Aztex Playoff Preview and Miscellaneous News
By Nick Barbaro, 6:32PM, Wed. Jul. 23, 2008
The Austin Aztex U-23s lost their season finale in El Paso, 3-1, and stumble into the Premier Development League playoffs (to be held in Orlando, Fla.) on a three-game road losing streak. The Mid South champs need to get back into early-season form against the Bradenton Academics on Friday. The Laredo Heat face the Central Florida Kraze in the other conference semifinal; the winners play on Saturday(*) for the Southern Conference title, and a shot at the national championship the following weekend. Supporters will hold a game-time vigil/party Friday, July 25, 4pm – complete with text-message updates from Florida, and possible phone-message reports from a player's mom – in the back room at Mother Egan's, 705 E. Sixth, 4pm. Maybe Saturday as well; check there or here for updates.
(*) This info has been corrected since the original post.
Below: SuperLiga, MLS All-Stars, Stoke Academy, Abby Wambaugh, Lionel Messi, and lots of player transfers.
It was an even MLS/Mexico split in the quarterfinals of the SuperLiga; the semis will feature Houston against defending champ Pachuca on Tuesday, July 29, and New England against Atlanta on July 30.
The MLS All-Stars play England's West Ham United Thursday, July 24, 7pm, live on ESPN.
Abby Wambaugh broke a leg in a friendly against Brazil last Sunday, and will miss the Olympics, which start Aug. 6.
Austin Aztex affiliate Stoke City just announced that their top U18 academy team will be in Austin for eight days of training and exhibition games, starting Aug. 12. Stoke's first Premiership season starts just four days later.
Barcelona refusing to release Lionel Messi to the Argentine Olympic squad is just one high-profile dispute as clubs and nations wrangle over player availability in advance of the Olympics, and with the fall season openers just a few weeks away, believe it or not.
Austin Aztex affiliate Stoke City, for instance, open their first season in the English Premier League in just three weeks on Aug. 16 at Bolton. Stoke just made their first new player signing of the summer: striker Dave Kitson from Reading for a team-record $11 million.
Elsewhere in Europe, UEFA Cup and Champions League play are already under way with some 37 qualifying games last Thursday across the continent; and another nine this Wednesday.
Some other signings of note: Freddy Adu to Monaco; Claude Makelele to Paris Saint-Germain; Ronaldinho to AC Milan; Peter Crouch to Portsmouth; Harry Kewell to Galatasaray; John Arne Riise to Roma; Olof Mellberg to Juventus; Deco to Chelsea; Carlos Bocanegra to Rennes; Jozy Altidore to Villarreal; Brad Guzan to Aston Villa.
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.
Feb. 9, 2024
Dave Kitson, austin aztex, stoke city