photo: Patrick MeredithThe Aztex bagged an impressive win last night at the RRISD Athletic Complex, beating Mexico's first-division contenders Monterrey 1-0.
Though just an exhibition match, the win is significant. For one, it ends 2009 play in Austin on a high note. The fact that it was earned from a good Mexican pro team, in the midst of their season, adds to the victory. Click to continue reading...

I'm not going to spend a lot of time discussing a game we should of won big that we did win big. I saw some good things. And here we go...
Good Stuff!
- Christian Gomez. Every time I think that DC should cut ties with Gomez, he'll play like he dad last night. He definitely elevates his game in tournament play, and teams need players that can do that.

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There is a caveat to this post: we don't have it near as bad as Red Bull fans have it. True, they have a new stadium coming, but that team is a disaster from top to bottom, with little hope of immediate recovery. Now that I've cleared that up, this is a bad time to be a United fan.

The breadth of this experience was on display Sunday afternoon.

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Photo: VictoriaHighlandersFC.comThe Aztex finish their trip to the northwest still winless against all Canadian opponents. The Victoria Highlanders PDL side is either tougher than one would expect, or the Aztex were showing the effects of 4 games in 8 days and a less-than-stellar conclusion to the 2009 season. Click to continue reading...

Photo: Vancouver Whitecaps FacebookAnd so it ends.
Still feeling the energy from their 2-1 win over the Portland Timbers, our Aztex made a valiant effort in their final match of the 2009 campaign. But it was not to be. Their last game was reminiscent of many this year, as they surrendered their lead late in the game. Click to continue reading...

Sore losers (key word, "losers"): Timbers fans shooting the bird at the Aztex after the final whistleHoly cow! We won!
I mean, er, of course we won, I never had the slightest doubt, it was in the bag, like falling off a log, a walk in the park. (A walk in the park that you're used to getting mugged in, that is. Click to continue reading...

Photo: Patrick MeredithWell, what can you say. (No, seriously. I've about run out of things to say about these results.)
The Aztex ended the 2009 home season more or less the same way they played all year. They dug in, they fought, they worked hard, they had a few flashes of danger - and then they gave up a late goal, and lost. Click to continue reading...

Miguel's back!
...Okay, that pretty much does it for the good news portion of the post.
Despite now having everybody but Eddie Johnson healthy and on the field, the Aztex were handed another solid defeat in Miami last night. It seems as though playing matches on either corner of North America 3 days apart isn't conducive to solid play. Click to continue reading...

Photo: Vancouver Whitecaps FacebookThey put up a pretty valiant effort, but the Aztex dropped another one Wednesday night, going down 3-2 to the Whitecaps in Vancouver. At least Jean Alexandre's brace and several good, threatening attacks kept Vancouver from being able to coast.
Here's a rundown of post-match coverage:

• box score - USLSoccer.

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Yay! We won! This post is late, and I barely have time to throw even this much together, let alone wax poetic about the win. So I'll have to leave it at: Yay! We won!
Here's a rundown of post-match coverage:

• box score - USLSoccer.com
  

  Weather: Hot, partly cloudy; Attendance: 2,611

• Key breaks finally fall Aztex' way in shutout - Austin American-Statesman
  

  Sullivan Silva combined well with [Kyle] Brown on the edge of the Miami box, releasing the forward with a well-weighted ball.

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Well, what can you say. At least the Aztex have been, umm . . . consistent? Sure. Consistent; that's the ticket.

• box score - USLSoccer.com
  

  Weather: Sunny, Attendance: 13,034

  Note per the Montreal Gazette article below: that 13K attendance "was the Impact's first sellout of the season, although a sizable portion of those ticket buyers weren't on hand for the game.

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In the sprinkling rain at RFK, DC United attacked the Galaxy goal, strung together passes in the midfield, and played strong enough in the back to not concede. Unfortunately, United's finishing and final third passing let them down, and the 22k in attendance had to settle for a goalless draw.

This team has been nothing this season if not frustrating.

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Good grief. Is this team stuck in the same game, over and over, like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day?
In fact, here. With just a couple changes I can copy & paste exactly from my post-game report for the 2-2 draw with Montreal on July 26:

Here's an indication of how last night's result felt: when I first entered the title for this post, I typed "Aztex Fall To Montreal Impact Minnesota Thunder", and only when I got to the score, 2-2, did I remember that it was a draw, not a loss.

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Another game, another not-great, not-terrible performance by the Aztex, another loss.
The lineup was about the same as it has been, with the exception of Nick Noble instead of Sam Reynolds in goal.
One difference, though not necessarily an improvement, was the number of cards they racked up. Click to continue reading...

If you've been following me in the past week or so, or are a poster on BS or BTB, you might know that I was a tad infuriated with the team selection last Tuesday at RFK against Firpo. I thought that it was pure evidence that the team didn't take the tournament seriously, despite lip service to the contrary.

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We knew it would be tough for the Aztex to get any points on this road trip. Their form this season has been especially poor on the road (their away record drops to 1-7-1 after this weekend), and these Carolina teams are a couple of the toughest in the league right now. Combined with back-to-back Thursday/Saturday matches, it shouldn't come as too big of a shock that Austin is coming home without gaining any points. Click to continue reading...

Another less than inspired game, another loss for the Aztex. At least they didn't lose any points off this game (that we've heard of yet, anyway). This loss gives the Aztex a road record of 1-6-1.
Some post-match coverage:

• box score - USLSoccer.com
• Battery blank Aztex, 1-0 - Charleston Post and Courier
  

  Scott Buete scored a goal and Dusty Hudock recorded his league-leading 12th shutout of the season as the Charleston Battery blanked the Austin Aztex, 1-0, Thursday night before 2,576 at Blackbaud Stadium.

