Saturday, June 1, 2013
AUSTIN, Texas -- The Austin Aztex (4-0-0) and Oklahoma City FC (3-3-0) met at House Park on Saturday evening looking to make a statement to the USL PDL and the Mid South Division.
Austin’s statement rang louder.
The Aztex scored late in the first half, added two more goals in the second half, and held off a OKCFC rally to take a 3-2 victory. The win gave the Aztex sole possession of the Mid South Division lead with 12 points and adds a cushion over the chasing pack below them in the standings.
“Oklahoma City FC has a really good team,” Aztex forward Sito Seoane said. “They play direct so we had to play as we play. It was a hard game.”
The Aztex’s attack was relentless from the beginning of the game, forcing multiple corners, outshooting their opponent 11-to-1 during the first half. Eddy Campbell and Kris Tyrpak formed a fearsome duo on the flanks, and nearly connected on multiple scoring opportunities.
The Aztex were unable to score until the waning seconds of first-half stoppage time. Seoane took a loose ball from the middle of the field and navigated his way through the Oklahoma City defense. Once clear in front of goal, Seoane shot left past OKCFC goalkeeper Ray Clark.
The Aztex were able to score quickly once the second half began. Tyrpak received the ball along the right side of the field and worked his way toward the middle. He then proceeded to rip a left-footed shot from about 23 yards away for the second goal of the evening.
OKlahoma City would not go down without a fight, and answered back with a goal of its own two minutes later when Niall Crick hit a volleyed shot past Aztex goalkeeper Devin Cook.
The Aztex third goal would not have happened without the hustle of Tyrpak. Campbell maneuvered his way into space along the left side of the field and sent a cross to the middle of the field. However, nobody was near the ball and all players gave up on the ball to let it roll out of bounds, except Tyrpak, who hustled to the ball and was able to move down the line, forcing a shot that was parried out of bounds.
Tyrpak would score the game-winning goal in the 60th minute on the ensuing corner kick. Seoane sent the corner kick into the near post and Tyrpak connected for a strong header. Oklahoma City FC pulled within one goal when Black scored in the 73rd minute, but was unable to pull the game even. The two-goal game got the monkey off of Tyrpak’s back in terms of goals and points.
“I just happened to be at the right place at the right time,” Tyrpak said. “I got lucky and I redeemed myself for that one the goalkeeper saved right before that. It all worked out.”
“We knew it would be difficult in the last ten minutes,” Aztex Head Coach Paul Dalglish said. “We knew they would throw everything at us. Fair play to them, they made it very difficult for us in the end, but we found a way to win.”
The Austin Aztex will travel to face the Houston Dutch Lions on Saturday, June 8 at WoodForest Stadium in Houston.
Proceeds from Saturday night’s game will go to directly to the Oklahoma Soccer Association’s Tornado Relief Fund and will assist OSA club members who have been impacted by recent disastrous tornadoes in the Oklahoma City area.