Soccer Watch

The Austin Aztex awoke Sunday morning in an unfamiliar position – out of first place for the first time since May. And that wasn't the only streak that went up in smoke with the 2-0 loss at the Puerto Rico Islanders: It was the Aztex's first road loss all season and their first league loss in eight games. Despite outshooting the Islanders 16-8, the Aztex struggled to create scoring chances. It was perhaps to be expected; they were missing three key attacking players – strikers Jamie Watson (fractured collarbone) and Max Griffin (rested after starting all 19 previous games) and Cuban midfielder Yordany Alvarez (residency/travel issues) – and head coach Adrian Heath juggled both lineup and formation: using a single striker for the first time all year.

With a tough stretch coming up, Puerto Rico was a perfect time to give a few starters a rest and some bench players some action – but I expect the team to be all business this Sunday night (Aug. 22, 6pm, House Park), as they try to start a new winning streak against a very good Carolina Railhawks squad, clinch a playoff spot that's seemed all but guaranteed for some time now, and perhaps retake first place from the Rochester Rhinos, who've jumped a point ahead in the standings but have played three more games than the Aztex... The Railhawks are the only team in the league the Aztex haven't played yet this season; the return leg in Carolina is Oct. 1 during the last weekend of the regular season... The Aztex have just two more home games after Sunday: Sept. 4 (Minnesota) and Sept. 25 (St. Louis)... Sunday is Made in Texas night as the Aztex honor local businesses and the Austin Inde­pendent Busi­ness Alliance, as well as the team's Texas-bred players.

So far, so good. The UT Longhorns notched a 2-1 exhibition win over the LSU Tigers on Saturday, getting goals from freshman Gabby Zarnegar and junior Lucy Keith to reverse last year's 2-1 loss in Baton Rouge. The Horns open the regular season Friday night at North Carolina State, before hosting UTSA and Southern California the following weekend, Aug. 27 & 29.

CONCACAF Champions League group play got under way this week; MLS drew first blood, with Toronto beating Mexico's Cruz Azul 2-1 on Tuesday. The Puerto Rico Islanders are upholding D-2 honor here; they drew against Honduran champions Olimpia, 1-1, also on Tuesday, just three days after the Aztex game.

Meanwhile, even though many of the European leagues haven't started play yet, the European Champions League is into its fourth round of qualifying, and a few big names – such as Glasgow Celtic and Turkey's Fenerbahce – have already been sent packing. The last play-in games are next Tuesday and Wednesday, with the group stage set to kick off Sept. 14-15... The English Premier League is under way as well – and the TV offerings stateside are considerably better this year with ESPN2 picking up a couple of key games each week, over and above the growing roster on Fox Soccer Channel. Aztex affiliate Stoke City lost their opener, 2-1 at Wolverhampton.