minnesota Thunder this weekend. That game is on Saturday night at 7:05 CT, you can catch it free on USLLive.com if you're not in Minnesota.

Of course, you may be at the big Copa Aztex match between Cruz Azul and Tigres on Saturday night instead (more about that in a later post).

Labels: gameday, U-23

The busy June is going strong for the Aztex. Tonight (Tuesday, June 16), they host the El Paso Patriots of the PDL in the 2nd round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

As it happens, Austin's own PDL squad, the Aztex U23s, were just in El Paso last weekend, where they beat the Patriots 2-0 (box score). That puts the Aztex U23s at the top of their division table, but El Paso is right behind them.

The Aztex USL side need a win not only to advance in the Cup competition, but also to regain some much-needed confidence after a rough weekend:

“We have got a problem with injuries, but they’ve come to people who I think are important,” Heath said. “They’re the backbone of our team. They bring a lot of physical presence and mental strength.”

Even with the problems of the weekend, Heath said he still saw a positive. Reserve keeper Sam Reynolds stepped into the net to replace Gallardo after his injury, and for the most part impressed Heath.

The 3rd round of the Open Cup is where the 8 MLS teams enter the competition, and the possible pairings have already been drawn. The winner of tonight's match will face the very tough, very hot Houston Dynamo. The Dynamo, at the top of the MLS West table, haven't lost a game since April 4, and are currently on a 5-game winning streak.

Even before the rash of injuries and roster issues that has plagued them, it was clear back when the Open Cup dates were first announced that June would be a rough ride for the Aztex. That has been the case, and it's not over yet: they'll play another Friday/Sunday weekend this week (against Carolina and Rochester, respectively), then head back out on the road for 3 games in 9 days.

Kickoff tonight is at 7:30, which puts the prematch supporters gathering at Nomad Bar starting around 5:00. Tickets are just $15 ($10 for kids). Come on out and join us - your Aztex need you!

Labels: gameday, U-23, U.S. Open Cup, USL-1

The Aztex U23s make their 2009 home debut at 7:30 tonight, Friday May 22, against the El Paso Patriots. As last year, the PDL squad are playing their games at Round Rock High School's Dragon Stadium, near I-35 and RR 620 in Round Rock (map).

Officially this is the second home game, but it will be the first played in Austin. The first home game, a 4-2 win over the DFW Tornados last week, was played at Baylor University in Waco. That was the first of 3 home games that will be played in venues outside Austin this season, in an attempt to raise awareness of Austin's soccer club in nearby cities. The others will be in Bastrop on June 4, against Houston Leones, and San Marcos on July 3, against the Laredo Heat.

The U23s are currently 1-1-1, while the visiting Patriots are 2-1-0. In addition to being a regular season league match, tonight also counts for Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup qualifying. The Patriots are currently the team to beat, sitting atop the standings with 6 points from 2 games (unfortunately their loss to Laredo last Saturday was not an Open Cup qualifier). The Aztex U23s are tied for second, with 4 points from 3 games. Their chances of qualification aren't great, but they're not eliminated yet.

In other U23 news, defender Chris Spendlove was named to the PDL's nationwide team of week, for his game-winning goal and solid defense in the win over DFW.

While the game tonight may be a smaller crowd than we've been seeing at USL-1 games at Nelson Field, these are some of the best college-aged players in Austin (and El Paso). Their experience is less, but their intensity and passion for the game isn't.

The other nice thing about U23 games is that tickets cost less: adults $8, kids $5, little kids (5 & under) free.

With the addition of the Open Cup qualification on the line, tonight promises to be a good one. It's also worth noting that with so many holes in the USL-1 team at the moment, Coach Heath will be looking for players to pull from Coach Suhnholz's squad.

See you there!

Labels: gameday, U-23, U.S. Open Cup

• Aztex adjusting roster because of injuries, travel issues — AustinAztex.com
  

  In the last week, the Aztex have been without the services of forward Gifton Noel-Williams who pulled a hamstring and backup goalkeeper Sam Reynolds who suffered a hip injury.
  
  Now the team is without England natives Eddie Johnson and Gareth Evans, who are both home while they wait for work permits to be approved, which could take as long as four weeks as their paperwork makes it through the English system.
  
  With so many regulars absent, Aztex Head Coach Adrian Heath has turned to the Aztex U23 squad.

• Weekly radio show starring Coach Heath
  

  I can't find a good story to link to on this, but AM 1300 "The Zone" has started a new weekly show starring Aztex head coach Adrian Heath. The call-in format show is hosted by Ahmad Brooks, who's been doing commentary for the Aztex home games. The half-hour show is on Wednesdays at 6:30 PM CT. If you have as hard a time finding an AM radio as I did, you can stream it live from their website.

• Follow Up on "The Soccer Project" — Inside Minnesota Soccer
  

  Late in March I ran a story on "The Soccer Project", a documentary in progress called "Footplay". If you’ve not seen the trailer, please go to that story and watch the video I have embedded there. You won’t be disappointed as Footjoy is not about professional, youth, or college soccer. It’s about the pure joy of futbol through pick-up games played around the world.
  
  ...Yesterday I received a notice from The Soccer Project. The message brought great news. Footplay won the Melrose Mac competition! The notice went on to say,
  
  "Thanks to all of your votes, we now have two brand new editing systems and accompanying software to get the editing off the ground. We can’t thank you guys enough for continuing to be so supportive as we try to get this documentary to the finish line."
  
  "We returned last week from our final shoot in Iran with more great footage and stories, so we will be in the trenches all summer long to edit and finish the movie by September."

Labels: media, players, U-23, USL-1

So this is what Cleveland fans feel like.

The Aztex received their first loss of the regular season yesterday from the Montreal Impact, in Montreal. And it wasn't just a loss. It wasn't just "one that slipped away from them", or "the Impact stole it at the last minute" or even the old favorite, "terrible refereeing!" It was a regular old butt-kicking.

It was quite a different squad on the trip than we've seen at Nelson Field. And it was very cold & windy. And it was on the road, and on foreign soil, and all French-y, and involved the metric system somehow, and possibly a moose, and the way everyone said "aboot" instead of "about" was distracting. . . Let's just chalk it up to one or more of those excuses, figure the big loss is out of their system now, and not talk about it anymore after today. Ever.

Before I get to the rundown of other post-match coverage, may I just say that Montreal's commentators on the USLLive.com video feed were two of the most irritating twerps I've had the displeasure of listening to in a long time? And it wasn't just because Austin was losing, either. I couldn't stand them from the very start.

• Offensive explosion gives Impact first win — The Gazette (Montreal)
  

  Second-half goals by Roberto Brown, Joey Gjertsen, Tony Donatelli, and Simon Gatti, powered the Impact to its first league win in six games this season, a 4-0 blitz of the expansion Austin Aztex before a crowd of 11,470 at Saputo Stadium yesterday.
  
