Aztex Look to Bounce Back Against Carolina

Published on August 20, 2010 under U.S. Soccer Federation D-2 (USSF D-2)
Austin Aztex News Release


AUSTIN, Texas (www.austinaztex.com) - After earning points in seven straight matches, Austin's second longest streak of the season, the Aztex suffered their first setback on the road last Saturday at Puerto Rico. A chance for redemption is on tap at 6 p.m. on Sunday at House Park in the Aztex first match this season against the Carolina RailHawks.

Carolina (8-6-7) sits comfortably in second place in the NASL Conference, eight points behind Vancouver, but six ahead of third-place Montreal. Its troika of leading scorers has six goals, five goals and four goals apiece this season. Etienne Barbara, fresh off a two-game red card suspension, took the team lead when he put the game-winning goal in the back of the net in the 74th minute on Wednesday against Miami FC.

Josh Gardner stands second on the team with his five goals, the last coming on August 7 against Montreal. Meanwhile, Sallieu Bundu hasn't scored in over a month, but remains third on the team with four scores.

On Sunday, Austin (12-3-5) gets back two key cogs to its attack, with the return of Max Griffin (7 goals, 4 assists) and Yordany Alvarez (2 goals, 3 assists). Neither Griffin nor Alvarez made the trip to Puerto Rico due to non-injury related issues. However, the Aztex are still without their third-leading goal scorer, Jamie Watson (6 goals, 4 assists), who is continuing to rehab from a fractured collar bone that he suffered on August 7 against Tampa Bay.

Despite getting shutout for the first time this season, Austin remains atop the league in goals scored (37) by seven goals and have given up the fifth least goals (22), which gives the Aztex the best goal differential as well. Austin is currently four points back of Rochester, but has four games in hand and remain on pace to finish atop the league and secure the top seed in the USSF D-2 Pro League playoffs.

The match can be seen live the Austin Aztex website: www.austinaztex.com beginning 15 minutes before kickoff. Following the match against Carolina, Austin heads west for the first and only time this season for back-to-back matches against Portland and the NASL Conference leaders, the Vancouver Whitecaps. Seven of its final nine matches after Saturday are on the road, where Austin is 5-1-2 this season.

Game Notes:

Series History: Austin is 0-2-1 all-time against Carolina, but has yet to face the RailHawks in 2010. The Aztex dropped a match both on the home and on the road, but earned a draw in the second meeting at Nelson Field. Carolina is one of just two current USSF D-2 Pro League teams that the Aztex have not earned a victory against (Vancouver Whitecaps). The teams square off one more time this season on October 1 in Cary, N.C.

Score Early and Often! The Aztex are 18-3-5 all-time when scoring first, but only 2-19-7 when giving up the first goal.

Lucky Number Two: In 10 of Carolina's 14 decisions this season, the winning team has scored exactly two goals. Its other four decisions all ended up 1-0 contests. Carolina has yet to play in a contest this season when either team has scored three goals or more. Austin has scored three goals or more five times this season in 20 matches.

No Ties: The Aztex have drawn with only five opponents this season -- the lowest total in the USSF D-2 Pro League.

The Big Three: Three players on the RailHawks have accumulated 58% of the team's 26 goals to date (Barbara 6, Gardner 5, Bundu 4). The Aztex top three goal scorers have accounted for 59% of the team's 37 goals (Johnson 9, Griffin 7, Watson 6).

And Then There Was One...Miguel Gallardo is the last Aztex player to play in every minute of every game this season.

Shutouts Abound: Carolina has either shutout their opponent or been shutout seven times in its past nine games. The RailHawks are 4-3 in these games. Meanwhile, three of the past five Aztex games have resulted in a shutout, with the team going 1-1-1.

Injury Report: Forward Jamie Watson will be held out of this weekend's contest with a fractured collarbone and will be joined on the sidelines by Stephan Campbell (groin). The rest of the team is fit to play.

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U.S. Soccer Federation D-2 Stories from August 20, 2010


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