Soccer Watch
By Nick Barbaro, Fri., June 12, 2015
Aztex Settle on a New Home
The Austin Aztex announced Tuesday that they'll be finishing out their season at Round Rock ISD's Kelly Reeves Athletic Complex (10211 W. Parmer, just north of Lakeline Blvd.), with all remaining home games kicking off at 7:30pm. Kelly Reeves seemed the most likely option all along, after House Park was trashed by the recent flood – it's where the Aztex practice, so the team is comfortable with the field, and they already had a relationship with RRISD.
The Aztex held off the Sacramento Republic 1-0 Sunday in front of a sell-out crowd of 11,442. Despite being outshot 20-4, the Aztex scored on their only shot of the second half – a nice finish by leading scorer Kris Tyrpak – to beat the reigning league champs, and move back into playoff position in the tightly packed USL West. They're at Portland this Sunday, then face the Houston Dynamo in the fourth round of the U.S. Open Cup at 8pm on Wednesday, June 17, at BBVA Compass Stadium. The next home game is June 20, hosting the Tulsa Roughnecks and, in addition to other initiatives they've previously announced, the Aztex will donate $1 to flood relief for every fan who attends that game... The Aztex are now offering three-game and five-game packages, where fans can pick the games they want to attend, plus a half-season ticket for the remaining seven games of the 2015 season. www.austinaztex.com.
Women's World Cup: The Story So Far
• All the top-seeded teams (listed first in each group below) won their first games. Now there are four games a day this Thu.-Sat., then the group finales Mon.-Wed., with the knockout stage starting next Saturday. Fox networks will show all 52 games live in HD.
• The U.S. got three world-class saves by Hope Solo to survive a shaky first half against a very good Australia, then pulled away as Megan Rapinoe scored two goals and set up the third. Next up: Sweden at 7pm Friday, then Nigeria at 7pm Tuesday.
• Host Canada got the latest game-winner in WWC history – a 92nd-minute PK from all-everything Christine Sinclair – to break down China.
• Africa highs and lows: Ivory Coast's double-digit loss to Germany was followed by Nigeria's stirring 3-3 comeback against fifth-ranked Sweden, and Cameroon's 6-0 destruction of Ecuador.
• Artificial turf hasn't been a factor thus far, though field temperatures hit 130 degrees in Ottawa and 120 in Edmonton.
First Round Results (by group)
A: Canada 1, China 0; Netherlands 1, New Zealand 0
B: Germany 10, Ivory Coast 0; Norway 4, Thailand 0
C: Japan 1, Switzerland 0; Cameroon 6, Ecuador 0
D: USA 3, Australia 1; Sweden 3, Nigeria 3
E: Brazil 2, South Korea 0; Spain 1, Costa Rica 1
F: France 1, England 0; Mexico 1, Colombia 1
And Much More...
It was a big week for the U.S. men as well: They scored their first-ever win over the Netherlands Friday – coming back from two goals down to win 4-3 in the 90th minute – then beat Germany, 2-1, on Wednesday.
The Men's Under-20 World Cup is also ongoing, down in New Zealand. The U.S. finished second in their group behind Ukraine, then edged Colombia, 1-0 on Wednesday, to set up a quarterfinal with Serbia on Sunday (live on Fox, 11:30pm Saturday night).
Barcelona outlasted Juventus to win the European Champions League in a great game Saturday. But while that marked the end of the club football season, the national teams are in full swing this week. Between the Women's World Cup, the U-20 World Cup, Euro 2016 qualifying, World Cup 2018 qualifying, Copa America, and MLS, there are some 86 different soccer broadcasts this Thu.-Sun.
