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Aztex Bow Out of U.S. Open Cup
Speed kills. It killed the Austin Aztex last night, as the Houston Dynamo, probably the top team in the MLS, knocked the Aztex out of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup with a 2-0 win at Nelson Field. Halftime sub Corey Ashe scored the decisive goal on a rebound off a diving Sam Reynolds save in the 71st minute, then got free down the left flank for a gorgeous cross into the box that Dominic Oduro converted into the clincher in the final minute of the game.
In truth, Ashe and Brian Mullan – whom he came in for after the first half – were getting open runs up the sidelines pretty much at will. I'm a big fan of wing defender Josh Alcala, but he and Marshall Yohance were getting torched all night long. The central defenders and midfielders stood strong, but that wide game (and the Aztex's lack of one, with the exception of Jeff Harwell) was the difference between the teams. The Aztex's lack of a wide game, and of imagination in the attacking third of the field, has been their downfall for much of the season.
But, sorry, I don't mean to be negative; this was a great effort against a very, very good team. The game was played on fairly even terms for the most part – in fact it could easily have gone the other way, if what looked like a fairly obvious penalty against Harwell in the first half had been called.
Elsewhere, the Seattle Sounders edged the Portland Timbers, 2-1, before 16,000 fans in Portland, to even the score for Major League Soccer in the U.S. Open Cup round of 16: four wins for MLS, and four wins for the upstart United Soccer Leagues. The quarterfinals are next Tuesday: Houston at Charleston, D.C. United at Harrisburg, Rochester at Wilmington, and Seattle at Kansas City.
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Aztex U-23s Suffer Through Rough Road Trip
The Aztex U-23s had a rough road trip last weekend – a 1-1 draw against the Laredo Heat on Friday, followed by a 5-1 loss to Rio Grande Valley on Sunday leaving the Azteclets tied with El Paso for first place in the PDL Mid South Division with four games left to play. They host third-place Laredo this Friday, July 3, 7:30pm, at Bobcat Soccer Complex in San Marcos – a huge game, since only the Top 2 teams make the playoffs.
Wow! What a gutsy (and unexpected) turnaround by the U.S. men in the Confederations Cup last week in South Africa. After clawing their way into the knockout round with a six-goal turnaround on the last day of group play, the Yanks ended Spain's world-record winning streak in the semis, then went up 2-0 in the final against the best Brazilian squad in years before wilting in the second half and losing 3-2.
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USL Shines in U.S. Open Cup
The Open Cup third round wraps up tonight, as the Austin Aztex host the Houston Dynamo at 7:30pm at Nelson Field. They're expecting a big crowd, with Houston supporters groups showing up in force, but tickets are still available (call 335-8881 until 3pm today to preorder). The winner of this game advances to the quarterfinals at Charleston next Tuesday, July 7.
Full results from Tuesday night below.
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Is It Time to Care About Soccer? Stephen Colbert Thinks So.
The Colbert Report Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c Is it Time to Care About Soccer? - Alexi Lalas
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U.S. 290 Rivalry?
Should be a great game and also a great atmosphere: The Dynamo has an active traveling fan base, with two supporters groups who will likely be here in force. We need to be prepared to be loud enough to drown them out. And a reminder: The Open Cup is a knockout tournament, so the game will go to overtime and penalties, if needed, to decide a winner. Wednesday, July 1, 7:30pm at Nelson Field, 7400 Berkman, just north of Highway 290. $20; $15 for kids… Meanwhile, the Aztex are in Cleveland this weekend, trying to turn around a recent slide in the USL standings.
The Aztex U-23s beat West Texas United on Saturday, 1-0, to stay atop the PDL Mid-South division; they're on the road down in the Valley for two games this weekend.
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Confederations Cup Set in South Africa
A shocker in South Africa as we go to press with the print edition Wednesday: The U.S. advances to Sunday's Confederations Cup championship game with a 2-0 win over world No. 1 Spain, who had been sitting on a world-record streak of 15 wins in a row and 35 games unbeaten, dating back to 2006.