  The first three goals came in a span of 11 minutes. The outburst began with Brown’s first of the season – unassisted – in the 51st minute. The goal ended a four-game, 319-minute scoring drought going back to Rocco Placentino’s sixth-minute strike during a 2-1 loss to Rochester in the team’s United Soccer Leagues First Division home opener May 9.

• Aztex FC suffers first loss of season at Montreal — AustinAztex.com
  

  Three starters (forward Sullivan Silva, midfielder Yordany Alvarez, and defender Kieron Bernard) didn’t make the trip because of travel permit issues. In addition, the main cog of the Aztex front line, Gifton Noel-Williams, was absent from the lineup after suffering an injury late in the week back in Austin. Starting defender Lyle Adams also didn’t make the trip to attend his college graduation.

• Match Report :: USL1 League Match :: Aztex 0, Montreal Impact 4 — ChanticosArmy.com
  

  In the first half, Eddie Johnson had a number of touches that really provided quality play up front. When teamed up with Ryan Caugherty, the two were able to get the ball moving up the field often and quickly. Jarius Holmes had very good movement on the left side of the pitch, and so the attacks from the Aztex really seemed to be creating stress in the Impact backline. The passing showed the control and management that many of us have been wishing for since the NE Revs match. In fact, I remember talking to several at Cuatro's about the fact that we finally seemed to have kicked the first half challenges that we'd been suffering under recently.

The next USL-1 game will see the Aztex back in Austin. The start of a 4-game home stand, the Aztex will face the Carolina Railhawks for the first time on Sunday the 24th, kickoff is 6:00 PM. The Railhawks are currently tied for first in the league with 13 points, though they've played 7 matches to the Aztex's 5.

This weekend also sees the amateur level PDL team, the Aztex U23s, with their first home game that will actually be played at home. They'll be hosting the El Paso Patriots, 7:30 Friday night. That game, like all the U23 games in Austin, will be at Round Rock High School's Dragon Stadium, I-35 & 620, not at Nelson Field. This will also be the final match in the Aztex U23s' Open Cup qualification run. Their odds are pretty long, but it is possible they'll squeak through, if they can beat El Paso.

Labels: postgame, U-23, USL-1

We had a nice, warm evening of soccer at Nelson Field last night, for yet another 1-1 Aztex draw. The Fox Soccer Channel cameras were there, and from the crowd to the performance on the field, I think Austin Aztex FC's national broadcasting debut went over pretty well. Unfortunately that opinion is from hearsay and not firsthand observation, since I don't get FSC (and can't get it from Time-Warner, without subscribing to another 1,700 channels I don't want, but that's a rant for another day).

The Islanders were tough, as expected. Couple that with a pretty shaky opening half from the Aztex — allowing Puerto Rico to get on the board first — and it looked like it might be a long night. But once again the Red & White came out looking like a different team in the 2nd half. I don't know what Coach Heath says to them in that locker room, but they certainly had the mojo after halftime. It was enough to draw them level, but not quite enough to pull out the win.

The You-Had-To-Be-There Moment of the Match: seeing a couple of skinny little white kids — 7 or 8 years old, tops — with their shirts off, waving them like crazy and jumping up and down right in the middle of a bunch of Hispanic guys in the supporters' section. Think you'd see that kind of enthusiasm (& integration) at a Round Rock Express game?

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

• Aztex tie Puerto Rico 1-1 — Austin American-Statesman
  

  Both sides missed a bevy of chances for a game-winner, settling for a 1-1 tie as Austin made its national television debut in front of a team-record 5,216 fans at Nelson Field.
  
  The game followed a familiar pattern, as the Aztex limped out of the gate with a disjointed display.
  
  After surviving several clear-cut chances, Austin fell behind in the 39th minute. Puerto Rico midfielder James Marcelin found time in the center circle and picked out the surging Cristian Arrieta in the Aztex box.
  
  The defender turned his marker inside-out before firing high into the roof of the net.

• Austin Aztex FC earn 1-1 tie against Puerto Rico Islanders — AustinAztex.com
  

  In the 67th minute, Johnson was once again involved in an offensive threat on the Puerto Rico end. This time, however, the forward dropped off a back pass across to former Cuban player Yordany Alvarez. Alvarez settled the ball, then delivered it high to Gaudette's left. The Puerto Rico keeper managed to get a portion of his hand on the ball, but it wasn’t enough as the ball found the back of the net and more importantly, the Aztex had tied up the game at one apiece.

The Aztex's next match will be next Sunday, May 17, against Montreal Impact, in Montreal. This will be the first road game of the season for Austin, and their first time to face the Impact. The match will be broadcast on USLLive.com; watch here or on ChanticosArmy.com for details on a where the supporters will gather to watch it.

In PDL news, the Aztex U23s kicked off their season this week. They lost their season opener in Laredo, losing 1-3 Thursday night to the Laredo Heat. Last night (Saturday, 5/9), they drew 1-1 with Houston Leones, in Houston. These first games of the PDL season count as Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup qualifying games. Only the top team in the Southern Conference advances (conference standings), and these first two results will make it hard for the U23s to pull that off.

There is far better news from Austin's partner club in England today, however: Stoke City FC have clinched their spot in the Premiership with today's 2-1 win over Hull City. Congratulations to the Potters, a big fat raspberry to all those who thought Stoke would go right back down, and a hearty early welcome to the team whenever they come to Austin. It's great to have a Premiership team as a partner, rather than a former Premiership team!

Labels: postgame, Stoke City, U-23, U.S. Open Cup, USL-1

Coming off a bye week, the Aztex have a big home game this Friday night against Puerto Rico. This will be Austin's premiere national TV appearance on Fox Soccer Channel (FSC). More on that later this week; for now, here are some quick hits.

• Last Thursday's Timbers Match on USLLive
  
  I've been watching a good number of other teams' matches on USLLive.com (it's free, in case you haven't heard ;-). As mentioned here and elsewhere, the video and audio production quality varies a lot from game to game. And I'm not going to pretend that my own team has it all figured out quite yet, either.
  
  But this game last week, Portland's home opener against the Carolina Railhawks, showed how good it could be. It was produced by FSN, a Fox Sports affiliate, and the professional quality was fantastic. I don't know what kind of money and effort it takes to achieve that level, but if the USL and the teams could get anywhere near it on a consistent basis, it would be a huge win for improving the image of the league. It was the April 30th game, if you want to check it out on USLLive.com (I'd link it directly, but their web UI is a fancy Flash control that makes that impossible).
  
  I also couldn't help but notice the Portland MLS 2011 banners all around the field. Apparently, despite what the Atlanta Silverbacks claimed when they folded last year, the specter of impending MLS doom doesn't instantly kill the USL-1 franchise. Portland's attendance at that game — a Thursday night — was over 8,500.


