For local supporters of the beautiful game, 2015 will be remembered for dramatic highs and devastating lows. It was a year in which professional soccer made a return to the City of the Violet Crown, but which ends with no active team and head coach Paul Dalglish packing his bags for a new gig in Canada.
The year began with bang; in February the Aztex hosted three MLS teams – FC Dallas, Columbus Crew, and D.C. United – in … Read the rest “Aztex 2015: the Year in Review”
Both of your Violet Crown Soccer correspondents made the trip down to San Antonio last Thursday to see the U.S. women’s national team on the Texas leg of their 2015 Victory Tour. Though we didn’t see the world cup trophy itself – thanks to the Alamodome’s goofy no re-entry policy – we did see: a lively American Outlaws tailgate & march, a Christen Press hat-trick, a six-zero final scoreline, and lots of enthusiastic USWNT fans. Below are a few pictures … Read the rest “Road Report: USWNT Victory Tour in San Antonio”
On Thursday the United States Women’s National Team’s Victory Tour heads to San Antonio with three stars and a new dedication to bringing equal footing to the women’s international game. A week ago, the match in San Antonio looked to be a rematch versus a Trinidad & Tobago side they were expected to dismantle at Aloha stadium. But that match never happened: according to a statement released by the team, Hawaii’s first ever international soccer competition was called off … Read the rest “USWNT to Bring 3 Stars to San Antonio”
U.S. Soccer announced this morning the last-minute cancellation of the friendly the Women’s National Team was to play against Trinidad & Tobago in Hawaii. The decision was made “after a determination that the artificial turf surface is not suitable to hold an international soccer match”.
The U.S. Women are scheduled to play Trinidad & Tobago at the Alamodome in San Antonio on Thursday night. The women’s soccer news site Equalizer Soccer, in a post from just before to the cancellation … Read the rest “USWNT Refuses Hawaii Turf, Is Alamodome Next?”
Sunday night Chris G. road-tripped to Frisco to watch FC Dallas host Portland Timbers FC in the second leg of the MLS Western Conference championship. His Dallas team came in to the game down two goals from the first leg, but with one road goal that might have made the difference… but didn’t. The game ended in a 2-2 draw, leaving Portland to win the series on aggregate, 5-3.
I’m not here to give a match report, I just thought I’d … Read the rest “Road Report: MLS Western Conference Final”
In the wake of last month’s news that the Austin Aztex would be on hiatus in 2016, with a planned reentry to USL competition in 2017, many questions came up about the club’s surprise announcement. Violet Crown Soccer had the opportunity to sit down at The Tavern last week with Aztex owner and CEO Rene van de Zande, founder David Markley and General Manager Roberto Pinto da Silva, Jr., and ask some of those questions.
It’s clear that the group … Read the rest “On the Record: an Interview with the Aztex”
This USL offseason we’ve seen several new teams join the league for 2016. Though it will be at least a year before we see them play against an Austin side, there are aspects of a couple of these announcements that stand out.
One new entrant is Sporting Kansas City’s new team: the Swope Park Rangers. The reception of this new club’s name, logo, and branding has been very positive, and with the solid SKC organization behind them, success is … Read the rest “What Swope Park and Titan Village Tell Us”
If you’ve spent much time at Aztex games, Scorpions matches, or the Austin Soccer Fan Zone on Facebook, you’ve probably run across Lee Nichols. He has an article in this week’s Austin Chronicle, Game Changer – A new football culture for Austin bars.
… Read the rest “Austin Chronicle on a New Bar Football Culture”The season kicking off is soccer – the very first match of the 38-game English Premier League schedule that will last until May. This opening battle pits Manchester United (a team even the soccer-ignorant have
On October 2nd the Austin Aztex announced that they will not be participating on the field in 2016, with the intention to return in 2017. The press release made clear that the Aztex are under pressure from USL to find a suitable long-term home for the club. If they are truly returning in 2017, the owners and the remaining staff must be working furiously to accomplish their goal. Their only public step so far is the nice-looking Stadium for Austin … Read the rest “Stadium Standards & Smoke Signals”
The most diligent keeper of attendance stats in American soccer over the years has to be Kenn Tomasch. With the 2015 USL regular season just completed, he has a new post with all the numbers: Taking Attendance 10/4/2015: USL First Division III League To Draw A Million.
There are lots of interesting facets to check out there, but here are the more Austin-specific bits.
The Aztex averaged 3,227, putting them 11th out of 24 teams. That’s solidly middle-of-the-pack, whether … Read the rest “Kenn.com on 2015 USL Attendance”
