Soccer Watch

About 35 former Austin Aztex supporters met Saturday for an exploratory session aimed at bringing minor-league soccer back to Austin, up to and including the option of creating a community-owned team from scratch. Among those in attendance were Aztex minority owners David Markley and Hugh Bender, joined by outgoing Aztex CEO Djorn Buchholz, along with representatives of various supporters' groups. No decisions were made (none were expected), but it was resolved "to form an Executive Discovery Committee to evaluate the options and present best of breed to the supporters." Go to www.austinphoenixsoccer.com or ­www.chanticosarmy.com for more info or to make yourself known as an interested party.

Notre Dame became the lowest seed ever to win the NCAA Division I women's championship with a 1-0 upset over Stanford, who for the second year in a row went into the final top-ranked and unbeaten and came out empty-handed.

In the lower divisions, Hardin-Simmons of Abilene, Texas, won its first NCAA Division III women's title on Saturday in San Antonio, while the Messiah men won their third straight D-III national title and eighth in the past 11 years. In Division II, Grand Valley State repeated as national women's champion and Northern Kentucky won its first title on the men's side.

This weekend the Division I men take the stage: The semifinals are Friday, Dec. 10 (Louisville vs. North Carolina, 7:30pm, ESPNU; Akron vs. Michigan, 10pm, ESPN2), and the College Cup Final is Sunday, Dec. 12, 3pm, on ESPN2.

Also on TV: a top-of-the-table English Premier League clash, Arsenal at Manchester United, live on ESPN2, Monday, Dec. 13, 1:55pm.

The rich get richer: This Wednesday was the final game day for the European Champions League group stage, and not surprisingly, as the dust settles, just five countries supply 14 of the 16 teams advancing to the knockout rounds. All four English teams advance (three as group winners), along with all three Italian teams and all three Spanish teams; Germany and France each advanced two teams, but from the other 13 countries represented in the group stage, only Copenhagen and Ukraine's Shakhtar Donetsk survive. Round of 16 play starts Feb. 15; for a complete list of qualifiers, see this column online.