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Aztex Unable to Clinch Title at Carolina; One More Chance at Montreal Left

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


AUSTIN, Texas (www.austinaztex.com) - Carolina RailHawks forward Etienne Barbara put the Austin Aztex title celebration temporarily on hold on Friday night at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C., with an 84th minute goal to give Carolina a lead that it soon built on to finish off Austin, 3-1.

Barbara streaked down the left side of the field when Matt Watson's pass found his teammate's foot who placed a shot past Aztex (15-6-8) goalkeeper Miguel Gallardo, who had been stellar all night long. In the 89th minute, Carolina's (13-9-8) Tom Heinemann got a shot off that deflected off Gallardo's hands for the RailHawks third goal.

Heinemann terrorized the Aztex defense all game long on multiple breakaways, but was unable to get on the board until the end of the match. With the win, Carolina has all but locked down the second seed in the USSF D-2 Pro League playoffs, while the Aztex will have to play the waiting game to see Rochester's result tomorrow against AC St. Louis. Austin can still clinch the league title with a loss or draw by Rochester or a victory at Montreal on Sunday.

Austin's offense started off a big sluggishly in the first half, but an own goal in the 43rd minute sparked the visitors who equalized the RailHawks after trailing for just two minutes. Carolina got on the board first when they lobbed a ball into the box that was inadvertently headed past Gallardo by defender Kieron Bernard.

Two minutes later, the Aztex answered the challenge off a corner kick. Max Griffin put in his 10th goal of the season on an assist by Lance Watson to send the Aztex and RailHawks into the locker rooms tied at 1, despite the multiple challenges by Carolina.

The RailHawks first three opportunities on net came within the first 10 minutes, but were all snuffed out by Gallardo. In the 23rd minute, the Aztex defense turned up the intensity with a clutch save on a shot after Gallardo got tied up off his line. Less than 10 minutes later, Heinemann snuck a foot in front of Gallardo to deflect a cross that nearly snuck into the net. Later in the half, he was sent in on a breakaway, but was chased down by Bernard to preserve the scoreless draw.

Austin's first chance didn't come until the 36th minute when Jamie Watson's cross found the head of M. Griffin, but the try was just off the mark and into the side of the net. Seconds later, Watson got the ball back and fired a shot from 30 yards out that sailed just high.

Gregory Richardson nearly made the highlight reels in the 61st minute after multiple jukes shook himself free of Bernard, but the shot was deflected away by Gallardo, who was horizontal to the ground at the time of the save. In the 76th minute, Gallardo again came up with a miraculous save on another breakaway by Heinemann. One minute later, Etienne Barbara came in uncontested and Gallardo snatched it away from the goal.

Austin struck on a counter attack earning a corner kick that nearly gave the Aztex the lead on a shot by L. Watson that was deflected into two converging Aztex who could not finish.

Austin heads to Montreal for its season finale before beginning the playoffs on either Wednesday or Thursday of next week, depending on their final seed. If Austin wins the top seed, it will play at Puerto Rico on Thursday. If they are unable to win the league crown, the Aztex will stay in Montreal for a game against the Impact on Wednesday.

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


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