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Match Preview: Austin Aztex FC vs. Puerto Rico Islanders Friday, May 29 @ 7:30 pm

May 28, 2009 - USL First Division (USL-1)
Austin Aztex News Release


AUSTIN, Texas - In an effort to boost his injury-riddled roster before Friday night's game against the Puerto Rico Islanders, Austin Aztex FC Head Coach Adrian Heath looked to the MLS and Real Salt Lake, in particular, for help. And he found it.

Heath found help in the form of Jean Alexandre, a 5-foot-11, 190-pound midfielder who while he might be new to Austin fans, is quite familiar to Heath and the Aztex organization. That's because Heath had his sights set on Alexandre before the season with the hopes of signing the Division II player out of Lynn University.

"We identified Jean very early. We thought he was under the [MLS's] radar; people weren't really talking about him," Heath said. "We were disappointed because we thought we unearthed one." RSL selected Alexandre in the first round of the MLS SuperDraft in February.

Real Salt Lake's management later admitted to Heath that they were aware of Alexandre from the beginning, even without a last-minute callup to the Combine.

The move to add Alexandre to this weekend's roster comes on the heels of an ankle injury to Sullivan Silva in Sunday's 1-0 defeat against Carolina. Silva is doubtful for Friday's game against Puerto Rico (2-2-3, 9 points), and joins front line members Gifton Noel-Williams (out with hamstring injury) and Eddie Johnson (ironing out work permit issues in England). Heath knew he needed to add some offensive firepower to help the team's only true forward Kyle Brown before this Friday's match.

"It hasn't been an easy week," Heath said. "But hey, we can't use it as an excuse. It's an opportunity for someone else to take that opportunity."

Instead of dipping into the talent pool from the Aztex U23 squad as Heath has done in the past few weeks with Kyle Helton and Jerry Saintil, the Aztex (1-2-3, 6 points) opted to use its established relationship with RSL, which developed earlier this year when the team traveled to Utah for a pre-season match. With that good rapport, the Aztex were able to negotiate a loan for Alexandre that will end May 30 for no transfer fee.

Alexandre arrived in Austin on Thursday and will practice with the team on Friday morning, before suiting up for the game against Puerto Rico.

Heath said Alexandre will play Friday and hasn't ruled out bringing Alexandre back after the loan expires. With the loan costing the Aztex nothing, if the team still needs to fill holes and wishes to renew Alexandre's loan, it will simply be a matter of filling out paperwork.

"We hope that this is the first time of a few times we'll get him this year," Heath said. "He's a very powerful boy. He can play in a few positions which, obviously, we need."

Military Appreciation Night Friday's game against the Puerto Rico Islanders is Military Appreciation Night. All military personnel and their families can purchase tickets for just $5 with proper military ID.

Capital Area Food Bank and Aztex fans benefit from Islanders game The Capital Area Food Bank is the Charity of the Night for Friday's game against the Puerto Rico Islanders. All fans who bring in a non-perishable canned food item will receive a $5 coupon for the June 21st game, Father's Day, against the Rochester Rhinos.



USL First Division Stories from May 28, 2009


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