Austin Aztex News Release -- www.austinaztex.com
Friday, July 5, 2013
AUSTIN, Texas -- The Austin Aztex (8-1-1) take on the West Texas Sockers (3-5-2) Friday night at House Park at 7:30 p.m. CT. This will be the first meeting between the two clubs in the 2013 season. The last time West Texas visited House Park was in the 2012 season and the Aztex were able to net six goals.
Austin currently holds a 2013 home record of 5-0-0 in PDL competition and has scored 17 goals while only allowing two. West Texas’s away record is (2-3-0) with 13 goals for and 13 goals against.
“We need to make sure that we go out and keep our standards high for every game,” Aztex defender and team captain Zack Pope said. “With us being in first place, every team will be gunning for us. If you take a play off, a minute off, or a second off, then people are going to want to take advantage of that.”
The Aztex are looking to bounce back after they suffered their first loss of the PDL season to the Laredo Heat on Wednesday night, losing 1-0. Laredo also stopped Austin’s shutout streak at 449 minutes, with the lone goal of the game coming in the 40th minute from Frank Lara. The Heat were able to capitalize on a lapse in focus from the Aztex defenders and took a quick throw in to Juan Ibarra who slotted the ball across the goal line to an open Lara who easily tucked it away.
The game against the Heat was physical, with a lot of challenges leaving players on the ground, but only three cautions were given. In the 71st minute Tucker Hume received a straight ejection after an aerial challenge against the Heat’s Felipe Souza. The ejection was given after the center referee consulted with the assistant referee for some time. Tucker will not be available for Friday’s game against the Sockers.
“I think as soccer players we need to have a short-term memory,” Aztex midfielder Tony Rocha said. “We need to go out there and be confident. We are at House Park and we have not lost a PDL game there. We just need to go out there and play the way we know we can and get the result. “
West Texas is also looking to recover after their most recent defeat, a 6-2 loss at Oklahoma City last Saturday night. OKC took an early lead in the second minute and then were able to score again halfway through the first half. The Sockers answered with a pair of goals to tie the game just before the half. Oklahoma City must have found something in their water at halftime because they turned a close game into a rout, scoring four unanswered goals. West Texas also received two ejections in the second half: one going to Jose Munoz and another going to David Gonzales. Both players will be unavailable for Friday’s game against the Aztex.
Austin holds the best record in both the Mid South Division and the Southern Conference with 25 points, but the gap between them and the chasing teams has tightened. The Aztex are five points ahead of second-place Laredo in the division, with Oklahoma City sitting one point behind the Heat in third. The race for first in the Southern Conference is escalating as both the Ocala Stampede and the Panama City Beach Pirates have 21 points with a game in hand.