• Swine Flu non-cancellation
  
  Just a quick note, in case you're wondering: despite cancellations of some events in Texas and Mexico, Friday night's 7:00 PM match with the Puerto Rico Islanders is very much still on.


• 2009 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Structure Finalized — ussoccer.com
  
  Want to see a bad case of schedule congestion? Check out what June looks like for the Aztex (and other USL-1 teams, presumably). This assumes, of course, that they'll advance through qualifying. Which they will.
  
  
  1. 5th (Fri.) vs. Charleston Battery @ home
  2. 7th (Sun.) vs. Charleston Battery @ home
  3. 9th (Tue.) Open Cup First Round
  4. 12th (Fri.) vs. Puerto Rico Islanders @ Puerto Rico
  5. 14th (Sun.) vs. Miami FC @ Miami
  6. 16th (Tue.) Open Cup Second Round
  7. 19th (Fri.) vs. Carolina Railhawks @ home
  8. 21st (Sun.) vs. Rochester Rhinos @ Rochester
  9. 27th (Sat.) vs. Cleveland City Stars @ Cleveland
  10. 30th (Tue.) Open Cup Third Round
  11. July 3rd (Fri.) vs. Cleveland City Stars @ Cleveland
  
  
• Electronic Arts FIFA petition for USL-1
  
  If you've ever played one of Electronic Arts' annual FIFA soccer video games, you'll know that the teams you play with in the game are real teams from leagues across the world, all the way down to the players on the roster. This petition seeks to have Electronic Arts include USL-1 teams in future editions.


• Aztex U23 schedule — AustinAztex.com
  
  The PDL season is getting underway, and starts for the Aztex U23s this Thursday against rivals Laredo Heat, in Laredo.
  
  The first home game, technically, is against the DFW Tornados on Wednesday, May 13. But it will be played at Baylor University in Waco, so the first home game that will actually be here in town will be against the El Paso Patriots on Friday, May 22. Note that the U23 home games will be played at Dragon Stadium in Round Rock, not at Nelson Field, like the USL-1 games.
  
  It's clear that the Aztex club will be focussing their promotion efforts on the USL-1 team, so you may not hear as much about this team. If you're confused about these 2 different Aztex teams and how they relate to each other, this post explains it in detail.


• Women's Pro Soccer
  
  The WPS season is also well underway, and if you haven't been following any of the action, you're missing out. This is shaping up as the place to be for all the best women players in the world. The attendance numbers I've seen have been in the solid 5,000+ neighborhood. Between the economy and this being a brand new league, that seems pretty good to me. Unfortunately my team, St. Louis Athletica, is not doing too well. Already tied for last place, they just lost their Brazilian star Daniela "indefinitely" to a knee injury.
  
  The next televised game is Sunday, May 10 on Fox Soccer Channel: Chicago Red Stars host New Jersey's Sky Blue FC; kickoff is 5:00 PM CT.

Labels: media, U-23, U.S. Open Cup, USL-1, WPS

It's been a couple of months since we met the first of the PDL expansion teams the Aztex U23s will be playing this year: Midland's West Texas United, aka The Sockers. Now let's turn our attention south, and I mean really south; about as far south as you can get in Texas. There we'll meet the other 2009 PDL expansion team, rounding out the Mid South Division as an all-Texas division: the Rio Grande Valley Bravos.

The team was announced on November 14.

[Director of Business Development Miguel] Puente indicated that the new RGV franchise will look to the tremendous talent that exists locally to build the foundation of the team, and that the organization will also work with the local academies and soccer leagues to implement a reserve youth system.

Less than a month later, the club unveiled their name, logo and new technical director. The colors are good, and the name is excellent (especially compared to the Fockers, er, Sockers).

Prior to Moreira's presentation, the RGV announced that the club will be named RGV Bravos F.C. and unveiled the club’s badge, which has a traditional look and whose theme is representative of the area’s Mexican heritage. The team colors will be blue and gold.

... [Ismael Moreira Braga] played for legendary Brazilian clubs Botafogo, Flamengo and Santos during the 1960's and 70's. In addition, the defender from Rio de Janeiro was selected to the Brazilian National Team on various occasions from 1967–70. ... During his playing career, Moreira played with and against legendary footballers Pelé, Zico, Jairzinho, Gérson, Sebastiao Leonidas, Zé Carlos and Paulo César.

According to the team's website, they will be playing their home games at Valley View High School's Tiger Stadium, in Hidalgo-Pharr, TX (a 5.5 hour drive from Austin).

The new team has been busy with tryouts, on both the U.S. side and the Mexican side of the border.

Over 150 players attended the RGV Bravos FC open tryout held Saturday, February 14 at Reynosa’s Unidad Deportiva Solidaridad, where the USL Premier Development League first-year club wrapped up the first phase of ... putting together the Valley's first professional soccer team.

Mexican soccer players from Reynosa and around the Mexican Republic arrived at the sports complex several hours before the official 9:00 AM registration time. All players were given an opportunity to be observed in game situations by "Moreira" and Assistant Coach Javier "El Gato" Navarrete.

"It was great to see how well the residents of Reynosa responded to the Bravos," said Bravos FC General Manager Miguel Puente. "The true meaning of 'Passion Without Borders' was manifested through hundreds of people waiting in line for the opportunity to showcase their talent."

The border city’s government assisted in coordinating the open tryout in conjunction with Bravos FC.

The seventh PDL squad in Texas, and third on the border: welcome to the league, Bravos!

Just think, some of this year's Bravos (and Heat, Leones, Patriots, etc.) players may be in a good position next year to join the San Antonio USL-1 team that people are starting to talk about...

Labels: rivals, U-23

Here's one for the newer fans of pro soccer in the U.S. It's a topic the die-hards among us take for granted, but which is surely confusing to many casual fans. After I'd explained it to my wife for the thirteenth time, I thought perhaps it was worth writing up.

She never asks it this way, but the question boils down to: Where do the Aztex fit in the soccer landscape in the U.S.? It turns out to be a pretty complicated answer.

You could answer that the Aztex play in the United Soccer Leagues (USL). That would be correct, if not especially meaningful to most people.

That's partly because most people, if they've heard of pro soccer in the U.S. at all, have heard of that other league: Major Leauge Soccer (MLS). Both USL and MLS are professional soccer leagues, but they're totally separate, without much of any official relationship between them (and certainly no system of promotion and relegation). MLS is clearly higher up the scale of what we expect pro sport to be: more fame and more fortune. For example, MLS has players like David Beckham (maybe), Cuauhtemoc Blanco and Juan Pablo Angel.

As I've written before, I personally think a more formal relationship between MLS & USL should be hammered out, but I'm not holding my breath.

