Austin Aztex News Release -- www.austinaztex.com
Thursday, August 29, 2013
AUSTIN, Texas -- The Austin Aztex collegiate players have returned to their respective college teams and are eager to help their teams. Many players have earned individual honors such as preseason all-conference nods. We would like to offer congratulations to the Aztex members recognized in Top Drawer Soccer’s Top 100 Players: Mikey Ambrose (37), Khiry Shelton (57), Dan Metzger (90), Seth Casiple (97).
Stay tuned every week as we will keep you up to date with how the Aztex are doing for their teams, and we will keep you informed with what college games you can catch in the Austin area.
The No. 2 Maryland Terrapins enter the college season with lofty expectations, and were picked as the favorite to win the ACC title this year. Sophomore defender Mikey Ambrose and junior midfielder Dan Metzger will look to roll over their strong play from their summer with the Aztex to help Maryland reach their goals.
The Terps are looking to get their wheels rolling after two ties in their preseason exhibitions. Maryland forced a 1-1 tie with Penn State before holding St. John’s scoreless on a 0-0 draw. This weekend, the Terps travel to Northern California for a double with Stanford and California. Sunday’s matchup with California offers a reunion as Ambrose and Metzger will look to contain California’s playmaking junior midfielder Seth Casiple. Aztex fans can monitor the game’s stats live here. The game starts at 4 p.m. on Sept. 1.
Casiple and the Cal Golden Bears will face a still challenge to kick off their 2013 college campaign. As a primer for hosting No. 2 Maryland on Sunday, Cal will host No. 3 Georgetown on Friday. Casiple has been named co-captain for 2013 and is the top returning scorer for the Golden Bears with 11 points last year, seven coming from assists.
In Florida, the sophomore duo of Tucker and Walker Hume return to Rollins College as the school is ranked No. 9 in Division II by NSCAA and sits atop the Sunshine State Conference preseason poll. Walker returns after a freshman campaign in which he was named the SSC Freshman of the Year and All-American.
During the PDL season, Tucker Hume showed a knack to come up with a big goal to give the Aztex the lead. Tucker has continued his knack when he jumpstarted a Rollins College rally Saturday evening to draw with North Florida in a preseason exhibition. Down 2-0 in the first half, Tucker Hume was able to score to begin the Rollins College comeback. Rollins will not have any games this weekend as they will begin their regular season slate versus Embry-Riddle on Saturday, Sept. 7.
Florida Gulf Coast enters their college campaign as the team to beat in the Atlantic Sun Conference. Sophomore defender Aaron Guillen was named on the 12-man Preseason All-Conference squad. The FGCU Eagles will begin their season when they travel to Tampa to face South Florida for the NSCAA College Men’s Soccer Game of the Week. Fans can track Guillen and tune in live as the game will air live here, kickoff Friday, Aug. 30 at 7 p.m.
No. 8 Akron look to continue their dominance of the Mid-American Conference and were picked to repeat MAC titles by league coaches in the preseason. The Zips will look to utilize versatile senior Robbie Derschang, who appeared in two games as a striker and 10 at left back for the Zips in 2012 and is now listed as a midfielder. Akron closed out their preseason with a 2-0 loss at No. 15 Saint Louis. The Zips will look to rebound with a strong start to their regular season when they travel to the College of Charleston Tournament this weekend, where they will face the College of Charleston on Friday and Furman on Sunday.
No. 13 Coastal Carolina has been voted first in the Big South Conference’s preseason poll, and may look to sophomore Devin Cook as their starting goalkeeper. Cook transferred to Coastal Carolina in the summer and has competed for the starting spot and split time with senior goalkeeper Federico Bertele in the final preseason match, a 4-0 loss to Clemson. While Cook was on the field, the opponents were held scoreless. The Chanticleers will participate in the Carolina Nike Classic this weekend, where they will face off versus No. 17 Wake Forest on Friday before playing No. 4 North Carolina on Sunday. The North Carolina game will be streamed live for free here.
Campbell was voted second in the Big South Conference preseason poll and would like to take the title from Coastal Carolina. Senior duo Justin Franz and Travis Golden will look to help the Camels accomplish that goal. Golden was named to the preseason All-Conference team. Campbell opens their season versus North Carolina State on Friday, Aug. 30 at 6 p.m. and can be viewed live here.
Junior midfielder Tony Rocha helped No. 14 Tulsa continue to a strong start to their preseason with an assist in a 3-1 win over Memphis on Aug. 22. The Golden Hurricane begin the regular season with two away games this weekend, as they travel to face Creighton on Friday before travelling to Drake on Sunday.
Southern Methodist finished a strong preseason that saw Aztex trio Michael King, John Lujano, and Damian Rosales all put in strong performances for the Mustangs. Sophomores King and Lujano scored a goal in a 3-1 win over Oral Roberts. Meanwhile, Rosales was named to the first team American Athletic Conference. The Mustangs finished their preseason with an Aztex reunion when they settled for a 2-2 draw with Houston Baptist. SMU will face a stiff challenge to open their season when they travel to the IU Credit Union Classic in Bloomington, Ind., to face No. 1 Indiana on Friday and then No. 7 Notre Dame on Sunday.
Houston Baptist will hope to prove their critics wrong after they were chosen to finish last in the Western Athletic Conference. Led by USL PDL Most Valuable Player and preseason All-Conference player Kris Tyrpak, the HBU Huskies forced 2-2 ties in both of their preseason exhibitions versus Incarnate Word and SMU. Next, the Huskies start their season with a road trip, where they will face Central Arkansas on Saturday, Aug. 31 before playing Oral Roberts on Monday, Sept. 2.
San Jacinto College (2-0-0) has high expectations heading into the season as they are ranked No. 18 nationally by the NJCAA. The squad will look to sophomore standout forward Sito Seoane to lead the attack and continue his run of strong form from the USL PDL playoffs. Lo and behold, Seoane started the season validating those high marks when Seoane scored two goals in a 3-1 win versus East Florida State Community College on Aug. 24 followed by a another goal in a 6-0 thumping of Mississippi Gulf Community College on Aug. 25.
San Jacinto continues with a home match versus Ranger College on Saturday, Aug. 31.
St. Edward’s University will look to make a run to the playoffs this year and will rely on junior forward Daniel Riley and senior goalkeeper John Kaschak to help the Hilltoppers reach their goal. The Hilltoppers are not active this weekend and will begin their regular season with a pair of home games on Sept. 6 and Sept. 8 when they face the Colorado Mines and Fort Lewis, respectively.
Junior forward Khiry Shelton helped Oregon State make a splash with a 6-0 win over Northwest Nazarene in their most recent exhibition game, adding an assist to the box score. The Beavers begin the regular season on Friday when they face Cleveland State.