Aztex-Islanders Friday; HS, WCQ
The Aztex's last preseason game; local high schools make regionals; plus World Cup Qualifying results
By Nick Barbaro, 6:13PM, Wed. Apr. 1, 2009
The Austin Aztex final preseason game is this Friday night, hosting the Puerto Rico Islanders in their lone preseason test against a team in their own division. April 3, 7:30pm, at Nelson Field. $18-22. The Islanders head from here to Mexico City, where they try to defend a 2-0 first-leg lead over Mexican giants Cruz Azul, in a CONCACAF Champions League semifinal (Tuesday, April 7, 9pm, live on FSC). The title winner goes to the Club World Cup to face the top teams from the other continents.
In high school playoff action, three CenTex teams advanced to this weekend's regional finals. In 5A, the Bowie girls upset Westlake, 1-0, on Tuesday – the first goal Westlake had given up in 15 games – to advance to San Antonio. The Pflugerville Connally boys will be there as well; in each case, the competition is S.A. Reagan, and two schools from the Valley. In 4A, the Dripping Springs girls beat Lake Travis, 2-1, then edged Steele in a penalty-kick shootout; they're in Corpus Christi Friday. On the boys side, Lake Travis, Dripping Springs, Elgin, and Del Valle all lost in the fourth round.
Below: World Cup Qualifying resultsIn World Cup Qualifying Saturday, hard-working defender Frankie Hejduk had a goal and an assist in the last 15 minutes, as the U.S. men came back to earn a draw at El Salvador and stay atop the CONCACAF standings. Meanwhile, Mexico got a much needed win at home over Costa Rica. A second round of games is ongoing at press time Wednesday, but the day's results are in from the rest of the world. The short version: Australia, Japan, and South Korea (who beat North Korea) just about punched their tickets to South Africa. In Europe, England, Germany, Holland, Spain, and Italy are all breathing easier; France is revived by a pair of 1-0 wins on rocket goals by Franck Ribery; and Portugal, Sweden, and Czechia are in deep trouble. The long version: below.
UEFA World Cup Qualifying ResultsSaturday, March 28
Portugal 0, Sweden 0 (Group One)
Malta 0, Denmark 3 (Group One)
Albania 0, Hungary 1 (Group One)
Luxembourg 0, Latvia 4 (Group Two)
Moldova 0, Switzerland 2 (Group Two)
Israel 1, Greece 1 (Group Two)
Slovenia 0, Czech Republic 0 (Group Three)
Northern Ireland 3, Poland 2 (Group Three)
Russia 2, Azerbaijan 0 (Group Four)
Wales 0, Finland 2 (Group Four)
Germany 4, Liechtenstein 0 (Group Four)
Spain 1, Turkey 0 (Group Five)
Armenia 2, Estonia 2 (Group Five)
Belgium 2, Bosnia-Herzegovina 4 (Group Five)
Romania 2, Serbia 3 (Group Seven)
Lithuania 0, France 1 (Group Seven)
Ireland 1, Bulgaria 1 (Group Eight)
Montenegro 0, Italy 2 (Group Eight)
Cyprus 2, Georgia 1 (Group Eight)
Netherlands 3, Scotland 0 (Group Nine)
Wednesday, April 1
Hungary 3, Malta 0 (Group One)
Denmark 3, Albania 0 (Group One)
Latvia 2, Luxembourg 0 (Group Two)
Greece 2, Israel 1 (Group Two)
Switzerland 2, Moldova 0 (Group Two)
Poland 10, San Marino 0 (Group Three)
Northern Ireland 1, Slovenia 0 (Group Three)
Czech Republic 1, Slovakia 2 (Group Three)
Wales 0, Germany 2 (Group Four)
Liechtenstein 0, Russia 1 (Group Four)
Turkey 1, Spain 2 (Group Five)
Bosnia-Herzegovina 2, Belgium 1 (Group Five)
Estonia 1, Armenia 0 (Group Five)
Kazakhstan 1, Belarus 5 (Group Six)
Andorra 0, Croatia 2 (Group Six)
England 2, Ukraine 1 (Group Six)
France 1, Lithuania 0 (Group Seven)
Austria 2, Romania 1 (Group Seven)
Georgia 0, Montenegro 0 (Group Eight)
Bulgaria 2, Cyprus 0 (Group Eight)
Italy 1, Ireland 1 (Group Eight)
Netherlands 4, Macedonia 0 (Group Nine)
Scotland 2, Iceland 1 (Group Nine)
A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austin’s independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands.