When you hear about the Aztex's upcoming preseason exhibition games against MLS teams, that's who they're playing. Even better, the 3 teams coming to town — the New England Revolution, the Houston Dynamo and last season's champs Columbus Crew — are among the best MLS has to offer. (By the way, if you're even remotely considering getting Aztex season tickets, be sure to get them before Feb. 23 to get in on a great package that includes those MLS games.)

Okay, the Aztex play in the USL, that's great. But the next source of confusion is that the the USL itself is made up of not one, not two, but five separate soccer leagues. There's a youth league ("Super-Y"), a women's league ("W-League"), a developmental amateur league ("PDL") and 2 levels of pro league ("Second Division" and "First Division"). Sometimes there are connections between teams in these different leagues, but most of the time they're completely separate.

Here in Austin, as of 2009, we'll have teams in two of those USL leagues. They're both run by the same organization: Austin Aztex FC.

One team is officially called the Aztex U23s, and they began play in the Premier Development League (PDL) last year.

Because PDL teams are mostly college players keeping their game up during the summer break from school, the season is short, lasting from May through July. And PDL players aren't paid; if they were, they would lose their amateur status and be ineligible to play college ball.

The PDL is divided into 8 regional divisions, to minimize travel. This year, the Aztex will be playing in the all-Texas "Mid South Division", against such teams as the El Paso Patriots, the DFW Tornados and the Laredo Heat. The Heat are a formidable team: they were national champs in 2007, and they just barely fell short of a repeat last year, losing in the league final to Ontario's Thunder Bay Chill on penalty kicks.

The schedule for the 2009 PDL season has been announced, but the locations of the Aztex U23 home games haven't been yet. I've heard most will be at Round Rock High School's Dragon Stadium, and that some may also be played in other cities around Austin, in an effort to draw in more fans.

The other Aztex team is new this year, and will be the team most people mean when they talk about "the Aztex" from now on. They will play in the USL's First Division (USL-1). This team didn't "move up" or get "promoted" from last year's U23 squad (though a few of the players did). Fielding a team in this league was the plan ever since the Austin Aztex FC was announced, and the club has been working on building to this since early last year.

The players on this team are not amateurs, they are paid professional soccer players. There may not be superstars with the household name recognition of a Beckham or a Blanco, but the teams are nevertheless stocked with a high level of talent, drawn from all over the world. This is especially true of the Aztex, whose global reach has already brought on six international players, and counting.

The 11 teams that make up the USL-1 span the country, from Miami FC in Florida to the Portland Timbers in Oregon. In fact, 3 of USL-1's teams hail from beyond U.S. borders: the Puerto Rico Islanders, the Montreal Impact and the reigning champions, the Vancouver Whitecaps. The USL-1 season stretches from April to September.

All 15 Aztex home games, plus those 3 preseason MLS games, will be played at Nelson Field. Some USL-1 games, though not all, are televised on Fox Soccer Channel. Online streaming video (for a fee) may be available again from USLLive.com this season to cover the rest of the games.

Hopefully this helps clarify where the Aztex fit in the bigger picture of U.S. (and Canadian) soccer. If nothing else, I can give the link to my wife the next time I need to explain it.

Labels: MLS, U-23, USL-1

Hot on the heels of my last post about PDL expansion team West Texas United, the team has announced their name, mascot and a major sponsor.

The good news is, the sponsor doesn't sound too bad.

West Texas National Bank was chartered in 2000, the result of the merger of three independent banks. Headquartered in Midland, the bank’s corporate "roots" in the community date back to 1904.

In addition to being the "title" sponsor, the West Texas National Bank partnership also includes WTNB patches on the uniforms, Youth Jersey Night sponsorship at the home opener, halftime contests at home games, and more.

The name, on the other hand, doesn't do much for me.

After announcing the birth of the franchise in September, a "name the team" contest was held, in conjunction with the Midland Reporter-Telegram. It turns out the contest will have two winners, as the name "Sockers" is actually a combination of two entries.

"The name 'SockHounds' was suggested, a direct tie-in to the RockHounds baseball club," Hoppel said. "We also like Coyotes for a number of reasons, especially as it relates to a team logo and potential mascot. So, the name 'Sockers' is really a hybrid. It’s also unique, as no other minor or major league team is using the name."

Okay, at least they didn't use "SockHounds"; that would have been even worse. But using a misspelling of the name of the sport itself? Really?

Since they'll be our rivals, I guess I should be glad they have an easy name to make fun of. But in my opinion, they should have just left it at "West Texas United", and had the coyote as mascot and nickname (a la The Potters, Hoops, Orange Crush, etc.).

Labels: rivals, U-23

Time to start taking a closer look at other expansion teams in the Aztex universe. Let's start in the PDL, with the first new team to join the Aztex U23s in the Mid South Division: Midland's West Texas United.

The team was announced on Sept. 15.

United Soccer Leagues announced Monday that the ownership of the Midland RockHounds minor league baseball team unveiled plans to bring a new level of soccer to West Texas with a Premier Development League franchise. The team will begin play in spring of 2009 at Grande Communications Stadium next door to the home of the ‘Hounds at the Scharbauer Sports Complex.

The full name of the team is yet to be announced, and will be the result of a name-the-team contest (I think leaving it at just "West Texas United" would be cool, but maybe modern day sports marketing forbids such subtlety).

The "primary" name for the new soccer team is derived from the largest youth club soccer organization in the Permian Basin: West Texas United Soccer Club.

Utilizing the name for the new PDL team was a joint decision. The PDL team is not "taking over" the youth programs. Instead, the two will work jointly to create and advance the best possible atmosphere for the sport of soccer in the Permian Basin.

An interesting aspect of this organization is their existing sports-business experience: they also own the minor league baseball team Midland Rockhounds. The Rockhounds play in the Double-A "Texas League" (not in the higher level Triple-A league the Round Rock Express play in).

The club will be operated by RockHounds co-owners Miles Prentice and Bob Richmond and staffed by the existing baseball front office. RockHounds general manager Monty Hoppel says that, although the sports share the same playing season (spring / summer), the two will make an outstanding combination.

“We think the soccer team will compliment the RockHounds season, rather than compete with it,” Hoppel said. “The (eight) soccer home dates will fall when the RockHounds are on the road so, really, we have the best of both worlds.”

The Rockhounds management seem to know what they're doing on the baseball side of things; the team was recognized as the top minor league baseball franchise in the nation in 2007. Time will tell if they can run a soccer team as well.

The new club's experience doesn't stop there. They've also named Jesus Enriquez as head coach.

The native of Delicias, Chihuahua, Mexico brings a decade of coaching experience to the new franchise, nine of those seasons coming with the El Paso Patriots of the USL. Enriquez served as an assistant coach with the club from 1998-2002, and was named head coach in 2003, guiding the Patriots to a pair of division titles in four seasons. His 2005 team reached the PDL championship game, falling in overtime (6-5 on penalty kicks after a 0-0 draw in regulation time) in the title game.

