Soccer Watch

The Austin Aztex announced their 2014 preseason schedule this week: They'll open against Southwestern Univ. in Georgetown on April 4, and continue with games against St. Edward's, UT, Incarnate Word, and a couple of club teams, leading up to the PDL regular season opener May 10 at House Park. Additional preseason games, plus the U.S. Open Cup schedule, remain TBA. See www.austinaztex.com, for more info.

Ex-Aztex Kekuta Manneh and Kris Tyrpak met on the field during Major League Soccer's opening weekend. Manneh scored the game-tying goal for the Vancouver Whitecaps and was named "man of the match" after coming on as a second-half sub, while Tyrpak made his MLS debut for Chivas USA in the last three minutes of the game.

Champions League results, far and near: Tijuana reversed a first-leg loss, beating the LA Galaxy 4-2 Tuesday to take the first-ever "border clasico" and advance into the CONCACAF semifinals; two more USA-Mexico matchups are underway as we go to press Wednesday evening ... Over in Europe, English clubs reclaimed a little pride this week, as Chelsea bounced Turkish champ Galatasaray, and Manchester United advanced into the final eight by thumping Greek champion Olympiakos.