It’s here. The Austin Aztex season started on Cinco de Mayo with a bang – or several bangs, actually – in an impressive 4-0 road win over the Texas Dutch Lions. The goals came from midfielder Tony Rocha on a direct free kick, veteran defender Beto Papandrea, Chuy Cortes, and Kekuta Manneh – who’s still a junior at Lake Travis High, but got the goal of the game by several descriptions, rounding three defenders and the goalkeeper before netting. Papandrea anchored a backline with fellow former Aztex Josh Alcala and Ross Kelly, but it sounds like they had little to trouble them; the Lions got off only two shots in the entire game with no real scoring chances, and Aztex Coach Paul Dalglish later credited the pressure applied upfield by the attackers and midfield. The Eberly’s Army fan group brought some noise for the visitors, turning out about 20 fans for the road trip and staging an unexpected pregame march into the stadium – that’s some of them above, in a still from their YouTube video at www.eberlysarmy.com. A very auspicious beginning indeed.
The Aztex are at Midland and El Paso this weekend before the home opener next Saturday, May 19, 7:30pm, hosting the El Paso Patriots at House Park. The pregame gathering at the Tavern will probably start around 6pm, with the traditional march to the stadium sometime around 7pm. Then the schedule gets hectic – seven home games by June 22 – so get your season ticket now: $50 for a flex pack of eight tickets.
In England, the title race between the two Manchester teams goes down to the final day. There are European and relegation places to be decided as well, with simultaneous kickoffs at 9am, May 13, and several games carried on Fox and ESPN networks� The Champions League final (Chelsea vs. Bayern Munich) is next Saturday, May 19 (1:45pm on Fox).
This article appears in May 11 • 2012.