The Associated Press play-by-play commentary started with: "Hello and welcome to Spain's thrashing of the U.S." But it didn't turn out that way, as the Americans came back from an atrocious opening two games in the prestigious tournament to score on their only two shots on goal in the entire game and pull one of the biggest upsets in the sport's history.
The other semifinal, Brazil vs. South Africa, is 1:30pm Thursday, June 25; the final is 1:30pm Sunday, June 28, preceded by the third-place game at 8am. All games are live on ESPN or ESPN2.
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Aztex: Good News, Bad News
Games every day this weekend for the Austin Aztex: the senior squad plays Friday and Sunday evenings, with the U-23s in action Saturday. The Aztex host two of the better teams in the USL – the Carolina RailHawks at 7:30pm Friday, and the Rochester Rhinos (no longer Raging Rhinos) at 6pm Sunday, July 21, both games at Nelson Field (Berkman, just north of 290) – with seven regulars currently out with injuries (see below), and needing some results to stay in the playoff picture. These are the last home games for a while; the next two weekends are in Cleveland and Rochester.
The good news: The Aztex handled the El Paso Patriots pretty easily Tuesday night in the U.S. Open Cup second round, setting up a juicy final-16 match-up with downstate rival Houston Dynamo on Wednesday, July 1. The Dynamo's in top form right now, with the best record in Major League Soccer. They were here for a preseason exhibition – which the Aztex won on penalty kicks – it'll be fun to see them again with something on the line. More about that game next week.
The bad news: read on below.| Comment on this item |
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US Open Cup Tonight at Nelson Field
The Austin Aztex host the PDL’s El Paso Patriots in a second-round U.S. Open Cup match tonight, 7:30pm at Nelson Field. A reminder: This is a knockout tournament; like all Open Cup games it will go to overtime, and penalty kicks, if necessary to decide a winner.
The Aztex will be happy to be home, after a horror road trip that saw travel problems, a 4-1 loss in Puerto Rico, a 2-0 loss in Miami, and injuries to Eddie Johnson, Miguel Gallardo, and Kieron Bernard, three key starters – all doubtful for tonight's game. Still, the Aztex should be okay against an amateur opponent whom the Aztex U-23 squad has already beaten twice this year.
There's a big prize on the line: The winner gets to host the Houston Dynamo in the third round, on Tuesday, June 30.
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Austin in Line to Host Houston Dynamo in U.S. Open Cup Third Round
U.S. Soccer announced the third-round pairings for the U.S. Open Cup tournament on Thursday, and they include a huge plum for the Austin Aztex: a potential home date with the Houston Dynamo on Tuesday, June 30 at Nelson Field … IF the Aztex can get past the El Paso Patriots this coming Tuesday (7:30pm, Nelson field, $15 general admission).
The Aztex led an 8-0 sweep by USL-1 teams in the tournament's first round, beating the PDL (amateur) Mississippi Brilla, 2-0, on Tuesday; in El Paso, the Aztex face another PDL opponent. The Open Cup is a knockout tournament, so the game will go to overtime and shootouts, if necessary.
Below: a U.S. Open Cup primer and first-round summary.
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Prelude to South Africa
The Confederations Cup, the eighth quadrennial World Cup prelude, starts in South Africa this week – with the U.S. drawn into a very tough group with Brazil, Italy, and Egypt.
ESPN and ESPN2 are showing most of the games, including U.S.-Italy, 1:30pm Monday, June 15, U.S.-Brazil, 9am Thursday, June 18, and U.S.-Egypt, 1:30pm Sunday, June 21.
In World Cup Qualifying this week, the U.S. men lost 3-1 at Costa Rica, then fell behind early at home against Honduras, before coming back for a 2-1 win, and once again making qualification look relatively safe.
Elsewhere, Mexico stumbled to their third loss in four games, and Australia, Japan, South Korea, and Holland all qualified for the finals in South Africa, as Saturday and Wednesday were the last major game days until September.
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