Soccer Watch
By Nick Barbaro, Fri., May 22, 2015
The Austin Aztex host Tulsa this Saturday, May 23, 8pm at House Park, 13th & Lamar, looking to rebound from a tough 3-2 loss last weekend at Arizona, in which they squandered a 2-0 lead in the first 15 minutes. With that, the Aztex's home schedule in USL will be halfway done, though they've only played three of their 14 road games. The next home game isn't until June 20 – Tulsa again... The Aztex beat the Roughnecks up in Tulsa back on April 4 – their only road win of the season so far.
Meanwhile, the Aztex are also competing in the U.S. Open Cup, hosting the Laredo Heat in the second round as we go to press Wednesday. If they win that, the third-round game will be next Wednesday, May 27, at the San Antonio Scorpions' Toyota Field – most likely at 7:30pm; check www.sascorpions.com for details. The winner of that one would likely get an MLS team in the fourth round in mid-June.
Countdown: Just 16 days until the kickoff of the Women's World Cup, Saturday, June 6, in Canada. The U.S. women pounded fellow qualifier Mexico, 5-1 on Sunday; they play one more tuneup, against Korea on May 30, before tackling Sweden, Australia, and Nigeria in this WWC's "Group of Death" starting June 8.
The Europa League final, Sevilla against Ukrainian underdogs Dnipropetrovsk – is Wednesday, May 27, in Warsaw. It's live at 1:30pm on Fox Sports 1 and ESPN Deportes... The European Champions League final – Italian champion Juventus against Barcelona – will be June 6 in Berlin.
A press junket, organized by the Qatari government to show off improved conditions for migrant workers in advance of the 2022 World Cup, went awry when government security officials arrested the invited BBC journalists for investigating those conditions, and jailed them for two days before releasing them without charges.
