Aztex One Win from League Title

September 28, 2010 - U.S. Soccer Federation D-2 (USSF D-2)
Austin Aztex News Release


AUSTIN, Texas (www.austinaztex.com) - Fifteen wins and 53 points have put the Austin Aztex in a unique situation for a second-year professional franchise - sitting one win away from clinching the league title.

Austin's 4-2 victory over AC St. Louis on Saturday, paired with Rochester's loss against Miami FC, moved the Aztex back into first place both in the USL Conference and overall in the USSF Division-2 Pro League with just two games to play. Austin's first chance comes at 6 p.m. on Friday against the Carolina RailHawks, who the Aztex defeated 3-2 in their only contest this season.

Following Friday's match, Austin travels to Montreal for its season finale at 1 p.m. in Stade Saputo. A win on either day, two draws or a loss or draw by Rochester in its final game against AC St. Louis gives the Aztex the crown.

Carolina finished out the month of September with a 3-1-1 mark and nine goals in its five games. The RailHawks crushed Crystal Palace twice in the month, winning by an aggregate score of 7-2. The RailHawks also earned a point from a draw against Portland and got a victory against Puerto Rico. Scoring has been spread out among the league's second highest scoring team, as no player has more than seven goals, but 16 players have scored at least once.

Montreal comes into the match blazing hot, winners of five of the past six matches, which has moved the Impact from outside the playoff hunt to the sixth seed. The Impact's leading scorer, Ali Gerba, has been the leader of the charge with nine goals in those six games, including three multiple-goal games. Gerba's goals have led to impressive victories over the league's top teams in that span, including: Rochester, Puerto Rico, Carolina and Vancouver.

Meanwhile, Austin has been the league's most consistent team throughout the six-month season, see-sawing between first and second with Rochester for almost the entire year. The Aztex 15 wins have tripled their total from the 2009 season and their 52 goals have nearly doubled last year's output.

Eddie Johnson, Jamie Watson, Yordany Alvarez and Lawrence Olum (prior to his injury) were the steady hands of the club throughout the season, guiding the offense to an outburst unforeseen by the rest of the league. The Aztex also got huge returns on offense from first-year players Max Griffin, Leonard Griffin and Yohance Marshall among others.

Supporters of the Aztex will be watching the away game against Carolina at Mister Tramps (8565 Research Blvd., Austin, TX 78758) in North Austin on Friday night for the club's first chance to take home the league title. The Aztex will also be there to conduct raffles throughout the game.

Both games can be seen streamed live on the Aztex website: www.austinaztex.com. The RailHawks will have Friday night's contest on www.carolinarailhawks.com, while the Impact will carry Sunday's match on: www.montrealimpact.com.

Game Notes:

Series History: Austin is 1-2-1 against both the Carolina RailHawks and Montreal Impact, with both victories coming at House Park this season. After falling to 0-2-1 against the RailHawks last season, Austin avenged its losses with a 3-2 win at House Park in on August 22. Against Montreal, the Aztex were blown out in two games at Saputo Stadium in 2009 and drew at home. This year, Austin opened the season with a 2-0 victory against the 2009 USL-1 champions, which began its run to the top of the league.

Top Seed Up For Grabs: Austin clinches the league's top spot with a win in either game, draws in both games OR a loss or draw by Rochester in its final game. The winner of the top spot in the league faces Puerto Rico in the first round, while the loser of the Rochester-Austin duel gets Montreal in the first round. Carolina and Vancouver are also in a battle for the top of the NASL Conference and rights to the No. 2 seed in the playoffs. Currently, the two teams are tied, but Carolina edges the Whitecaps out on the tiebreaker. A win by Carolina over the Aztex clinches the second spot for the RailHawks, while a loss or a draw would put them at Vancouver's mercy.

High-Flying Offenses: Friday's match between Austin and Carolina will pit the league's top two offenses against each other, as Carolina has scored 41 goals this season, which trails only Austin's total of 52. Montreal sits at seventh in the league with 34 goals in 29 games.

Stingy Defense: It is no coincidence that the four teams eliminated from the playoffs also stand as the four worst teams in the goals against category, while Montreal, Carolina and Austin have allowed just 30, 31 and 35 goals, respectively. The three teams have allowed more than two goals to be scored against them just four times combined in 86 games.

Injury Report: Both Eddie Johnson and Michael Callahan suffered head injuries in Saturday night's match against AC St. Louis and sit on the injury report for the road trip. Johnson will be a game-time decision on Friday, while Callahan remains out after receiving 33 stitches in his forehead. Stephan Campbell (Groin) is still out, but Lawrence Olum (Groin) has been upgraded from out to questionable. Max Griffin (Tooth) will play in Friday's game.



U.S. Soccer Federation D-2 Stories from September 28, 2010


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central