Soccer Watch
By Nick Barbaro, Fri., Aug. 30, 2019
The Austin Bold can win the first trophy in their young history this Sunday, as they host Rio Grande Valley in a critical USL West game that's also the decider in the first annual Copa Tejas, the cup competition between the four Texas teams in the league. The winner will hoist the trophy; a draw would leave it undecided, pending the Bold's game at El Paso in October. As for the league playoff race, the Bold are hanging on to fourth place; their road woes continued with a 4-2 loss at OKC last week, so home results are critical with just three more home games after this one. It's at 7:30pm Sunday, Sept. 1; see www.austinboldfc.com for tickets.
The Texas Longhorns won their home opener Thursday in about as dramatic a fashion as possible, as junior keeper Savannah Madden stuffed a potential game-tying penalty kick with five seconds left on the clock. Defender Julia Grosso had two goals (on two shots) and an assist. The Horns are on the road for their next three games.
Austin FC will hold a groundbreaking ceremony next Monday, Sept. 9, with MLS Commissioner Don Garber and Mayor Steve Adler in attendance; see a livestream at www.fb.com/austinfc. On Friday, Austin FC's parent company Two Oak Ventures announced an expansion of its ownership group, including Matthew McConaughey and local entrepreneurs Eddie Margain, Marius Haas, and Bryan Sheffield. All right, all right, all right.
The U.S. Women's national team continues its Victory Tour, and farewell tour for coach Jill Ellis, playing Portugal Thu., Aug. 29 (6pm, FS1) and Tue., Sept. 3 (7pm, ESPN2).
Carli Lloyd confirmed Tuesday that she's "seriously considering" playing in the NFL, "as it's a challenge ... I would probably enjoy it." Several teams are reportedly interested, after she kicked a 55-yard field goal at the Philadelphia Eagles' practice field.
