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Aztex Search for League-High 10th Win Against Puerto Rico

July 1, 2010 - U.S. Soccer Federation D-2 (USSF D-2)
Austin Aztex News Release


AUSTIN, Texas (www.austinaztex.com) - Seven wins and three draws in its past 11 league matches have given the Austin Aztex a six-point lead on its competition in the USSF D-2 Pro League, including an eight-point lead in its conference.

Saturday's match against the Puerto Rico Islanders at 7:30 p.m. at House Park is yet another opportunity for the Aztex (9-2-3) to stretch their lead out even further against a team that it beat just a month prior, 2-1.

Puerto Rico (4-6-1) has stumbled out of the gate in the first half of the 2010 season, but with 15 wins last season, the Islanders are expected to make a second-half run.

"Puerto Rico is always tough competition for us," Aztex coach Adrian Heath said. "We expect this game to be very close, as it always is between us, and hope we can find a way to get a result out of the match like the last time we played them."

Nicholas Addlery and Joshua Hansen have both scored three goals for the Islanders this season, to go along with three assists for Hansen - the team's point leader. On the other hand, Austin has three players with at least five goals.

Forward Eddie Johnson is just one goal off the league lead, with Max Griffin and Jamie Watson also in the top five in the league with five goals apiece. Midfielder Lawrence Olum and Griffin lead the team in assists with three to their names.

"Obviously we expected Eddie to be among the top goal scorers this year, but Max has come right in and played as well as anyone in the league lately," Heath said. "We're thrilled to have all three contributing the way they have and hope they can keep it up through the back end of the season."

Saturday's match can be seen live on www.austinaztex.com or on Rochester's site: http://www.rhinossoccer.com/.

Game Notes:

Series:

Austin is 1-0 against the Puerto Rico Islanders this season and was 1-1-1 against them last season.

Streaking

In its past 14 matches, the Aztex have dropped just two games (one to Chivas USA of the MLS), accruing a record of 9-3-2. The Aztex are just one win away from doubling its USSF D-2 Pro League win total from a season ago and one win away from becoming the league's first double-digit win team. The Aztex finished the month of June with a mark of 5-2-1.

Offensive Firepower

Austin has nine more goals than its next closest competition - the Tampa Bay Rowdies (18). Its next goal will be the 28th goal of the 2010 season in 15 games. In their entire season last year (30 games), the Aztex scored 28 goals.

Goal-Scoring Trio

Eddie Johnson, Max Griffin and Jamie Watson are all in the top five in the league in points, goals scored and shots taken. With eight goals this season, Johnson has already blown by his team-high total of five goals from 2009. Griffin and Watson have both equaled the total as well. After scoring two goals against Miami FC, Johnson brought his total to just one goal behind the league leader, Ryan Pore (9).

Conference Leaders

Five of the six teams in the USL Conference would rank first or second in the NASL Conference. Austin leads the USL Conference with 30 points, while Vancouver has amassed 24 points to lead the NASL side.

USL Conference Scores

Five of the six USL Conference squads also have scored at least 15 goals. The top scorer in the NASL Conference, Miami FC, has 15 goals. Austin's goal differential of +11 nearly doubles the next best differential as Rochester stands at +6. Half of the USSF D-2 Pro League stands with more goals scored for than against.

What's Next?

Austin heads on a road trip to try and avenge its first home loss of the season to the Rochester Rhinos. Following the one-game trip, the Aztex come back home for three games, making it a total of 10 home games played in its last 13 total matches.



U.S. Soccer Federation D-2 Stories from July 1, 2010


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