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I think going to bed last night before doing my writeup on the Champions League qualifier last night was for the best. As I looked online at all the familiar places, I noticed that every fan who wrote was angry as I was. I wasn't to the point of clear thought last night, so I figured if I slept on it, I would come up with something more balanced to say.

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Photo: AustinAztex.comHere's an indication of how last night's result felt: when I first entered the title for this post, I typed "Aztex Fall To Montreal Impact", and only when I got to the score, 2-2, did I remember that it was a draw, not a loss.
Sure, we got a point. Sure, that's better than a loss. Click to continue reading...

The Revolution put on another impressive performance, defeating the Dynamo 1-0 away. The Revs looked in control for much of the game, and held off a grand finale surge from Houston late in the game.

Some take aways:

Taking down the best MLS team in their own house is a great positive moving forward

Shalrie Joseph makes this team work.

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The Revolution took 3 points from Chivas Sunday evening, starting an important 4 game homestand on a positive note. The team, which as struggled early in the season in the standings, has played good soccer, but failed to pick up wins in several close matches.

Sunday's 2-0 shut out win marked a departure from their past woes, as the Revolution dominated the second half showing impressive speed and precision from their front line.

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I couldn't make it to yesterday's Copa Aztex exhibition between UANL Tigres and Cruz Azul, instead I was at home watching the Aztex in Minnesota on USLLive.com.
It was a disappointing game. Not just for the loss Austin ultimately suffered, but for the quality of play, which was pretty poor for most of the match. Click to continue reading...

Well, the whole two half things has never been more apt. I don't know what Tommy said to the team in the locker room, but it worked something special.

The first half was honestly the worst 45 minutes of soccer I've ever seen. I'm counting Screaming Eagles pickup games in that assertion.

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Another game, another heartbreak for Austin soccer fans. This one was extra cruel, thrilling us the only way a stoppage-time goal by the home team can, only to turn around a moment later and crush us, the only way a stoppage-time goal by the opposing team can.
Once again, officiating was pretty poor. Click to continue reading...

Though the Rochester Raging Rhinos dropped the "Raging" from their name last season, it would have suited their performance on Sunday afternoon. Or maybe Austin should have been the ones to have an adjective inserted into their name: Austin Accommodating Aztex? Allowing? Acquiescent?
I'll stop there. Click to continue reading...

Friday night at Middlefield Cheese Stadium saw a pretty even game between the Aztex and the Cleveland City Stars. I was terrified through the last 15 minutes that Cleveland was going to steal a draw again, like they did last weekend. But Austin held on, and got their first win on the road.
Here's a rundown of other post-match coverage:

• box score - USLSoccer.

Click to continue reading...

Well, it wasn't a blowout. It wasn't a romp. It wasn't a massacre. Though for a few minutes at the start, it looked like it might be a couple of those, the Aztex hung in there and fought the good fight. Scoreless at the end of the first half, it was easy to imagine overtime after another 45 minutes like that. Click to continue reading...

The Aztex were once again the victims of another team's miracle Saturday night in Ohio, as the Cleveland City Stars stole a goal against the run of play at the last minute to secure a 2-2 draw. Both teams played well throughout the game, trading periods of possession and offense. Austin had the upper hand and a 2-1 lead for the last 30 minutes, but weren't able to put the last nail in Cleveland's coffin. Click to continue reading...

photo: AustinAztex.comIt's official: winning is more fun than losing. More fun than getting a draw, too, though that's better than losing, too. But no matter how you slice it, losing is definitely the least preferable outcome.
What makes this loss extra frustrating is that the Aztex played pretty well again. Click to continue reading...

Wow, what a game. The Aztex played better against the Railhawks last night than we've seen them play in some time. They had possession, their passes were connecting well despite the gusty wind, and at times they were crashing over the Carolina defense like waves on a beach. The 2,629 fans in attendance were given an exciting 90 minutes. Click to continue reading...

Not good results from the weekend's road games. Not good at all: the Red & White lost 2 games and 1 goalkeeper.
On Friday night, after a long and difficult trip to the Caribbean, they lost to the Puerto Rico Islanders, 4-1 (box score).

• Aztex fall in Puerto Rico - Austin American-Statesman
  

  The Aztex came out a different team in the second half — Gallardo was replaced by Sam Reynolds, and offensive attackers Sullivan Silva and Kyle Brown came in.

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It was a good game last night, probably closer than it should have been. The Mississippi Brilla had some good players who showed some skill, and for some stretches the Aztex didn't seem fully engaged and let the ball slip away.
But they pulled it out with a solid win 2-0, and will advance to the second round. Click to continue reading...

photo: Patrick MeredithThat's more like it. I don't know if Charleston was sitting back somewhat after Friday's romp, or if someone spiked the Aztex players' Wheaties stash, or what, but that was an entirely different game than the first one. And the 2,891 fans on hand Friday night were glad to see it. Click to continue reading...

This is the result you get when the other team just plays better than you do. That's what the Charleston Battery did at Nelson Field on Friday, was simply outplay the Aztex for the better part of the game.
It was a face-off of vertical stripes. When the black-and-yellow jerseys had speed and pace, the red-and-white had less. Click to continue reading...

Now that's the kind of Aztex game we could get used to! Despite a slow start - letting Puerto Rico have the bulk of possession for the better part of the first half, in fact - Austin was able to rally to a strong, no-doubt-about-it win over the CONCACAF Champions League semi-finalists.
The You-Had-To-Be-There Moment of the Match: the 3rd Austin goal. Click to continue reading...