Miami FC Takes on First-Place Austin in Pivotal Road Matchup
July 30, 2010 - U.S. Soccer Federation D-2 (USSF D-2)
Fort Lauderdale Strikers News Release
Miami, July 30, 2010- -Miami FC returns to the pitch this weekend against the first-place Austin Aztex on Saturday, July 31 at House Park. The Blues look to bounce back and propel themselves back into the playoff picture. The game is set to begin at 8:30 p.m. EST.
The match will be the fourth and final meeting between the two clubs this season as the Blues look to pick up an important road victory against one of the league's toughest teams.
Head Coach Daryl Shore will be looking to pick up his first win as the head coach for the Blues in his second game with the team.
"Training has been good this week and we are putting the pieces in place to get a positive result," Shore said. "We are going to go in there anticipating that we are going to come out of there with points."
The winner of the match also gets to keep a Willie Nelson signed guitar as part of a bet made earlier this season between state representatives from both states.
The Blues next home game will be against the FC Tampa Bay Rowdies on Aug. 14 at Lockhart Stadium. That game is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. start time.
SCOUTING AUSTIN
The Aztex are coming off an impressive 2-0 victory over AC St. Louis at home on July 17, which extended their unbeaten streak to five games.
The first goal came in the 34th minute when a handball was called on Jeff Cosgriff inside the box, resulting in an automatic red card and a penalty kick for the Aztex. Jamie Watson took the PK and put a shot to the right past St. Louis goalkeeper Alec Dufty to give Austin a 1-0 lead.
With a one-man advantage, the Aztex continued to apply pressure on St. Louis, outshooting them 15-1 in the first half.
Austin converted its second goal in the 68th minute when Maxwell Griffin managed to get past the St. Louis backline and fired a shot that made its way past Dufty and into the top half of the goal to give the Aztex an insurance goal.
Johnson, Watson and Griffin have combined for more than half of the team's total goals so far this season with a total of 20 goals between the three of them.
Austin leads the league in goals with 30 scored this season in league play, but has only faired average on defense so far this season, allowing 17 goals to opponents throughout the year.
Still, the Aztex have proven to be the team to beat in the league and went unbeaten through the entire month of May.
LAST TIME OUT
The Blues suffered a 2-0 loss to the Rowdies on July 24 at George Steinbrenner Field.
Tampa Bay struck first in the 35th minute when Long Tan got a clear look inside the box, forcing Miami FC goalkeeper Caleb Patterson to make a great save and setting up a corner kick where Julian Valentin beat his defender and put the Rowdies up 1-0.
After going into the second half trailing by one, Miami FC came out strong in the beginning of the second half as Brian Shriver broke through the Rowdies backline and was left alone with the goalie. Shriver got a good shot off but once again the ball sailed wide of the mark.
The Blues seemed to level the match moments later after a short corner when Shriver crossed a ball into the heart of the box and Abe Thompson cleanly headed the ball in for what seemed to be the equalizing goal. The referee quickly disallowed the goal and asked the Blues to re-take the corner kick.
Former Miami FC forward Aaron King beat a Miami defender in the 66th minute and headed a goal past Patterson, putting the Rowdies up 2-0 and sealing the Blues' efforts to tie the match as they failed to put the ball in the back of the net in the final 20 minutes of the match.
ROAD RUNNERS
Midfielder Christian Gomez and forward Paulo Jr. are looking to cause some damage on offense against Austin and get the Blues back on track along with Brian Shriver who has emerged as a playmaker for the Blues on the road this season.
Paulo Jr. has continued to climb the league leader boards with a team-high seven goals on the season and is third in the league in that category while Gomez has four goals as they continue to prove that they are one of the top dual-threats in the league.
Gomez is tied for ninth in the league in points with 11 while placing fourth in assists with three.
Paulo Jr. has 16 points and is in sole possession of third place in that category.
Shriver, meanwhile, is right behind the duo with three goals on the season. Two of those goals have been on the road.
U.S. Soccer Federation D-2 Stories from July 30, 2010
- Aztex Battle Rival Miami FC for Willie Nelson Guitar - Austin Aztex
- Impact Faces Baltimore Saturday - Montreal Impact
- Miami FC Takes on First-Place Austin in Pivotal Road Matchup - Fort Lauderdale Strikers
- Whitecaps FC Head for North Carolina - Vancouver Whitecaps
- RailHawks Host MLS-Bound Vancouver Whitecaps Saturday Night - North Carolina FC
- AC St. Louis to Host Game Benefiting Backstoppers - AC St. Louis
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