...Enriquez’ playing career included two stints with the Patriots in El Paso (1991-94 and 1997), twice being named the team’s captain. He also played for USL clubs in El Paso (the Gallos) and Phoenix, as well as the Mexican First Division, and was a member of the 1985-86 Mexican University National Team which competed in the World University Games in Kobe, Japan.

One aspect of the new Midland team that was known from day one — earlier, really — was where they would play. They'll be at Grande Communications Stadium, the football-field half of the Scharbauer Sports Complex (Citibank Ballpark being the baseball-field half). Here's the Google Maps satellite view. It looks like a beautiful facility, though it's clearly built for throwball, and the 15,000 seats might look pretty empty for PDL games.

A hearty welcome to our new Mid South rivals. I imagine El Paso is happy to have a team practically next door (only 4 hours away; that's "next door" in west Texas terms, right?) In future posts we'll take a look at the newly-promoted USL-1 side Cleveland City Stars and the other Texas PDL expansion team, the Rio Grande Valley Bravos.

Labels: rivals, U-23, USL-1

Announced in today's Statesman: Aztex set to play at Nelson Field. They acknowledged not getting the location most fans were hoping for, House Park, but that's still not ruled out in the future.

"We always wanted to play as close to downtown as we could," Rawlins said.

But the stadium closest to downtown, House Park, will be unavailable to the Aztex in 2009 because of ongoing locker room renovations.

Rawlins says a multiyear deal with the Austin school district gives the team an option to move to House Park in 2010, but Nelson Field, adjacent to Reagan High, will be the team's home when it begins play April 18.

It doesn't specify, but presumably both the USL-1 and PDL teams will play there. The article also has this hint about players moving up from this year's PDL squad:

Rawlins expects up to six members of the Aztex PDL club to be promoted to the USL-1 team. The rest of the roster will be filled in the USL draft of college players and by signing free agents.

Update: Phil Rawlins was also on AM 1300 with the stadium news this morning. I can't find a link directly to their post, but go to AM 1300 The Zone and look for "Soccer in Austin!!", dated "Friday 12-05-2008 8:33am CT"

Labels: stadium, U-23, USL-1

The Austin Aztex FC have announced a new partnership with Mexican Primera División (first division) team Club de Fútbol Monterrey. Monterrey is commonly known as Rayados, "the striped ones", due to their blue and white striped kit.

A summary of the alliance between the two clubs:

• Players: Aztex FC will scout Central & Southern Texas for talent for Monterrey, and be a feeder club for them. Aztex players may be loaned to Rayados, and Monterrey will provide up to 2 players to the Aztex


• Travel: Monterrey will come to Austin to play exhibition games, and the Aztex will be able to go to Monterrey for pre-season training. Also, an Austin-area youth team will be hosted by Monterrey for a week each year


• Knowledge: in addition to sharing "best practices", Rayados coaches will participate in Aztex summer soccer camps, and Aztex coaches will have the opportunity to go to Monterrey and "shadow" their coaches for a week each year

Aztex FC worked with Monterrey earlier this year, when they hosted a round of youth friendlies in Austin which included the Stoke City U18s, Rayados 92/93 and the Lonestars. It seems that event was a better basis for partnership than the exhibition game in June against Monterrey's other club, UANL Tigres. Though the tremendous turnout at that Aztex v. Tigres match — tickets were $30 & $35, remember &mdash demonstrated the value of such a partnership.

So, who is Monterrey? Here's the little bit I've learned so far. The 2008 "Apertura" season (one of 2 seasons played each year in the Mexican league) is currently in Liguilla (playoffs). The Rayados, however, didn't make it that far this season. Nor did they quality for Mexico's InterLiga, unfortunately, which will be played in Dallas, Houston & Los Angeles. The next season, Clausura 2009 will start Jan. 16.

Personally, I'm pretty excited about this partnership. Now Aztex players will have avenues not just to English soccer, via Stoke City, but also to Mexican football. And in addition to such direct benefits, as listed above, a deal like this is just cool. Being international is part of what makes soccer so interesting. Contrast a deal like this with the global connections of the Round Rock Express or the Austin Wranglers (hint: there aren't any, and there never will be).

It instantly creates the possibility for cross-team fandom: now I have a Mexican team to follow. And hopefully, some Rayados fans, whether in Monterrey or here in Austin, will feel the same way about the Aztex. Just take a look at the view from their stadium!

(Or for that matter, from that same blog, take a look at the view inside their stadium... ;-)

I hope it works out well for all involved, and stays vibrant. Aside from the annual Rio Grande Plate, FC Dallas' partnership with UANL Tigres doesn't seem to have amounted to all that much. Regardless, here's looking forward to lots of good cross-border excitement between the red striped ones and the blue striped ones!

Labels: Rayados, U-23, USL-1

• Aztex open new offices, unveil new logo — AustinAztex.com
  

  The ceremony concluded with the Aztex unveiling the team’s new logo/crest. The redesign was a collaborative effort intended to transition the organization from it first season in the PDL to the 2009 campaign, which will feature a full professional team competing in the USL-First Division against teams from around the nation including Miami, Portland, Montreal, and Atlanta.

  I like the logo a lot, though I am a little confused about the exact colors. The image on that page is considerably darker, almost maroon, compared to the copy I received by email from the team, which I can only call "bright red".
  Well, see for yourself:
  


• USL Soccer coming to Valley — KGBT.com
  

  After four decades of organized soccer, the Rio Grande Valley was awarded a professional soccer franchise by the United Soccer Leagues (USL).
  
  The historic RGV franchise will participate in the Premier Development League (PDL) of the USL in the 2009 season.



• Carling Cup: Stoke City 2-0 Rotherham — Stoke City FC

  City are into the Quarter Finals of the Carling Cup for the first time in almost 30-years after a comfortable 2-0 victory over League Two side Rotherham United.

  Stoke advance out of the fourth round along with Arsenal, Blackburn Rovers, Burnley (who upset Chelsea on PKs today), Derby County, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur & Watford. The exact match-ups for the fifth-round, to be played in December, will be drawn this Saturday, Nov. 15.

Labels: rivals, Stoke City, U-23

Watching the Carolina Railhawks playing the Minnesota Thunder Friday night (beating them 2-1), I was struck by a kind of déjà vu when I saw Minnesota's home jerseys. Notice any similarities?

That grainy picture on the left is a screenshot of the USLlive video feed, because oddly enough, I couldn't find photos anywhere on the web of that Thunder jersey. All the pictures I found were solid blue, like this.


Notice the sponsor is different. Maybe that's the whole explanation right there?

In any case, the similarity between the blue and red striped jerseys isn't really that surprising. When you see the back, you might remember that Aztex sponsor & jersey provider Soccer USA has locations in another place besides Austin: the Twin Cities, Minneapolis-Saint Paul.

