May 12, 2008
Aztex Dominate Home Opener
What a night! The first-ever Austin Aztex home game was Saturday night, and if you missed it, you really missed something. The crowd was good, the team was good, the play was good; heck, even the result was good! (Austin soundly defeated the Houston Leones 2-0.) Not too bad a start for an expansion side.
Being brand-new to soccer in Austin, I have the opposite background as the author of this excellent post-game report:
Nevertheless, I was also anxious to see what kind of crowd would turn out. Turns out, my worries were unfounded. The count from the Aztex front office is "nearly 1,500", which is fantastic. All in all, a great start for a season — and a team — that's just going to get bigger & better!
Hope to see you at Saturday's match against DFW Tornados!
Being brand-new to soccer in Austin, I have the opposite background as the author of this excellent post-game report:
I won't pretend to be a neutral observer for the home debut of the Austin Aztex U-23 squad. I didn't want to ask for media credentials because I wanted to sit in the stands and gauge the reaction of the crowd - if there was going to be a crowd. I wanted to do this because I want so much to see the Aztex succeed and enjoy a successful, professional soccer organization in Austin. I've been going to the Austin pro/semi-pro games since the days of the Soccadilloes and the Austin Thunder. I bemoaned the disaster that was the Austin Lightning. I predicted the scam that was the Austin Posse.
Nevertheless, I was also anxious to see what kind of crowd would turn out. Turns out, my worries were unfounded. The count from the Aztex front office is "nearly 1,500", which is fantastic. All in all, a great start for a season — and a team — that's just going to get bigger & better!
Hope to see you at Saturday's match against DFW Tornados!
May 1, 2008
First-Ever Aztex Game Saturday
If you're following the Austin Aztex at all, you probably know their season officially starts Saturday. The first-ever game of the Austin Aztex is an away game, against the El Paso Patriots.
As noted in this fine write-up in the Chronicle, El Paso finished in 2nd place in the Mid South Division last year, so they may be a tough opening opponent.
Although I would have loved to make the 16-hour round-trip drive to El Paso, I'm afraid I'm going to have to miss seeing this auspicious moment in person. However, there is a possibility that some loyal Aztex supporters will manage to get an Internet video stream of the game hooked up to a TV at Mother Egan's on Saturday night.
Having that hook-up is not a certainty. In fact, having a video stream of the game at all is not a certainty. However, Mother Egan's having plenty of ice-cold Harp lager is a certainty. Hope to see you there!
Apr 26, 2008
Leones Coverage in the (Houston) Chronicle
Finally, some signs of life from our soon-to-be PDL arch-rivals, the Houston Leones, in the form of two articles from the Houston Chronicle.
The first is a fairly brief blurb covering the basic facts of the new team and the league itself, though it does have a little info on some of the players: Leones ready to roam pitch in Houston
The second is a more in-depth piece on the owner, Juan Carlos Hernández: There's nothing amateur about Hernandez's venture. At least there were never any anguished decisions about where they would play, as Hernandez owns Soccer World Center, a 17-acre private soccer park in Richmond (southwest of Houston).
Sounds like a nice outfit. I can't wait for the Aztex to start beating them!
The first is a fairly brief blurb covering the basic facts of the new team and the league itself, though it does have a little info on some of the players: Leones ready to roam pitch in Houston
Adhering to league rules, the team is made up of mostly college-age players, many of whom attend local schools, including the University of St. Thomas, Houston, Houston Baptist and San Jacinto College. . .
The team also boasts developmental players from Mexican teams UANL Tigres (two) and Cruz Azul (four), the latter with whom the Leones have a partnership.
The Leones will be coached by Carlos Ayala, who previously coached Cruz Azul's team in First Division A, Mexico's equivalent of a second division.
The second is a more in-depth piece on the owner, Juan Carlos Hernández: There's nothing amateur about Hernandez's venture. At least there were never any anguished decisions about where they would play, as Hernandez owns Soccer World Center, a 17-acre private soccer park in Richmond (southwest of Houston).
Proof [of Hernandez' seriousness], in the way of a brand-new 4,500-capacity stadium, is as hard as the white-coated concrete it is made of. A simple yet efficient facility consisting of two long bleacher structures along the sidelines that rise some 25-30 feet, a small but cozy press box (complete with A/C), and a no-frills scoreboard, sound system and lighting. The field is getting greener and should be in good shape come May 3, when the Leones host the New Orleans Shell Shockers.
The Leones will be one of only five PDL teams, out of the more than 60 this season, to own their stadium.
Sounds like a nice outfit. I can't wait for the Aztex to start beating them!
Feb 14, 2008
Intro to the Houston Leones
From the Houston Dynamo fan blog Nutmegged, we have a nice introduction to another brand-new Texas soccer team, and what may well be the Aztex U23 team's main rival in the PDL: Holy Leones! USL PDL roaring into town.
So who, are the Leones? According to the team's Wikipedia page, the team was formed last year by local real estate and construction bigwig Juan Carlos Hernandez, whose son Juan Carlos Jr., was a goalkeeper in the Cruz Azul youth development teams. The USL's page on the team has some wonderful up by the bootstraps background info on Hernandez, which is all very nice.
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