PDL Game Report
Saturday, May 10, 2014
AUSTIN, Texas -- The Austin Aztex (1-0-0) took a commanding four-goal lead in the first half on the way to a 5-0 victory against the Houston Dutch Lions in front of 1,748 fans at House Park on Saturday night.
The Aztex took a quick two-goal lead in the first half to set the tone. In the 10th minute, Walker Hume found fellow defender Cruz Oronos running uncovered down the right sideline and hit a long pass. Oronos raced to the ball and hit a cross into the penalty area, where Chuy Cortes hit the ball into the back of the net.
The Aztex doubled their advantage five minutes later as midfielder Tony Rocha hit a pass into the penalty area from the left side. Dutch Lions goalkeeper Emmanuel Frias was first to the ball, but had difficulty handling it and dropped the ball. Aztex forward Sito Seoane was in front of Frias, and took the opportunistic drop to fire home for a 2-0 lead.
Austin made it 4-0 later in the first half. In the 37th minute, Rocha was fouled near the halfway line. Andres Cuero showed good awareness to streak up the middle of the field, where Rocha hit him with a well-placed pass. Cuero took the pass in stride for a one-on-one with Frias and hit it past the goalkeeper.
In the 40th minute, Rocha put the game on ice with a strong individual effort as he took the ball into the penalty area and worked across the top of the box. Rocha spun past two defenders for a clean look at goal and struck the ball past Frias.
“I think the tempo of the first half was fantastic,” Aztex head coach Manuel Buentello said. “Not only did we impose our style of play on the opponent, but we also got what we wanted which were goals."
Midfielder Adam Black, a newcomer for the Aztex who scored 11 goals in 12 games for Oklahoma City FC in 2013, scored his debut goal for the Aztex in the 65th minute. Black took a corner kick for the Aztex and hit a dangerous ball into the area. The ball took a slight deflection on its way into the net.
The rest of the game was physical as both teams saw a player receive a caution. Dutch Lions midfielder Devid Perez received a caution for a physical foul in the 69th minute while Aztex goalkeeper Devin Cook received a caution in the 77th minute for dissent.
Aside from the caution, Cook and the Aztex defense paired up in a dominant effort to retain the shutout victory. The team as a whole pressed the Dutch Lions to force turnovers and prevent any clean shooting opportunities. The Aztex limited the Dutch Lions to only five shots throughout the game.
The Dutch Lions did come close to finding the back of the net in the 84th minute from a free kick when forward Joe Jackson got his head on the ball for a dangerous shot, but his effort went over the crossbar.
With the win, the Aztex open their PDL Championship defense on the right foot. However, this is a new season and the players from last year’s squad have put last year’s accomplishments behind them as they work toward the next goal, taking the season game-by-game.
“I think we still have the drive to win,” Aztex midfielder Tony Rocha said. “Teams that usually win championships don’t come out as hungry the next year, but our hunger is still there.”
The Aztex return to action on Wednesday night when they host the NTX Rayados in the second round of the 2014 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The winner of Wednesday’s match will advance to the third round to play the San Antonio Scorpions in San Antonio on May 28.