Labels: U-23, USL-1

The first excitement, as you've probably seen, was when Jamie Watson signed with FC Dallas. That was just over a week ago, but already he's traveled to Toronto for Dallas' 2-0 win over TFC (though he didn't see minutes in that game). Then this week, he played for the FC Dallas reserve team in a match against Real Salt Lake's reserves. Although Dallas lost the game 3-2, Jamie scored both the home team's goals, getting a little player revenge on RSL, his former MLS club.

The excellent FC Dallas blog 3rd Degree had this to say about Watson's Hoops debut:

Jamie Watson was terrific against RSL with two goals. He was a bit lost through about 30 minutes until he scored and then raised his game after that. Obviously his nice performance might have been motivated by a team that dropped him. Still a good start for the kid. He combined well, took some guys on. He still needs to learn a bit of the role in Schellas’ 4-4-2.

"It was nice to see Jamie pick up two goals. He’s only been with us a short week and this game means something to him cause he was dropped by Real. So I think he had some internal motivation. I thought he did very well today, but I thought he faded also at the later part." - [FCD Head Coach] Schellas Hyndman

Also via 3rd Degree, a metric ton of fan photos from that reserve game. I went to the trouble of skimming through all 242 of them to find the decent ones featuring our man Jamie: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30.

Last but not least in this Week of Watson is this nice long story on him for MLSnet.com: Home sweet home for Hoops' Watson.

Ellinger, who is Hyndman's top assistant with the Hoops, is happy to have Watson playing for him once again.

"It's positive to have an extra addition to the team with what he brings. One thing I have always liked about him as a player is that he's always had that chip on his shoulder and isn't afraid to work. He feels that he can have a positive impact in any game whether it's an assist or a goal," Ellinger said.

Update: one last bit, a post by Watson himself about this whirlwind signing on The Original Winger, Damn It’s Been Awhile.

And though he hasn't gotten quite the press Watson has, the second big pro-signing news is for the very first member of the Aztex USL-1 team: goalkeeper extraordinaire Miguel Gallardo. Gallardo was also named by United Soccer Leagues this week as the PDL Goalkeeper of the Year, no real surprise given that he had the best GAA and most shutouts league-wide. It's hard to imagine a better nucleus around which to build next year's top-flight team.

Congratulations to Jamie, and welcome Miguel! Now, who's next?

Labels: alumni, MLS, players, U-23, USL-1

The name for the first independent Austin Aztex supporters' group has been decided on. The name was suggested, discussed and rallied around predominantly in that den of soccer fandom: the BigSoccer.com discussion forums.

The name: Chantico’s Army.
The website: http://chanticosarmy.com.

Not to be confused with the short-lived little "gourmet drinking chocolate beverage" marketed by Starbucks a few years ago, Chantico comes to us from the ancient mists of Aztec mythology. According to Wikipedia, Chantico was the goddess of fires in the family hearth, volcanoes and precious things.

She is said to rule over the 13-day period of wind in the Aztec calendar; perfect for the Aztex's windy home advantage this year at Dragon Stadium. And perhaps being She Who Dwells In The House will help align the stars to get the Aztex USL-1 team playing in fan-favorite House Park next season.

Besides, as you can see from the picture above, she's quite a looker. (Especially if you happen to have a thing for the Mario Brothers.)

As you may have guessed if you've read this blog for long, the official pub of this unofficial group of fans is Mother Egan's Irish Pub, 715 W. 6th St. (Google map). The next get-together is to see the PDL final this Saturday, Aug. 9 at 6:30 PM. Will the Thunder Bay Chill melt under the Laredo Heat? Or will the 2007 champs be put on ice? My prediction: Chill 2-1 Heat, possibly after OT.

Update: Admit it, I was pretty close on that PDL final prediction, wasn't I? If only Thunder Bay had scored in OT, instead of going through to win, finally, on penalties.

Labels: supporters, U-23

As you've probably seen, the Aztex U23s suffered a tough loss last night in Orlando, going down 3-1 to the Laredo Heat in the Southern Conference Final. You can read the gory details, if you don't already know them.

And so ends the inaugural season of the Austin Aztex. As I've commented elsewhere, I find it oddly difficult to feel too sad about the loss last night. Sure it would have been great to go the national finals. I mean, of course.

But the whole season has just so completely and consistently exceeded expectations, that it seems almost greedy to want the national title, too. I don't want to sound defeatist or anything. I'm just saying, they could have had a season like the Palm Beach Pumas — who ended with -1 points (that's right, negative one points) on the season — and I'd still be an Aztex fan.

The bummer is that we have a long, long offseason before we see the Aztex on the field again. Is there anything to keep an Austin soccer fan busy until next April? Here's what I came up with; hope it helps.

• Catch up on Stoke City's preparations for their first year in the Premiership


• Speaking of Stoke, don't forget their U18 Academy team will be here next month


• Pick a USL-1 team, any USL-1 team! Their season doesn't end until September (I'm thinking Railhawks)


• Go to the Mexic-Arte Museum downtown, to see the Aztec and Maya Revival exhibit


• There's some kind of soccer going on China next month, isn't there?


• Knitting? Nah, scratch that.


• Go back to following MLS soccer (in Texas, that means FC Dallas if you have any class or taste, Houston Dynamo otherwise)


• Follow the stadium speculation and rumors for next year's Aztex seasons


• Follow FC Dallas fan-favorite Juan Toja through his impending (or not) trade to Steaua Bucureşti, becoming an expert in Romanian football along the way. Apparently their top-level league is called "Liga I Frutti Fresh"; what more could you ask for?

Labels: MLS, Stoke City, U-23

Congratulations to the boys for the win last night over the Bradenton Academics. While it totally sucks to lose Beto to 2 yellow cards, the win was obviously the important thing.

Next up: beating Laredo tonight. This will be the 3rd time the Aztex play the Heat, and we've had good results so far: two wins, zero losses.

If we win this one, the Southern Conference Championship is ours, and it's on to the finals! The only thing better than going to the finals would be if the finals came to us. That is, if the Aztex make a successful bid to host. Er, wait, maybe winning the final would also be better than going to the finals, so I guess that's not the only thing better. You know what I mean.

The game should once again be broadcast at http://ftslive.rbm.tv. Bless those folks; I'd never have thought I'd enjoy amateur camera-work so much. Chantico's Army, the recently (and finally) christened Aztex supporter's group, will be gathering as usual at Mother Egan's. I will unfortunately not be able to make it tonight, but the hookup from laptop to TV works amazingly well, and the atmosphere with all the fans is great. Highly recommended, and they're always happy to see new faces, so don't be shy.

Best of luck, guys, against our southern Texan rivals tonight in Orlando!

