Aztex Drop a Pair; Regular Season Finale This Saturday

With the division title wrapped up and little to play for, the Austin Aztex U-23s played like it, losing back-to-back games for the first time this season, 1-0 at New Orleans, and 2-1 at Baton Rouge, to drop to 10-4-1 for the year. This Saturday's regular season finale at the El Paso Patriots should be a little more intense – the Patriots will probably need a win to secure second place and a spot in the Premier Development League playoffs, while the Aztex would love to knock out the only team they haven't beaten this year, and avoid entering the playoffs on a three-game losing streak, with the prospect of facing the Patriots there yet again. Huge game.

Those playoffs, by the way, start July 25-27, at a site to be determined once the regular season ends.

The U.S. women continued their pre-Olympic preparations by again beating the Brazilian team that knocked them out of last year's World Cup, 1-0, last Sunday, improving to 20-0-1 for the year. The teams play again as we go to press Wednesday night, the final tuneup before the Beijing Olympics start August 6.