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Austin and Montreal Square off in Quarterfinals

October 4, 2010 - U.S. Soccer Federation D-2 (USSF D-2)
Austin Aztex News Release


AUSTIN, Texas (www.austinaztex.com) - Only one point separated the Austin Aztex and Rochester Rhinos for the 2010 USSF D-2 Pro League regular season title, but the Aztex were rewarded for their results with a No. 3 seed and first round matchup against the USL-1 defending champion Montreal Impact beginning at 6:30 p.m. CST on Wednesday at Saputo Stadium in Montreal.

Austin finished off the regular season with a 15-7-8 record and had the second most wins, the second least losses and second best goal differential of the 12 teams. The Aztex scored nine more goals than the next best offensive squad, the Carolina RailHawks, and sat atop the league table for the majority of the season before see-sawing with Rochester toward the end of the year.

The Aztex closed out the year with 12 points in their last 10 games to secure their place at the top half of the bracket, while Montreal's sixth seed was the product of a slow start and furious finish. The Impact closed out the year 6-1-0, skyrocketing up the table to third in the NASL Conference standings, just two points behind Vancouver and four behind Carolina, who finished second in the league.

Forward Ali Gerba led his squad in scoring with nine goals, all coming in the Impact's last seven games. Meanwhile, Eddie Johnson and Max Griffin led the Aztex with 14 and 10 goals, respectively. Griffin scored his team's final tally of the year at Carolina on Friday night to send the game into a deadlock at halftime. Austin also boasts four players in the top 12 in the league in assists, as the trio of Leonard Griffin, Yordany Alvarez and M. Griffin helped on five goals each and Jamie Watson led the team and finished third overall with seven assists.

The playoffs consist of a two-leg, aggregate goals series in the first round, semifinals and finals. Away goals will not be considered a tie-breaker in the aggregate goal series. If teams are tied on aggregate goals after the conclusion of the second leg, they will play two 15 minute overtime periods. Penalty kicks will follow overtime if the teams have not broken the deadlock.

Austin and Montreal's first-leg game will be streamed live on both teams' websites: www.austinaztex.com and www.montrealimpact.com. Wednesday's match kicks off at 6:30 p.m. CST and the second leg will be played at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday at House Park in Austin.

Game Notes:

Series History: Austin is 1-3-1 against the Montreal Impact with all three losses coming on the road at Saputo Stadium. In Austin, the Aztex are 1-0-1 against Montreal. The Aztex opened the 2010 season with a 2-0 victory against the Impact - a favor which was returned in Montreal to close out the season on Sunday.

Playoff Standings: With the pair of losses to close out the weekend, Austin fell from the top spot, allowing Rochester to take hold of the No. 1 seed. Rochester opens the playoffs at Puerto Rico on Thursday and the winner of that series will take on the winner of Vancouver-Portland in the semifinals. On Austin's side of the bracket, Carolina and NSC Minnesota play on Wednesday and Saturday with the winner taking on Austin or Montreal.

Offense vs. Defense: The quarterfinals pit one of the USSF D-2 Pro League's best offensive team against one of its most staunch defensive teams. The Aztex led the league with 53 goals, while the Impact only gave up 30 all year long. Austin also finished with 349 shots, the second best total in the league. Montreal took 307, good for seventh in the league.

Injury Report: Eddie Johnson will make his return to the pitch following a mild concussion suffered against AC St. Louis on September 25. He had missed the past two games. Michael Callahan will remain out after a blow to his head in the same game until at least Saturday's contest at home. Stephan Campbell (Groin) is the only other Aztex player that has been ruled out for the quarterfinals due to injury.



U.S. Soccer Federation D-2 Stories from October 4, 2010


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