UPDATE, 7/26 3:30 PM Much to the dismay of Aztex fans the world over (and with the Stoke City partnership that isn't just a figure of speech), the video has been canned. Apparently there was some kind of pissing match between the Fasttrack Scouting people and the USL people over whether the video page had to stay branded with the Central Florida Kraze banner. I can see both sides, I guess, but what really sucks is that it ended up with no video, and everyone's a loser.

If you want to track the game live, you can wade through the BigSoccer thread, follow the game tracker on the new Chantico's Army site, or follow my Twitter page.

Labels: gameday, supporters, U-23

This just in: the Aztex playoff sweep will be viewable online! Here's the place to point your browser tomorrow at 4:00 (Austin time): http://ftslive.rbm.tv/.

There are also once again plans for supporters to gather and watch at Mother Egan's on 6th Street. I won't be able to sneak out of work at that time, unfortunately, but I'll be there in spirit.

Come on Aztex! Start the playoffs like you started the season! (Not counting that very first game, of course...)

UPDATE, 7/25 7:00 AM The Aztex Revolution will not be televised, after all. The video stream has been cancelled, according to a message seen on the ftslive site by a BigSoccer member. "PLEASE NOTE: we were notified late this afternoon that we will not be able to broadcast the games this weekend as planned due to unforeseeen circumstances beyond our control." Bastards.

Updates will be available on BigSoccer's Aztex forum for sure, and possibly on the Aztexan Twitter page. Stay tuned for further news.

UPDATE 2, 7/25 12:00 PM The video stream is BACK ON! Apparently the league gods were appeased by making the folks at Fasttrack Scouting change the banner on the top of their page for the day, to a Kraze banner. Anyway, all that matters is, we're back in business! Same Aztex time, same Aztex channel: 4:00 PM (Central Time) at http://ftslive.rbm.tv/.

Labels: gameday, supporters, U-23

My son is going to a week-long Boy Scout camp near Balmorhea in West Texas starting on Saturday.

The Aztex will play their last regular-season game Saturday night in El Paso, just a hop, skip and a jump west of there (that is, if the hop takes an hour, the skip takes another hour, and the jump takes half an hour).

What else could a Scout-dad Aztex fan do, but go to the game? (Especially since we didn't get to host the playoffs here...) Anyway, this gives me an excuse to stay at a Hyatt Saturday night, instead of in a tent in the West Texas desert in July. Sorry, son.

So I'm going to try something new for game updates: an online service called Twitter. It's kind of hard to explain, but basically it's just a way to post extremely short (140 characters max) updates, and it's easy to post to via cellphone text messages. My Twitter account is aztexan.

If you already have a Twitter account, you can "follow" me, and you'll get my updates on your home page (or via your Twitter client, or your cellphone, or however you have it set up). If you don't have a Twitter account, you don't need one. Just refresh that link periodically to see updates.

I thought I'd try this out, just to see how it goes. I realize this isn't really necessary, as the Patriots should have live streaming video of the game on their website. And a bunch of Aztex fans are gathering once again at Mother Egan's (715 West 6th Street) for the game. That's the place to be on Saturday night, if you're in Austin.

Labels: gameday, supporters, U-23

Some more nice Aztex coverage to make sure everyone knows about: a nice profile of midfielder A.J. Godbolt in the free Capital City Sports Report paper. Google Alerts found the editorial on their site: A.J. Godbolt and the Austin Aztex. The editor says:

I have to admit, months ago when I first learned of the new Austin Aztex, I was skeptical. I've seen other "professional" soccer teams come and go in this town. In fact, we've covered a couple of them in our pages. I figured the Aztex wouldn't be any different.

I can happily admit, I was dead wrong.

The Aztex are averaging around 1,500 fans per game this season and this past Sunday they pulled in an impressive 4,700-plus crowd against one of the top Mexican team's, UANL Tigres. I know two other professional franchises in town that can only dream of pulling in those kinds of numbers.

The story on A.J. is in their current issue: A.J. Godbolt - Back Home (PDF).

“It has been great taking a more offensive role this season because nothing really compares to scoring a goal. In college it was my job and responsibility to set up my teammates for goals from the flank. It had been since high school that I had been able to be a true goal scorer and attack the way I wanted to,” Godbolt said. “I’m more of an aggressive goal scorer by nature so I have definitely enjoyed getting back into that role over the course of this season.”

Labels: media, players, U-23

We had a great crowd of predominantly Tigres fans at Dragon Stadium last night. The Aztex lost 2-1, but put up a very good game against the Mexican pros. The official attendance was a record-setting 4,743, but I don't think that included all the people sitting on top of cars and vans along the stadium driveway.

It even got the team some more coverage in the Statesman. Before the game, a nice story on the Guadarramas: For Austin dad, blood is thicker than soccer. And a short postgame story, too: Aztex lose exhibition against UANL Tigres 2-1.

Labels: gameday, U-23

Euro 2008 action day after day after day (minus a day or two). Semi-finals yesterday and today, and good games at that (i.e., they didn't sit at nil-nil for 90 minutes before anything happened). A fine-looking final on tap between Germany and Spain on Sunday.

FCD snatching a point out of their new coach chaos on the road from the orangemen in Houston tonight.

But the best is yet to come: three Aztex home games in three days. Another shot at El Paso (number 3 of 4 this season, for those counting), a first match against Baton Rouge, and of course the big Tigres game squeezed in on Sunday.

And don't look now, but there's 2 more Aztex home games on tap next week: Laredo on Thursday and Mississippi on Sunday.

If there's such a thing as too much soccer, I guess we'll find out in the next ten days. See you at the games!

Labels: gameday, MLS, U-23

Just wanted to say, thanks and good job.

Now, please take it easy on FCD. They're going through a bit of a rough patch.

Thank you.

Labels: U-23, U.S. Open Cup

Please grind those chumps from Atlanta into the GROUND.

Thank you.

Labels: U-23, U.S. Open Cup

Just found out about this: STXSoccer.com is going to have live updates of tonight's game. If you can't make it to Dragon Stadium, here's the next best thing!

STXSoccer will provide 15 minute updates for the Aztex-Silverbacks US Open Cup match, as well as halftime and goal updates. First update will air at approximately 7:27 p.m. Please watch the front page of the site.

Labels: gameday, media, U-23, U.S. Open Cup

Don't miss it: history will be made Tuesday night at Dragon Stadium. Of course, it being the first season of the club, history is made every time somebody turns around (first home game! first shutout! first 4-game winning streak! first opposing coach ejection! etc.). But still, this is big.

The Silverbacks are coming, if you hadn't heard. Furthermore, we are going to beat them. There, I said it. It made me break out in a sweat for fear of jinxing us, but I said it anyway! We are going to beat them, and beat them soundly. You heard it here first. And I hope you're there to see it with me!

In other major news, the Austin American-Statesman has a nice long story on the Aztex, including even a few pictures: Aztex, owner are on a roll.

Labels: gameday, media, U-23

• Well, we lost. And to Mississippi, no less.


• Atlanta's coming!


• Great home game on tap for Friday, against El Paso. From what I've heard, there's supposed to be some kind of mega-mondo-giganto turn-out of Lonestars. TOO BAD I'LL MISS IT. (I mean, it's my wife's cousin, I don't see why I have to go to the wedding...)


• Burnley's coming! (I know. "Who?" Maybe we can get Liverpool or Man U next year.)

And that's it. That's all I have time to write. Dissatisfied? Me too! But here's the secret (which is hardly a secret to much of anyone anymore, probably): I'm spending most of my Aztex-web-related time on the team's site. See, some time ago, they asked for some help running the site, and I was (and still am!) happy to oblige. That's me, the Aztex webmaster. If the roster info is out of date, you can blame me (though I'll pass the buck as quick as can be).

Meanwhile I also have a life, unfortunately. (Which is constantly interfering with being a soccer fan, I can tell you.) But between that, and already having written about most of the team news to one extent or another on austinaztex.com, I'm afraid I don't have much left for this weblog, and it's getting a little cobwebby.

Which I'd love to have it not be. I'd rather it were the one-stop shop for Aztex news and opinion: including links to whoever and whatever, reports from the depths of the forums, fan match reports, etc. But I just haven't got the time.

That's where you come in (as if you didn't see that coming). If you're interested in helping to keep this site limping along, drop me a line. Or talk to me in person, if you know me (but not at Friday night's game against El Paso, DAMMIT). I'm not sure exactly how it would work -- basically a group blog is all I'm thinking -- but if anyone's up for talking about it, I'm sure we could figure something out. I know a couple of you have done soccer fan websites before... (though I'm not sure whether that qualifies you, or excuses you! ;-)

Labels: gameday, U-23

Congratulations to the Aztex on their dramatic 1-0 win yesterday over the New Orleans Shell Shockers! The game was great, but I realized that it raised more questions than it answered. So last night I locked myself in a nice, dark, air-conditioned room with my trusty Magic 8-Ball, to get some answers.

Did the New Orleans Shell Shockers make any attacks at all?

My sources say no

Will I ever forget sunscreen at a mid-day soccer game in Texas again?

Very doubtful

Will the Austin Aztex U23s ever lose?

Better not tell you now

Will there be any games that are hotter than that?

You may rely on it

Is there anything in the Bush's sweet tea besides sugar and ice?

My sources say no

Will the Tilted Kilt's free-appetizer tickets ever have the team name on the back spelled correctly? Or the right team, for that matter?

Don't count on it

Did the New Orleans coach get the Oscar nomination — "Best Over-actor On A Sideline" — he was apparently hoping for in the last 15 minutes of the match?

Most likely

Who covered the mouth of the New Orleans goals with the plastic wrap that made Austin's shots bounce around inside the frame but not go in?

Ask again later

Who will Austin's U.S. Open Cup opponent be?

Cannot predict now

Could BigSoccer.com have possibly chosen a worse time to be down for maintenance?

My reply is no

Do we really have to wait 2 more weeks before the next home game?

As I see it, yes

Labels: gameday, U-23

Way to go, Aztex! The boys went to Laredo last night, and beat the Heat in the heat. (With a kickoff temperature of 106 degrees, that's not just a figure of speech.) Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make the roadtrip myself, but a couple of other dedicated ultras did. Following is the fan report from Matt, aka 'mgrayscale' on the BigSoccer Aztex forum. Note that he wrote this up and posted it at 2:25 AM, after getting home from the game. Thanks, Matt!

• Jamie Watson was the goal scorer with a beautiful second half drive into the box that culminated in a turn of the defender from left to right in front of the goal and a right foot ding.


• Miguel Gallardo continues to keep a very clean sheet, and had some very good saves. He was challenged several times with some great shots, but he was more than up to the challenge.


• Beto was well adept at defending an evenly matched (size wise) striking line. He was able to kill a majority of the attacks that came his way, dishing out to the wings.


• The Heat are GOOD. This is a team that have a very good set of forwards, who are able to collect, turn and sprint down field before you even know the ball is coming.


• There were two reds against the Heat, but both came after the Aztex score.


• The Heat have the WORST announcer. All night he played bits and pieces of songs and sounds DURING PLAY!! Everything from Vanilla Ice to Homer Simpson. Yes, it was that bad.

In addition to the excellent game notes above, Matt also kept stats. Although they differ somewhat from the official USL match information, most notably in the fact that the official stats only show one red card, they're provided here as well.

Starting Lineups
Austin Aztex U23s	Laredo Heat
13 – Josh Alcala	4 – Leone Cruz
15 – Westley Allen	22 – Daniel Glavan-Barbosa
4 – Kieron Bernard	9 – Felix Garcia
11 – Andres Cuero	10 – Juan Ibarra
1 – Miguel Gallardo	21 – Dioniso “Nicho” Infante
6 – Ezual Lewis	11 – Gregory Mulamba
5 – Beto Papandrea	27 – Oliver Mulamba
8 – Marcelino Uriarte	7 – Carlos Ordaz
7 – Jorge Vega	23 – Stiven Ospina
14 – Juan Carlow Vicens	6 – Raul Quinones
23 – Jamie Watson	1 – Ryan Cooper
First Half
Austin Aztex U23s	Laredo Heat
Fouls
5	6
Shots
3	2
Corner Kicks
3	0
Offsides
1	4
Substitutions
0	0
Goals
0	0
Yellow Cards
	23 – Stiven Ospina (43:50) Illegal tackle
	22 – Daniel Glavan-Barbosa (44:50) Illegal tackle
Second Half
Austin Aztex U23s	Laredo Heat
Fouls
10	8
Shots
1	0
Corner Kicks
0	1
Offsides
0	1
Substitutions
22 – Robin Martinez for 7 – Vega @ 60:27	5 – Silas Blackwell for 23 – Ospina @ 50:14
9 – Edgar Alvarez for 13 – Alcala @ 64:27	13 – Adan Villavicencio for 21 – Infante @ 69:10
20 – Kevin Klaus for 23 – Watson @ 71:19	19 – Isaac Morales for 5 – Blackwell @ 76:00
2 – Andrew Taylor for 8 – Uriarte @ 86:37	20 – Charles Browne for 4 – Cruz @ 79:36
Goals
23 – Jamie Watson (66:47)
Yellow Cards
5 – Beto Papandrea (79:01) Illegal Tackle	22 – Daniel Glavan-Barbosa (61:50) Illegal tackle
22 – Robin Martinez (83:29) Unsportsman
Red Cards
	22 – 2nd Yellow @ 61:50
	6 – Raul Quinones (83:29) Unsportsman

Labels: gameday, supporters, U-23